Larry Brannan, BSIT ‘63, is founder and president of Corporate Computer Inc., based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company provides hosting services, software development, Web site development, technology and product support, design, marketing, and interactive needs. It was recently named one of Michigan’s 14 best small businesses, from a group of 8,000, by the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center.
Kang-Chung Chiang, MSEE ‘86, is the general manager of Biforst Technology, Inc. in Taiwan.
John S. Christopherson, BSEE ‘80, retired from engineering and has started new business ventures in tourism in the Yucatan peninsula as well as classical guitar restoration in Mexico City. He and his family will move to Mexico in 2004.
Michael D. Dorohoff, BSME ‘02, presented a technical paper, “A Study of Vehicle Response Asymmetries During Severe Driving Maneuvers,” at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress Conference in Detroit, Mich., in March 2004. Dorohoff married fellow Bobcat Jennifer C. Leake, BSME ’03, on November 22, 2003.
Michael Foliano, BSISE ‘84, has joined Somera Communications, Inc., a global provider of telecom equipment lifecycle management services, as vice president of global operations. Based at Somera's Execution and Delivery Center in Dallas, Foliano will be responsible for managing and scaling the company's capabilities in quality assurance, customer service, supply chain management, testing and repair portfolio, and technical engineering to support the delivery of lifecycle management services.
Bradley T. Garchar, BSIT ‘00, recently was appointed as supplier quality coordinator for all Jeep platform seating systems at DaimlerChrysler in Ann Arbor, Mich. In 2003, he received DaimlerChrysler's Vice-President's Award for quality. Garchar obtained his M.B.A. from Eastern Michigan University in June 2003.
M. Ragip Gener, BSEE ‘82, is a group manager in the EDP center of Is Bank of Turkey, where he oversees information technology purchases. He and his wife, also an Is Bank employee, live in Istanbul with their two sons, aged fourteen and eleven.
Nozi Hamidi, BSCH ‘91, was named marketing project leader for Ashland Specialty Chemical’s marketing and business development group. She is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and developing new business platform, and managing various growth processes across the organization. Hamidi and her husband, Budd Blake, BSCS '91, a Web programmer, reside in Hilliard, Ohio, with their children, Natalie, three, and Brady, one.
Justin M. Hane, BSAS ‘91, was appointed an officer in the United States Navy in march 2001. He then graduated flight training with distinction in July 2002. His first deployment was in June 2003 to Japan, to fly the P-3C with VP-4, the “Skinny Dragons.” He returned home, to Hawaii, in December 2003.
Chris Hazen, BSCH ‘90, completed a three-year international assignment in Germany with Bayer AG this May. He lives in Seabrook, Texas.
Ryan Henderson, BSCE ‘02, co-owns a new engineering firm, Miller/Henderson Group, Inc., established on January 1, 2004. The firm provides professional engineering services for clients needing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural engineering services. The State of Ohio recently selected the firm, among seven others, as a pre-qualified maintenance plan advisor for Ohio School Facilities Commission-funded school projects.
Stefano Holguin, BSME ’83, MS ‘87, is vice president of marketing at Birdstep Technology, which provides mobile IP and public WLAN solutions for operators and enterprises.
Kimberly Ann (Frank) Key, MS ‘99, married in April 2001 and welcomed a daughter in October 2002. Her second child was due in October 2004. She is a stay-at-home mom in Temperance, Mich.
Alan R. Lindsey, BSEE ’89, MS ‘91, PHD ‘95, an electronics engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Information Directorate, has been awarded the AFRL Scientific/Technical Management Award for individual achievement, for his contributions as a leading innovative researcher in communications signal processing and waveform design. Lindsey is the lead research engineer for communications signal processing efforts, performing fundamental research in collaboration with directorate colleagues and university faculty on state-of-the-art interference mitigation, combined coding and modulation, and advanced algorithms.
Daniel McDonald, BSCE ’04, married Arelle Moore on Oct. 23 in Nelsonville, Ohio. McDaniel is employed by the Ohio Department of Transportation in Marietta, Ohio.
John Clare Onaitis, BSME ‘91, age 35, of Alliance, Ohio, died of injuries sustained in an automobile accident on December 9, 2003. In recent years, he had completed power plant startups in Egyptand Australia. At the time of his death, he was following his dream and working as a cabinet maker.
Kibin Park, MSME ‘96, founded a Japanese/sushi restaurant, Happy Kobe, in Athens, Ohio, in spring 2004. He and his wife, Hiroyo Nishimura, MA'96, have a son, Christopher.
Ramanath Ramakrishnan, MS ’89, was recently promoted to general manager of reliability engineering for General Electric (GE) Company's GE Energy business, one the world’s leading suppliers of power generation technology, energy services, and management systems. Ramakrishnan joined the technology team from the GE Global Research (GEGR) Center, where he was the global Six Sigma quality and e-engineering leader reporting to the senior vice president of the Center. Ramakrishnan, who joined GE as a mechanical engineer in 1996, was previously a senior research engineer with Wyman Gordon Company. He and his family will be relocating from Niskayuna, N.Y., to Greenville, S.C.
Keith Mitchell Russ, BSCHE ‘85, age 40, of Corpus Christi, Texas, died in an automobile accident on June 11, 2004. He was employed by DuPont and had several patents issued in his name. Donations in his memory may be made to the Keith M. Russ Chemical Engineering Award, The Ohio University Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 869, Athens, Ohio 45701.
Carlos A. Salamanca, MS '77, was recently named rector (president) of Universidad Pedagogical Technological de Colombia (UPTC), one of Colombia's leading public universities with more 20,000 students at four locations. For more information, visit www.uptc.edu.co.
Todd Gregory Smith, BSCHE ’98, is a senior process engineer for Fort Amanda Specialties LLC in Lima, Ohio. Smith and his wife, Becky, welcomed a new son, Noah Thomas Smith, on Dec. 17, 2003.
Eric A. Best