Class Notes Winter 2025

Did you get a promotion? Get married? Receive an award? Expand your family? Write a book? Meet a personal goal? Chat with a fellow alum about the good old days? We want to hear from you and your WPI classmates do, too! Tell us your latest news and it may appear in Class Notes—it’s a great way to reconnect with your fellow alumni: classnotes@wpi.edu.

Elliott Heith reminisced about his time at WPI: “My last human connection with WPI ended with the death of Professor Romeo Moruzzi. Our required EE class, Classical Mechanics, had long been taught by Professor McCulloch and now had a new assistant professor, Dr. Moruzzi. Some of the first words we heard from him were ‘vector analysis.’ We all looked around at each other until someone in the class raised a hand and said, ‘We haven’t a clue as to what you are talking about.’ Apparently, Professor Moruzzi was trying to teach us a new way to do classical mechanics, which we eventually learned.”

David Laananen was presented with a lifetime achievement award by Marquis Who’s Who, an organization that highlights accomplished individuals across many industries. He has over 40 years of experience in engineering and is the owner of Laananen Consulting, where he advises on aircraft crash safety, including “design, analysis, and testing of aircraft seats equipped with energy-absorbing capabilities to protect occupants in the event of an accident,” according to the announcement. He is also a professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Arizona State University’s School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy and has been published in several prominent industry journals. 

Glenn Yee was interviewed by CNN’s “Living Golf” this past August due to his membership in Hong Kong’s Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club. This golf course and country club recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and is one of the most exclusive clubs in Hong Kong.

Wesley Wheeler was appointed chief executive officer and director of LabConnect, a global lab services partner and service provider for clinical trials. He has 20 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical services industry and served as CEO/president of five different companies and on several industry boards. “I have worked with LabConnect for many years and am excited to join the company at this pivotal time,” he said. “The company’s unique service offerings and business model position it perfectly to meet the evolving needs of the industry. I look forward to working with our team and partners to accelerate LabConnect’s growth both domestically and internationally.”

Richard Whalen writes, “In December of 2023, I completed the Alpine (downhill) ski instructor course at Wachusett Mountain and I taught skiing there two evenings a week for the ski season. Since my job has been fully remote since March of 2019, I found it a great way to get out of the house and interact with others. My plans for the upcoming ski season are to get my PSIA level 1 certification.”

Henry Skinner was appointed to the Board of Directors for F2G, a biopharmaceutical company focused on treating life-threatening fungal infections. He is the chief executive officer of AMR Action Fund, a public-private partnership that develops antimicrobial therapeutics. “Fungal infections are a growing threat to patients around the world and have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, yet there has been a paucity of innovation in the field of antifungals,” he says. “For decades, clinicians have relied on a handful of antifungal classes, with few mechanisms of action and significant limitations due to spectrum of activity, drug toxicities, or drug-drug interactions. These therapies are increasingly failing in patients. We are thrilled to support F2G’s team as they develop this urgently needed therapy and seek regulatory approval.”

Susan Loconto Penta was included in the Boston Business Journal’s “People on the Move in Boston” series. She is the co-founder and managing partner of MIDIOR, a management consulting and technology services provider, and a board member of The Possible Zone, a Boston youth organization. Her 35-year career spans work in entrepreneurship, career diversity and equity, engineering, and technology education.

Michelle Gass is the CEO of Levi Strauss & Co and was interviewed for an article by Vogue Business about her ambitions to turn Levi’s into a $10 billion business through various sales and marketing strategies. This past September, Levi’s opened its fifth Haus of Strauss retail concept in Paris.

David Grenache was presented with the Outstanding Contributions Through Service to the Profession of Clinical Chemistry award at the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) 2024 international conference. The award “recognizes individuals who have worked throughout their careers to advance the professional status of clinical chemists and the professional objectives of ADLM,” according to the announcement. He is the chief scientific officer for TriCore, a not-for-profit clinical laboratory. His career was also the focus on a story in the Albuquerque Journal.

