The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/65892
classnotes Uri Braun '00, a PhD candidate dedicated to the study of computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, was honored as a 2012 Siebel Scholar and received a $35,000 award for his final year of graduate studies. 20 Matthew and Erica Tworog-Dube '00 were thrilled to welcome their daughter, Ariana Brooke, in June 2011. "Ari- ana enjoyed her first trip to campus this fall," they say, "and, hopefully, will join the class of 2033!" Jim Konz '00 and Dina Carreiro '01 have three children, Colby (5), Lillian (2), and Logan (1). They live in Webster, Mass. Jim is a director in software development at NASDAQ OMX. Irving Liimatta '00 writes, "I'm not sure if this is much of a class note, but I did just make my last student loan payment. If I could do it all over again, I would do it all over again. Money well spent!" Jacob Telepciak '00 and his wife, Toni (Assumption '00), welcomed their first child, a beautiful, healthy baby girl named Madison Kay, on Aug. 7, 2011. Maria Vassilieva '00 is currently working on her master's in ME. Her husband, Konstantin Kovalev '00 (MS ME), earned his PhD at the University of Brussels in Belgium in 2006. "We were married in January 2007 in Denmark, and our son, Alexander, turned 1 this year on Valentine's Day." 21 Since earning a master's degree in mechanical engi- neering with aerospace concentration in 2004, Ian De Bar- ros '01 has been working for GE Aviation. After many years doing inlet and exhaust system aerodynamic design and inte- gration, he was recently promoted to engineering section operations leader for the Thermal Systems Design Group. Ian married Brittany Harley in May 2011; they live in Cincinnati. "We have no plans in sight for kids," he says, "but we have three dogs—Max (Australian Shepherd), Sergei (Siberian Husky), and Kaiser (German Shepherd)." Sui Nin (Raymond) Lam '01 lives in Toronto with his wife, Loretta. They are expecting a baby in June. He is a senior manager in IT governance at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. William Osmer '01 will receive a master's in criminal justice administration and an MBA from Husson University in May. In addition to his graduate studies, Bill was an adjunct faculty member in the math department at Eastern Maine Community College this past academic year. Tracy (Patturelli) and Antonio Troncoso '01 welcomed their second child, Logan Mark, on Nov. 11, 2011. Logan joins his big sister, Mia Lynn, 3½. The family currently resides Chelmsford, Mass. Gene Ananiev '02 received his PhD in cellular and molecu- lar biology from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Todd BenDor '02 checked in from Paris, on a sabbatical at the Sorbonne, to report that he planned to be married in April, in Mexico. He has been an assistant professor of city and re- gional planning at the University of North Carolina since 2007. Mark Bronski '02 says, "After spending three years in Stutt- gart, Germany, at the headquarters of TRUMPF, I've returned to the US to run the company's 80,000-sq.-ft. industrial laser factory in Farmington, Conn., as manager of laser production." 22 Luke Connery '02, '08 (MS FPE) and Courtney Igoe were married in Newport, R.I., last May. They currently reside in San Jose, Calif., with plans to return soon to New England. "We are expecting our first child in July!" Lori (Luiz) Dumont '02 and husband, Aaron, welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Landon, into the world, Aug. 26, 2010. Bassam Esa '02 writes, "My daughter, Katia, turned 1 in January. I started new job with Optical Fiber Solutions as a software controls engineer." Kimberly (Morin) Ferguson '02 and her husband cele- brated the birth of their son, Connor John, on Nov. 23, 2011. Tim Fisher '02, '04 (MS EE) finished law school and started work as a patent attorney at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner in Cambridge, Mass. "Expecting my first child (a daughter) in February," he writes. Derek Gelinas '02 is a product development engineer for Comcast. His wife is a law student. They have two very busy children, ages 5 and 3. Eric Laskey '02 and Kim-Son Nguyen welcomed their sec- ond child, Khai David, on Nov. 29, 2011. Khai joins his 2-year- old brother, Quan Alexander. 23 Jody Kenniston '02 and Daniel Staruk were married Oct. 8, 2011. The wedding brought together many WPI alumni, including maid of honor Janice Narowski '01, Michael Jasinksi '01, and classmates Jeremy Tonzi, Elizabeth Levandowsky, and Jake Roczniak. The couple lives in nearby Holden. Michael Kuczewski '02 writes, "My wife, Emily, and I quit our real-world jobs to spend the first half of 2011 in the rain- forests of Central and South America. For four-and-a-half months, we volunteered with two conservation programs as field research assistants on avian biodiversity projects in the Peruvian Amazon, and at an indigenous reserve in Costa Rica. We then traveled for another six weeks. The work was hard but totally rewarding, and we definitely miss waking up to the sounds of parrots now that we're back in the real world." Alexandra Vargas Mendez '02 reports, "After WPI I moved to Atlanta where I have been working with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a nuclear reactor inspector engi- 19 80 Spring 2012 20 21