Distinguished Alumni Awards
Welcome to the 2021 University of New Mexico School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Awards celebration!
Congratulations to all of our winners. For full bio information, download the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Awards program.
For 2020 information, download the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Awards program.
William (Bill) Goodman, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Bronx-born Bill Goodman first planned on becoming a doctor, but a failing grade in organic chemistry ended that dream. However, never to be knocked down by adversity, he found success as an engineer, entrepreneur and even a life coach.
J.T. Michelson, Chemical and Biological Engineering
J.T. Michelson earned a degree in engineering, but his impressive career in management and civic service might suggest that he was a business major
Timothy Gallagher, Computer Science
Timothy Gallagher is a true UNM success story, a prime example of how with hard work and determination, someone with the humblest of roots can rise to the greatest heights.
Barbara Lopez, Computer Science
Barbara Lopez is not the kind of person who likes to sit still. From the time she was born, she's been on the move ever since.
John R. D’Antonio Jr., P.E., Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Growing up in New Mexico, John D’Antonio enjoyed riding his bike in the arroyos after a rainfall, watching the water flow and observing how the system worked. Little did he know then that one day he would be in charge of the state’s water
Phillip Melville, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
During his 98 years on this planet, there are a lot of things that Phillip Melville should not have been able to do but did anyway.
Thomas L. Paez, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
When Thomas Paez first started at UNM, he thought he wanted to be an architect. But a few classes in, he realized that the world of structural dynamics was his passion and switched into civil engineering.
Atul Bhatnagar, Electrical and Computer Engineering
When Atul Bhatnagar arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico in July 1981, it was his first time in the United States. In fact, it was his first flight ever — from New Delhi to Frankfurt, Germany; to Atlanta; then to Albuquerque. He knew no one and owned very little. “My net worth was negative,” he recalls.
Nadine E. Miner, Electrical and Computer Engineering
When Nadine Miner was growing up, she did not particularly enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together again, unlike many engineers-to-be. What she did like was math.
Edward Tunstel, Electrical and Computer Engineering
How does a young engineer from New York City (Harlem, in particular) end up in graduate school 3,000 miles away in the high desert of the Southwest?
Andrew Halasz, Mechanical Engineering
Anyone who knew Andrew Halasz when he was an engineering student at UNM probably wouldn’t be surprised that he turned into a successful businessman.
Robin L. Stubenhofer, Mechanical Engineering
Robin Stubenhofer has spent her entire career since earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UNM in 1985 in various roles at Honeywell in Kansas City.
Michael A. Kuliasha, Nuclear Engineering
Michael Kuliasha hails from Albuquerque’s South Valley, and his family has strong UNM roots, with several members earning degrees in engineering, including his father (civil engineering) and sister (nuclear engineering).
Jim E. Morel, Nuclear Engineering
Jim Morel was drawn to Albuquerque by two things: the Air Force Weapons Laboratory (now the Air Force Research Laboratory) at Kirtland Air Force Base and the UNM nuclear engineering program.
Joseph Costantine, Distinguished Young Alumni Award
One could say it was UNM’s world-famous reputation in electromagnetics that attracted Joseph Costantine to graduate school in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Dino A. Dai Zovi, Distinguished Young Alumni Award
Dino A. Dai Zovi was born near Chicago, but was raised in Albuquerque since the age of three, thanks to his parents deciding they’d had enough of the harsh winters of the Midwest.