Rossin Fellows lead positive change by example

The fifth annual celebration of Rossin Professors and Fellows was held Friday, April 16, in the auditorium of Packard Laboratory.

The ceremony recognized assistant professors and doctoral and undergraduate students within the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science (RCEAS) who have excelled in their field and have contributed to both the Lehigh University and the community.

The professors are typically those that have worked at Lehigh for less than five years and, according to Dean S. David Wu, have significant career potential and reach out to disciplines other than their own. The Rossin Doctoral Fellows are a subset of Ph.D. students who are not only interested in research but in academic careers. Finally, the Rossin Junior Fellows are undergraduate students who have strong academics, a dynamic personality and a willingness to serve and inspire others, Wu said.

The namesake of the event and the engineering college, Peter C. Rossin, '48, was an accomplished alumnus. He graduated with a B.S. in metallurgy (which is now part of the department of materials science and engineering) after a time as a U.S. Air Force Pilot during World War II interrupted his study. He went on to found Dynamet Inc., a successful titanium-alloy company. In 1998, he and his wife, Ada, established a $25 million endowment for Lehigh's engineering college, which was the largest ever presented to Lehigh.

In many ways we are trying to reproduce some of the spirit of Mr. Rossin and his great example through this program, Wu said.

Kristen Falotico, '11, said that she was unaware of the group until she was nominated, but was honored once she learned more about the group. She said she hopes to enlighten prospective students about Lehigh engineering and make environmental engineering a more prominent major among the Junior Fellows.

Rossin Assistant Professorships were bestowed upon Dr. Xuanhong Chang of the materials science and engineering department, Dr. Frank Curtis of the industrial systems and engineering department, and Dr. Parv Venkitasubramaniam of the electrical and computer engineering department.

The college also initiated 17 Rossin Doctoral Fellows, named 30 undergraduates as new Rossin Junior Fellows and recognized 30 other graduating seniors for their time spent as Rossin Junior Fellows.

A Service award, along with a gift of a 500GB hard drive, were presented to students who had served the college and our community during their tenure as Rossin Junior Fellows. Those students earning the Service Award were: Katherine Glass-Hardenbergh, '11, Nicole King, '11, Ana Alexandrescu, '10, Sai Lu Mon Aung, '10, Dan Bechetti, '10, Michael Hodsdon, '10, Ashley Kamauf, '10, Victoria Katen-Narvell, '10, Benjamin Mumma, '10, Joseph Predham, '10, and Justine Sirrine, '10.

According to Michael Hodsdon, '10, president of the Rossin Junior Fellows, the group has three main goals. They want to recruit and inspire not only the next generation of Lehigh engineers, but engineers for the Lehigh Valley. They want to serve as mentors for freshmen and bring all types of engineers together for events at Lehigh.

Dean Wu said that he has learned about the Junior Fellows that if you give them charge and get out of the way, they will do amazing things...I never cease to be amazed at how accomplished these students are, yet still provide service, he said.

Mary Ann Saunders, '11, said that she is looking forward to inspiring freshmen. I am most looking forward to interacting with the new freshman and helping them become more excited about being a Lehigh an engineer, she said.

The new Rossin Junior Fellows are:

• Bioengineering– Melissa Goleb, '12, Bryan Postelnek, '12, and Kevin Rom, '11

• Chemical engineering – Nathan Bowser, '12, William Saunders, '12, and Michelle Spicer, '12

• Civil and environmental engineering – Elizabeth Couillard, '11, Kristen Falotico, '11, and Shane Ryan, '11

• Computer engineering – Ronald Anzalone, '12, and Nicholas Harner, '12

• Computer science and engineering – Dylan Rush, '12, and Mary Tate, '12

• Electrical and computer engineering – Fedja Buzancic,'12, Benjamin Mak, '12, Jennifer Pinga, '11, and Mary Ann Saunders, '11

• Integrated Engineering, Arts, and Sciences – Tyler Brown, '13, Deniz Cetin, '12, and Hannah Goldberg, '13

• Industrial and systems engineering – Ramiro Alfaro, '11, Lorand Dragu, '12, Taylor Foxworth, '11, and Andrew McGlincy, '11

• Materials science and engineering – Amelia Labak, '12, William Lenthe, '11, and John Logan, '11

• Mechanical engineering and mechanics – Melissa Dye,'12, Jonathan Kuntschik, '12, and Alissa Sperling, '12

• Civil and environmental engineering - Nathan Chancellor and Haiying Ma

• Computer science and engineering - Alexandra Coman and Tian Shen

• Electrical and computer engineering - Yong Kang Gao, Xuebin Wu and Hongping Zhao

• Industrial and systems engineering - Ruken Duzgun, Dan Li and Tolga Seyhan

• Materials science and engineering - Joseph Sabol

• Mechanical engineering and mechanics - Justin Barton, Anthony Dzaba, Michael Kessen, Cem Ozen, Egemen Tinar and Turgut Yilmaz

The Rossin Junior Fellows honored during the event for completion of service are as follows: Ana Alexandrescu, Sai Lu Mon Aung, Joseph Baker, Dan Bechetti, Timothy Brauning, Joseph Dow, Trevor Drummond, Alyssa Fritz, Alice Gonzalez, Daniel Grande, Michael Hodsdon, Ashley Kamauf, Victoria Katen-Narvell, Kristen Klinger, Peter Landis, Elisha Lee, Rosanne Leith, Andrew Mach, Cara McIlnay, Justin Mendelson, Patrick Mulligan, Benjamin Mumma, Thomas Nizolek, Devra Noren, Joseph Predham, Michael Rapp, Justin Sirrine, Erin Tormey and Lu Xu.

Allyson Planders is a Lehigh journalism student working as a writing intern for the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science.