Stephen Zamarro became the chief revenue officer for COTSWORKS, an electronics manufacturer for optical components and subsystems that operate in harsh environments. In his role, he manages the sales team to support customer engagement, development, and support worldwide. “I’m excited about joining COTSWORKS and look forward to helping Mil/Aero OEMs make the move from copper to fiber optic networks and advanced sensing applications,” he says. He served as a pilot in the U.S. Army and Air Force, including three combat tours, and held multiple leadership roles in program management, sales, and business development, according to the announcement. 

John Coyle was appointed managing director for the management consulting firm Alvarez &
Marsal’s health systems practice. He leads the development of new strategies and practices to improve the customer experience, maximize growth, and initiate process changes. In previous roles, he led major mergers in the health industry and developed new strategies for large-scale health systems and hospitals.

Tricia Fitzmaurice was appointed chief growth officer for Nightwing, an intelligence solutions company with a focus on national security. In this role, she works to expand Nightwing’s products and services for the intelligence community, Department of Defense, and federal civilian and commercial markets. She has many years of experience in U.S. government and national security programs and was featured in the “Top 20 National Security Executives to Watch” in 2022 and “Top Intelligence Executives to Watch” in 2023 by WashingtonExec. “I’m excited to join Nightwing at such a pivotal time for the company as the national security landscape continues to evolve,” she said.

Dwalin DeBoer was promoted to vice president of sales & engineering with the northern division of Mack Molding, a custom plastics molder and supplier of contract manufacturing services. He has almost 30 years of plastics experience—24 of them with Mack.

Roman Fayerberg was recognized in the 2024 edition of IAM Patent 1000, a publication that identifies top patent professionals in various regions around the world. He is a patent attorney with Greenberg Traurig in Boston and previously worked as a research and development engineer.

Alison Faye (Possas) Johnson writes, “I’m excited to announce that I’ve taken on a new role as the chief of military engines, global trade, DT strategy and pillars with aviation and aerospace component manufacturing company Pratt & Whitney. It’s an incredible opportunity to lead in these areas, and I’m looking forward to the challenges and growth this role will bring. In addition, I’m honored to have been elected as the chair of the RTX ADAPT (Abled and Disabled Associates Partnering Together) Employee Resource Group.”

Richard Resnick was appointed CEO and board member of The Pacific Institute (TPI), a “global leader in mental technology and behavioral transformation,” according to the announcement. He has over 20 years of leadership experience in venture capital, healthcare, and technology. “I am thrilled to join The Pacific Institute and lead this incredible team into the next phase of growth,” he says. “Our mission—to unlock human and team potential and drive positive change so that our clients can confront the world’s most important global challenges—is more important than ever.”

Linda Grelotti joined Suisman Shapiro Attorneys-at-Law as chief operating officer and practices civil litigation in New London, Conn. She served for 12 years as deputy chief clerk for New London’s judicial district and is also a registered patent attorney.

Jeffrey Gross joined Accordant Investments as executive director. In his role, he works with financial advisors across the country to further Accordant’s private real estate investment solutions for clients. He has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate financial industry, most recently serving as senior vice president at Bluerock, a capital marketing company.

William “Bernie” Till (MS) was named a fellow for Boston Government Services, an engineering, technology, and security firm specializing in advancing the missions of government and national organizations and projects. He has over 30 years of experience at the U.S. Department of Energy as a fire protection engineering expert and is an active member of several prominent national technical committees for fire safety.

Bryan Ruoff is the city engineer for Keene, N.H. He has nearly 20 years of experience in various engineering fields, including civil design, flood mitigation, and road rehabilitation. He is responsible for “overseeing public infrastructure projects,” including managing the planning, design, construction, and technical support for public projects, such as water system and road improvements, according to the announcement.

Jeremy Hitchcock was appointed to the Board of Directors for Business Executives for National Security (BENS), helping it form strategic partnerships and share best practices. He is the co-founder and partner at New North Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on using dual-use technology to solve “national security and commercial market problems,” according to the company’s profile.

