MechSE Alumni Board
Board Contributions to the DEI Fund
The MechSE Alumni Board aims to contribute $100K to the department's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative. Their gift will help support scholarships for undergraduates, a mentoring program, an invited lecture series, and travel grants for undergraduates and graduate students to attend DEI meetings. The Board's generosity will allow MechSE to continue doing what we do best: develop successful future leaders in engineering.
Funding Goal
$100,000
Goal
$100,000
Progress
$60,200
TOTAL RAISED
$60,200
Alumni Board Officers
President: Patrick McAuliffe
Vice President of Engineering, Werner Co.
Degrees: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1987
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, MSME 1996
Vice President: Mark Woodmansee
Technology Director, Halliburton Energy Services
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1994
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MSME 1997
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhD ME 1999
Alumni Board Members:
Term Expiring 2025:
Nathan Barton
Group Leader, Materials Modeling and Simulation Group, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Degree: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1996
Sarah Buckius
Co-founder, Open Spaces Open Minds
Degree: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2001
Abigail Butkus
Connected Technologies Sales Manager, Johnson Controls
Degree: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2002
Kye Draper
Head of Engineering, thyssenkrupp Presta AG
Degree: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2015
Martha Grady
Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Kentucky
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MSTAM 2011, PhDTAM 2014
Michael Keller
Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tulsa
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MSTAM 2003, PhDTAM 2007
Mike Rutkowski
Senior Vice President, Research and Technology Development, Gas Technology Institute
Degree: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1989
Mark Santschi
Senior Vice President, Director of Engineering & Innovation, Sargent & Lundy
Degree: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1986
Danielle Tene
Product Manager, Microsoft
Degree: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2015
Term Expiring 2023:
Kira Barton
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
Degrees: University of Colorado, BSME 2001
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MSME 2006
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhDME 2010
Krishna Jonnalagadda
Group Vice President, Stategic Planning and Marketing, Eaton Aerospace Group
Degrees: Banara Hindu University, B. Tech Mechanical Engineering 1991
University of Kentucky, MS Engineering Mechanics 1993
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhD TAM 1997
Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, MBA 2003
Zachary Kaplan
Founder and CEO, Inventables
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2001
Michael Kessler
Louis M. Sardella Department Head and Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MS TAM 1998
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhD TAM 2002
Valeria Laguna
Manufacturing Operations Senior Manager, Proctor & Gamble
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2013
Thomas McCarthy
Chief Engineer of Research and Advanced Powertrain Engineering, Ford Motor Company
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1987
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MSME 1989
University of Michigan, MBA
Nicole Reifman
Partner, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2003
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, JD 2006
Kendra Sharp
Head, Office of International Science and Engineering, National Science Foundation; Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1993
University of Cambridge, MPhil 1994
University of California, Berkeley, MEng 1996
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhD TAM 2001
Kathryn Svoboda
Product Engineer, Progress Rail, A Caterpillar Company
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2011
Marina Tharayil
Smart Mobility Analytics Product Development, Ford Motor Company
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1999
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MSME 2001
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PHD ME 2005
Melonee Wise
Chief Technology Officer, Agility Robotics
Degrees: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, BSME 2004
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BS Physics Engineering 2004
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MSME 2006
David Wright
Owner & Executive VP in the Government Services Business Group and President , Sargent & Lundy Engineering Services
Degrees: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, BSME 1982
Jamal Yagoobi
George I. Alden Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Degrees: Sharif University of Technology at Tehran, Iran, BEME 1978
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MSME 1981
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhD ME 1984