Featured Alumni Updates
Edwin T. Engman
1974 Ph.D. in civil engineering from Penn State (B.S, M.S. from Cornell University)
Engman has spent much of his career with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and NASA, and has been involved in building the technical and scientific foundation for NASA’s SMAP satellite, which launched in January. During the 10 years he was working with them, he contributed to much of the ground experiments. However, since his retirement in 2000, he has not been directly involved in the day-to-day design and justification for this mission. His most recent role has been as a member of NASA’s Standing Review Board (SRB), which oversees all aspects of the design and implementation of SMAP. The SRB is made up of about eight technical experts, specialists who can evaluate specific aspects of the mission planning and implementation. Engman’s role with the SRB was to focus on the science and data systems.
For more details about SMAP, visit: http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov
Dawn M. Bontempo
1994 B.S. in civil engineering from Penn State
Alumna Dawn Bontempo was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2012. After enduring a lumpectomy, eight rounds of chemotherapy, and 34 radiation treatments, Bontempo is now cancer-free! She wrote a book about the journey called Breast Cancer Mardi Gras: surviving the emotional hurricane and showing my boobs to strangers.
Using conversations with her sister and her active imagination, Bontempo chronicles her journey and provides unsolicited advice at the end of every chapter. She addresses tough topics during the diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation portions of her treatment. Using a style that makes you enjoy the absurdity of her life, she provides education, hope, and a good laugh. This quick read is positive, optimistic, and funny.
William H. Farrell
1973 B.S. in civil/sanitary engineering from Penn State (M.S. from Johns Hopkins University)
Farrell is currently the president of Professional Startup and Operating Services, Inc. The company provides commissioning of water and wastewater treatment plants to construction contractors. They also provide water and wastewater operating services to public and private schools in Maryland. Farrell is also a longtime trainer for water and wastewater operators in Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia and an apprenticeship instructor for Baltimore City Wastewater Apprenticeship Program.