Jillian Kaplan is a contributing author to Dell’s company blog. She is a senior product marketing manager for artificial intelligence and infrastructure product marketing at Dell Technologies with 20 years of experience in network engineering, product management, and marketing operations.

Alan Lazaros was a guest speaker on the Should Have Listened to My Mother podcast, a platform to discuss female role models and the roles they play in people’s lives. In the episode, he discussed his family background, formative years, and how that influenced his educational and professional endeavors. He is the CEO, founder, co-host, and peak performance business coach for Next Level University, a life-coaching and podcast solutions organization.

Alfredo Barragan, MBA, was a presenter at the International Manufacturing Technology Show with the presentation “Cutting Edge Innovations: Maximizing Productivity and Best Practices with Superabrasives.” He has held several prominent positions with Saint-Gobain Abrasives, including senior application engineer and product engineer.

Codie Keene was honored by Marquis Who’s Who for his expertise in construction and entrepreneurship. Those chosen for Marquis Who’s Who are considered based on “position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field,” according to the announcement. He has over 15 years of experience in high-end residential and commercial construction. He owns Summit Homes construction company in Rangeley, Maine, and co-owns of The True North Lifestyle community forum for hunting and fishing.

Wesley Ripley is the head of technology and co-founder of Weven, a venue management system aimed at increasing efficiency in company operations and increasing customer satisfaction. He is an expert in web and software engineering and leads Weven’s technology team in platform development.

Jonathan Arnone was appointed CEO of Kismet Commerce, a service and workspace provider for small businesses and e-commence entrepreneurs based in Newton, Mass.

Judy Zhang was a featured author on PubsOnLine. She is a doctoral candidate in marketing at Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Her research “focuses on creating empirical models to analyze consumer decision making and to identify the underlying drivers of consumer choices, as well as advancing methodologies in the field,” according to her author description.

Daniel Braconnier was featured in Northeastern University’s PhD spotlight news series for his project work and for a paper published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. He received a Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Chair’s Fellowship upon commencing his PhD program in 2019 and is a member of Northeastern’s Directed Assembly of Particles and Suspensions Laboratory. He also received the inaugural Student Innovator of the Year Award in 2024 from Northeastern’s National Academy of Inventors for his patent-pending thermally conductive polymer composites.

Charles Hill spoke at the BioProcess International 2024 conference in Boston this past September with a session titled “Letting the Past Pave the Future —Looking Back at Monoclonal Antibodies Production Journey to Transform the Manufacturing of Advanced Therapeutics.” He is the senior field application scientist at Repligen Corporation, where he helps companies implement upstream filtration technologies. He has seven years of experience in therapeutics, gene therapy, and cell theory applications.

Nathan Rosenberg and Marc Printz were featured in an article by TechCrunch that discussed their start-up Farmblox, a farm automation platform. Nathan was also interviewed by Pulse 2.0 about the company. Farmblox is a solar-powered monitoring company that allows farmers to track soil moisture and water waste more efficiently, reducing the amount of labor needed on a farm. (Read more on page 32.)

Emily Molstad, the co-founder and CEO of VALIS Insights, a metal recycling software platform, received a $20,000 grant from the Boundless Futures Foundation. This grant funds female-owned businesses that impact society, and recognized her work in using artificial intelligence and software to improve recycling and sorting efforts of scrap metals. She was also named to the Worcester Business Journal’s “Forty Under Forty 2024” list for her sustainability work with VALIS.

Sathwik Bharadwaj, MS ’19, PhD ’20 was mentioned in an article by Phys.org titled “Researchers unlock light-matter interactions on sub-nanometer scales, leading to ‘picophotonics’.” He is a member of a research team focused on atomic matter. “Natural materials themselves have rich intrinsic crystal lattice symmetries and light is strongly influenced by these symmetries,” he says. “The immediate next goal is to apply our theory to the plethora of quantum and topological materials and also verify the existence of these new waves experimentally.”

Mira Plante, one of the first young women to become an Eagle Scout, was the keynote speaker at Boston’s Salute to Scouting Gala last July.