The Advisory Board to Virginia Tech's College of Engineering provides advice and support to the College on existing and proposed educational and academic programs and other activities. Specifically, it provides guidance strategies, assists in maintaining effective liaison with the University and the external communities, and helps to maintain and upgrade the national reputation the College presently enjoys in undergraduate, graduate, and research activities.
Kyle "Terry" Alfriend, a well-respected researcher with more than 40 years of diverse experience in the aerospace field, focuses on projects regarding space surveillance and the dynamics and control of swarms of small satellites flying in a precise formation.
Dr. Alfriend earned his bachelor of science degree and doctorate in engineering mechanics and from Virginia Tech. He...
Courtney Beamon received her bachelor's degree in 1995 and her master's degree in 1996, both in civil engineering, concentrating in transportation. A registered professional engineer, she works with Delta Airport Consultants, Inc. of Richmond, Va., a firm that specializes in airport consulting, planning and engineering. She joined the firm in 1996, and today is part-owner and serves as the...
John Calabrese was named vice president, global vehicle engineering, for General Motors Company in April 2011. In this capacity, he also serves as president, global technology operations. Prior to this appointment, he served as the executive director, group global functional leader for body, exterior, dimensional, interior, safety, HVAC/PTC, and GM de Mexico Toluca Regional Engineering Center...
Vinod Chachra, president and CEO of VTLS Inc., is an internationally recognized lecturer, consultant, and innovator in the field of information system planning.
After earning his Ph.D. in industrial engineering and operations research at Virginia Tech, Dr. Chachra served the university in many capacities. From 1972 to 1985 he successively assumed roles of director of software...
David Christian received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering with an option in nuclear science and engineering in 1976. Upon graduation Mr. Christian joined Virginia Power as an engineer. In 1979, he was promoted to engineering supervisor, which was followed by several other promotions to positions that included superintendent-operations in 1983. He returned to the nuclear division...
Dan Eigenbrode is currently the chief engineer for Pratt & Whitney’s Cold Section Engineering. He has over 27 years of experience at Pratt & Whitney where he has held positions of increasing responsibility within the engineering organization. In his current role, he leads an organization of nearly 1400 engineers who are responsible for the design, development, and in...
Barry Fletcher is a 1979 graduate of Virginia Tech in electrical engineering and completed nuclear engineering qualifications through the U.S Navy-Naval Reactors program in 1981.
Mr. Fletcher joined Newport News in 1979 as an associate engineer and has held a number of positions during his career including electrical engineer, nuclear test engineer, chief nuclear test engineer, and...
Gordie Follin is the engineering leader of marine and industrial products for General Electric (GE) Aviation, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Follin is responsible for the development and support of aero-derivative gas turbines for the oil and gas, energy, and marine markets. Prior to accepting this position, he was responsible for leading the development and configuration management of...
Charlie Harris, director of the Research Directorate of the NASA Langley Research Center, provides strategic leadership in the technical areas of aerosciences, airborne systems, materials, and structures in support of the NASA missions in space operations, exploration, and aeronautics.
Dr. Harris holds a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering, a masters of science degree...
Monique René Jackson is a primary examiner in the chemical technology area for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va. Before joining the USPTO in 1999, she received a bachelor of science degree from Virginia Tech in chemical engineering in 1995 and continued on as a Ph.D. candidate from 1995 to 1999. During her studies at Virginia Tech, she held several leadership positions...
Satish V. Kulkarni, a Virginia Tech alumnus who has led international and national collaborations related to energy, security, and the environment for more than three decades, is the director of energy initiatives for the university.
The Office of the Vice President for Research and the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science jointly created the position in recognition of...
Buford Lewis retired in April 2009 from ExxonMobil after holding senior positions in technology development and application, strategic and investment planning, energy forecasting, supply and asset management, and energy advocacy. His thirty-seven year career involved assignments with increasing responsibilities in Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Virginia as well as the U.K.,...
As president and executive director of the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, David R. Lohr is responsible for general oversight and management of the organization, as well as its member recruiting efforts.. He brings a wealth of experience to the position, previously serving as the vice president of business development for the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park (VBRP). In that...
Sharon Brickhouse Martin is the president of Brickhouse•Martin Healthcare Engineering (B•MHE), which she founded in 1991. She is a senior healthcare consultant with more than 25 years of experience in organizational and operational evaluation and improvement, initially in the manufacturing industry and predominately in the healthcare industry.
Ms. Martin holds a bachelor of...
Sarah Mayer is director of affordability for F/A-18 & EA-18 programs for Global Strike Systems, Boeing Defense, Space & Security. She is responsible for leading the affordability initiatives required to meet multi-year savings commitments to the U.S. Navy and achieve market-based pricing for both domestic and international customers.
Prior to this position, Ms. Mayer was the...
Joe Meredith earned his undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering in 1969, and obtained his doctorate in industrial and systems engineering in 1997, both from Virginia Tech. He is the President of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, started in 1985.
At present, the CRC has 150 tenants in 29 completed buildings with another 18 buildings planned on its 210 acres of land. Dr....
Anthony “Tony” Moraco is president of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Group. In this role he leads SAIC’s mission capability integration and technical services for the intelligence community and U.S. Department of Defense.
From 2010 to 2012, he was the corporate...
Michael Rencheck is president and chief executive officer of AREVA NP Inc. In this role, he is responsible for providing oversight for AREVA NP's North American activities, including the operational and next generation U.S. nuclear fleet. Before joining the company, Mr. Rencheck served as senior vice president and chief nuclear officer, responsible for oversight of AEP's Nuclear Generation...
Lloyd Reshard graduated from University of Florida (UF) in 1980 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. He began his engineering career at Bendix Corporation as a process and product engineer.
In April of 2012, Mr. Reshard retired after 26 years with the Air Force Research Laboratory, the last six years as the chief of the munitions aerodynamics sciences branch,...
Dan Sable, a registered professional engineer, is the founder, president, and CEO of VPT, Inc., located in Blacksburg, Va. In 1993 Dr. Sable co-founded VPT (formally Virginia Power Technologies) and since, the company has become a global leader in providing power conversion solutions for use in avionics, military, and space applications. VPT offers high reliability DC-DC...
Lorin Sodell is the plant manager for Crosspointe, the new Rolls-Royce aerospace manufacturing center in Prince George County, Va. In this role, Mr. Sodell has overseen the design and launch of the manufacturing facilities and directed plant start-up activities including staffing, process validation, and production acceleration. Since the site became operational in mid-2011, he has been...
Michael “Vinny” Velotta graduated from Virginia Tech in 1997 with a bachelor of science degree in computer science.
While attending college, Mr. Velotta was employed as a systems engineer with Microsoft and spent three years as a resident advisor in Pritchard Hall. For Microsoft, he developed web and database applications to support the MS Developer Network platform....