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School of Engineering honors 2020 and 2021 distinguished alumni at event

December 2, 2021 - by Kim Delker

The University of New Mexico School of Engineering honored 16 of its graduates as recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award. The 2020 and 2021 awardees were honored at a ceremony on December 2 at Hotel Albuquerque.

Honorees are from each of the School’s six departments and one young alumnus, which can be from any department. Each honoree was nominated, then selections were made by a committee of alumni, faculty, and past winners of the award. For additional information on each winner, visit the website, which includes a full event program with profiles of each winner, acceptance videos and photo slideshows.

photo: Robin Stubenhofer receives a 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award
Robin Stubenhofer receives a 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award from (left to right) Yu-Lin Shen, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering; UNM Provost James Holloway; and Christos Christodoulou, Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing. The event was held on December 2 at Hotel Albuquerque.

The 2021 honorees are:

Chemical and Biological Engineering

William (Bill) Goodman, who received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from UNM in 1982. He later attended University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a master’s degree in 1991 and a Ph.D. in 1995, both in materials science and engineering. He also completed the Small Business Administration Emerging Leaders “Streetwise MBA” program in 2019. He is founder, Goodman Technologies, LLC.

Computer Science

Timothy Gallagher, who received his bachelor’s in computer science from UNM in 1986. In 1999, he founded Texas-based Electronic Transaction Consultants (ETC), one of the most innovative companies in the toll industry and renowned for its advances in highway speed, open-road, all-electronic tolling and unique data-processing platforms. He now devotes his time to philanthropic efforts with the American Heart Association and in residential and commercial real estate projects in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

John R. D’Antonio, who received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UNM in 1979. He is the New Mexico state engineer and worked many years for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Nadine E. Miner, who received a bachelor’s in computer engineering from UNM in 1986 then earned a master’s in electrical and electronics engineering from Caltech in 1989, and a Ph.D. in computer engineering from UNM in 1998. She works at Sandia National Laboratories as the Campus Partnership Manager for the Sandia Academic Alliance at the University of Texas at Austin. Also, Edward Tunstel, who earned his Ph.D. from UNM in electrical engineering in 1996 after earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Howard University in 1986 and 1989, respectively. He is chief technology officer of Motiv Space Systems Inc.

Mechanical Engineering

Robin L. Stubenhofer, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UNM in 1985. She has spent her entire career in various roles at Honeywell in Kansas City and is currently the Vice President of Engineering with Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, which manages and operates the Department of Energy’s Kansas City national security campus.

Nuclear Engineering

Michael A. Kuliasha, who earned his master’s and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from UNM in 1976 and 1980, respectively, and a bachelor’s degree in math from UNM in 1974. Kuliasha is currently the director of the Nuclear Technologies Department of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) at Fort Belvoir, Va., and is a member of the Senior Executive Service.

Young Alumni Awards:

Dino A. Dai Zovi, who received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from UNM in 2002. He lives in New York City and is the head of security at Cash App, a division of Square.

The 2020 honorees are:

Chemical and Biological Engineering

J.T. Michelson, who received his bachelor’s in chemical engineering from UNM in 1962. He also earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1964. He has been a business owner and manager for more than a half-century in various companies.

Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Phillip L. Melville, who received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UNM in 1945; and Thomas L. Paez, who received a bachelor’s and master’s in civil engineering from UNM in 1971 and 1972, respectively. Melville was a longtime professional engineer in the Virginia area and received a master’s in civil engineering from Purdue University in 1946. Paez earned a Ph.D. in engineering from Purdue University in 1973 and was a member faculty of the UNM Department of Civil Engineering from 1977-84 before joining Sandia National Laboratories, retiring in 2009.

Computer Science

Barbara Lopez, who received a bachelor’s in computer science from UNM in 1986. She has worked at PNM Resources for almost 20 years and is currently program manager of IT.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Atul Bhatnagar, who received a master’s in electrical engineering from UNM in 1982. He is president and CEO of Cambium Networks, a Chicago-based company. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India.

Mechanical Engineering

Andrew Halasz, who received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UNM in 1981. He is founder and CEO of Vizzia Technologies, a Santa Fe-based healthcare technology business he founded in 2005. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Nuclear Engineering

Jim E. Morel, who received a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from UNM in 1980. Morel is the director of the Center for Large Scale Scientific Simulations, as well as the director for the Center for Exascale Radiation Transport, both at Texas A&M. He earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineer in 1974 and a bachelor’s in mathematics in 1972, both from Louisiana State University.

Young Alumni Award

Joseph Costantine, who received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from UNM in 2009. He is currently an associate professor of electrical engineering at the American University of Beirut, where he has been since 2017. Costantine earned a master’s degree in computer and communication engineering from the American University of Beirut in 2006 and earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical, electronics, computer, and communication engineering from the Lebanese University in 2004.

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