Class Notes

Winter 2023-2024 Highlights

A Message From Meghan Lenihan Moulder '10

In Memoriam

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Two alumns pose under giant polar bear ice sculpture

The 1950s and ’60s featured a Winter Weekend hosted by the junior class, which included all sorts of winter fun.

2001

Ben Brillat
Ben Brillat ’01 has been appointed a 2023 Distinguished Engineer at Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider. He joins the new class of 2023 Distinguished Engineers and one new Designer that were announced in May. This group of leaders is recognized for their groundbreaking contributions in the fields of engineering, programming, infrastructure services, cyber-resilience, technical design, and experience design. “I was honored to be appointed as a Distinguished Engineer at Kyndryl,” Ben said. “Even during my time as an undergraduate at Rensselaer, I’ve been working to bring connectivity and networks where they are needed most. The culture of collaboration and encouraging natural curiosity that was fostered during my time at the university are also core values at Kyndryl and critical to customer-facing successes. Posted 2024-01-22
Brian Boswell became a CFP right at the onset of the pandemic and has navigated the Boswell triplets through middle school while starting his own financial planning practice. Posted 2023-03-24
Angela Copeland has been appointed vice president of marketing for Recruiter.com Group Inc., a sector leader in on-demand recruiting solutions. Angela joins Recruiter.com from NEA Member Benefits, where she was the head of product and digital marketing. Posted 2023-03-24
Eric Keipper has joined Electric Last Mile Inc.’s global leadership team as executive director of vehicle integration. He brings in-depth experience from his career at General Motors, Chrysler/FCA, Karma Automotive, and most recently, Pratt Miller Engineering. Posted 2023-03-24
Muthla Al-Sayer, a respected technology leader, has been appointed to the board of directors for Solar Integrated Roofing Corporation, an integrated single-source solar power and roofing systems installation company. She has over 20 years of experience guiding business strategy and creating purpose-built technology solutions. Posted 2021-09-30
Brian R. Galovich has been appointed senior vice president and chief information officer for industrial gas company Air Products in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. Posted 2021-09-30
Cynthia Pussinen has been appointed chief technical officer at Spark Therapeutics, a fully integrated commercial gene therapy company dedicated to challenging the inevitability of genetic disease. She has more than 25 years of experience in the biopharma industry, leading teams in manufacturing, quality, supply chain, formulation development, and process sciences. Posted 2021-09-30
Muta’Ali Muhammad
Photo Credit: Jihaad Muhammad
Muta’Ali Muhammad ’01, a graduate of the School of Science, directed a documentary that recently appeared on HBO. Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn takes a closer look at the murder of Yusuf Hawkins in 1989. The film explores both the murder of Hawkins, as well as the subsequent protests for racial justice. “It’s an opportunity to show people that any time you think that racism is in the past, you need to rethink it,” said Muhammad, who focuses all of his works on “Love, Art, and Activism.” He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in information technology after serving as president of the Black Students Alliance.Visit the HBO website to access the full documentary. Learn more.  Posted 2021-03-16
Engineering Cmdr. Eric Reeves took command of Training Squadron (VT) 86 at a change-of-command ceremony at NAS Pensacola, which trains naval flight officers, in November. He has accumulated more than 2,300 flight hours and 400 arrested landings in the S-3 Viking, EA-6B Prowler, and EA-18G Growler. Posted 2020-05-21
Science Adam Goode, a site reliability engineer at Google, was appointed to the Fox Chapel Area school board, in Pittsburgh. Posted 2020-05-21
Annmarie Lanesey
Albany Can Code, a nonprofit founded by Annmarie Lanesey ’01, graduated 53 students in May, its largest class yet. Lanesey was named Philanthropist of the Year by the United Way of the Greater Capital Region for founding the program, which trains software developers for entry-level jobs or internships.  Posted 2019-10-01
Scott Smith founded COBRA Firing Systems in 2009. The company builds fireworks systems that support small, backyard barbecue fireworks shows and local theater shows, as well as large-scale pyromusicals, and pyrotechnics for arena-sized concerts, weddings, and sporting events, etc. Posted 2019-10-01
Travis McCune, a Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport engineer and former head of Undersea Warfare Mission Engineering, was accepted into the Department of Defense Senior Leader Development Program, a highly competitive program that develops senior civilian leaders to excel in joint, interagency, and multinational environments. Posted 2019-03-10
Kareem Muhammad
Kareem Muhammad, engineering core senior manager in the Seat & In-Flight Entertainment Connectivity Integration Team at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, was named the 2018 Golden Torch Award Distinguished Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Posted 2018-10-10
Bill Fioravanti has been named director of economic development for Orange County, N.Y. He served most recently as the Orange County Partnership’s director of business attraction and is a former associate executive director of the YMCA of Middletown, and executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Orange and Sullivan Counties. Posted 2018-10-10
William Chu recently joined Acentech, a Boston-based acoustics consulting firm, as a senior consultant. His expertise ranges from acoustics design and 3-D modeling and simulations, to HVAC noise and vibration control analyses and documentation of LEED acoustical requirements. Posted 2018-03-15
Roy Richardson joined the Water/Wastewater Group at Barton & Loguidice as a managing engineer. He has worked on a variety of projects involving drinking water distribution systems, including pipe installation, rehabilitation, and replacement, as well as booster pump stations, pressure reducing systems, chemical systems, and storage tanks. Posted 2018-03-15