Engineering and Computer Science undergraduate students enrolled in a degree program in the College of Engineering and Computer Science may be eligible for a travel fellowship to help them defray some of the cost of travel associated with approved international studies. The travel fellowships are made possible by a gift from Ms. Waltraud (Wally) Prechter to the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems. Students who are planning to participate in international studies as part of their CECS degree program should contact Mr. Reinaldo Perez, the Director of CECS Academic Services to see if they qualify for the Prechter International Travel Fellowship. Mr. Perez can be reached in person at his office, 2000 HPEC or by telephone on 313-593-5510 or by email at rperez@umd.umich.edu.

Every couple of years, the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE) makes a special effort to bring groups of alumni back to campus. This year all IMSE alumni were invited back--and enjoyed a very special surprise.

The event on September 14, hosted by Drs. Swatantra Kachhal and Adnan Aswad, drew about 30 alumni and emeriti faculty back to campus for dinner to reminisce, catch up and see what the department is doing. Alumni who attended included Tom Helzerman (BSEIE ’67, MSE ‘91), Marlin Thomas (BSEIE ’67, MSE ’68, Ph.D. ’71), Dennis Kirchoff (BSEIS ’79), Phil Lavender (BSEIE ’68), Keith Talbot (BSEIS ’80), Richard Anderson (BSEIE ’76, MSE ’82) and Bob Matsura (BSEIE ’72, MBA ’77).

The highlight of the evening was the announcement of a new, named scholarship in honor of Dr. Kachhal. This endowed fund will provide support for future IMSE students for many years to come. Dr. Kachhal was quite surprised. “I had no idea anything like this was going to happen,” he said. “I am so pleased and very proud of our alumni for supporting future students. That the endowed fund will be in my name is very humbling.”

Dr. Kachhal has been chairman of the department for 25 years and has always been highly regarded by his students. “Dr. Kachhal has had such an enormous impact on so many Engineering students at UM-Dearborn,” said Dennis Kirchoff, a former student. “He’s been here for half the life of the campus, so he’s been an integral part of the lives of hundreds of IMSE alumni. This scholarship fund is our way of saying thanks for all he’s done.”

An anonymous gift was made to start the fund. But it can be added to at any time, in any amount. Those interested in making a gift to this endowed fund should contact Mike Stein, Director of Development, at mjshd@umd.umich.edu or (313) 583-6744.

Detroit Edison Scholarship

Jessica Steffke

Frederick P. and Violet Sharpe Endowed Scholarship

Kevin Armbruster 
Vaishali Chaudhari
Aaron Curley
Steven Dietz
Enrik Fetolli
Ryan Garris 
Meer Hossain 
Ryan Mazur
Muthana Muhsen 
Evan Musu
Michael Rice
Luke Rizik 
James Sheets
Eric Stancato
Thomas Stedman
Yao-Ting Tsai
Steven Woodruff
Michael Wyzlic 
Kevin Yorick 

DaimlerChrysler Women and Minority Scholarship

Luis Benavides
Maggie Faligowska
David Frey
Walter Hill
Melissa Kaczmarczyk
Lauren Liske
Alexis Reyes
Katherine Slater 
Marie Stawasz
Danielle Sturdivant
Monyata Taylor 
Ashley Wright 

Henry W. Patton Endowed Scholarship

Faris Alami
David Anderson 
James Andrews
Christopher Bailey
Chelsey Baker
Peter Bankwitz
Lydia Bates
Jessica Billingslea
Raymond Brikho
Lawrence Chan
Mahmoud Chirazi 
Daniel Coyne
Samuel Crowley
Brandon Dohn
Michael Ehlert 
Mohamad Elfarran 
Mike Eskew
Mark Fielhauer
Kushal Gargesh 
Neelotpal Gulvadi 
Anthony Gutierrez
Imane Haidar
Cory Havlicsek
Aamir Hussain 
Nevien Iwies 
Cicily Joseph 
Daniel Kellezi
Matthew Kerry 
Hassan Khalil
Bradley Lajoye
Daniel Lambert 
Gierad Laput 
Michael Lash
Raymond Llonillo
Laura Lloyd 
Nicholas Lopez
Derek Mackenroth
Chahdi Mahdoui
Daniel Malik
David McCulloch 
Ashley Middleton
Ahmed Mohamed 
James Montante
Farouq Mozip 
Malek Musleh 
Charles Neil
Matthew Nitz 
Andrew Novotny
Andrew Noyes
Khaled Omar
John Papke
Theodore Rabban 
Daniel Ryan 
Sumitha Santhanam
Ryan Schultz
Ebrahim Sharif
Noah Sharkus 
Nasser Shuaibi 
Michael Sider
Steven Silverman
Simranjit Singh
Vimlesh Skukla
Petar Slabakov
Joseph Sloan 
Michael Sonk
Nathan Styles 
Thomas Stevens  
Gerti Tuzi
Takanori Watanabe 
Lindsay Yaros 

CECS/Ford Freshman Scholarship

Ibrahima Bah
Bridget Burke 
Elisa Cauley
Jhonatan Ferrer
Lindsay Gerst 
Carolyn Kaufmann 
Suzanna Nuculaj
Justen Sames
Loreal Shead
Fadia Shuayto
Tyronza Snowden
Urooj Yousuf 

Engineering Scholarships

Jonathan Masnari 
Otis Wagner 

It all started with dinner. In August 2006, Phil Roussey (BSEEE ’66), who had recently secured a donation of equipment from his company Bell Microproducts to UM-Dearborn, decided he wanted to get more involved with the campus. That month he and his wife, Mona, held a small dinner at their home in Monte Sereno, attended by a number of UM-Dearborn alumni from the area and Chancellor Dan Little.

Phil’s work didn’t stop after the dinner. He continued to talk to alumni who attended to try to find ways to bring the talent of UM-Dearborn’s Engineering students to California. This past July, Dean Subrata Sengupta arrived in California, where Phil had arranged visits with seven leading Silicon Valley employers.

While Michigan continues to struggle with economic uncertainty, Silicon Valley is in the midst of a boom. In fact, employers there struggle to fill positions with qualified electrical engineering and computer science graduates. UM-Dearborn’s ability to work with these employers will enormously benefit our students, through internships, co-op appointments and full-time jobs after graduation.

Thanks to Phil’s work and the Dean’s visit, UM-Dearborn is well on the way to forging new relationships. We have agreements with three companies already, some well-established and some start-ups. Phil will continue to network with alumni in the area to find new sources of experiential opportunities and employment for our students.