Class Notes

Deborah M. Tharnish has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America 2009. She is a senior shareholder at Davis Brown Law Firm in Des Moines, Iowa, with a general practice in, but not limited to, Business Litigation and Employment Law. Best Lawyers is the oldest peer-review publication in the legal profession. The independent legal rankings are the culmination of years of diligent research and are reviewed annually.

Erin Penne Receives 2008 Distinguished New Engineer Award from the Society of Women Engineers Penne recognized at WE08, the Society of Women Engineers national conference. Chicago, IL November 10, 2008 – The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is pleased to announce Erin Penne as a recipient of the 2008 SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award for contributions to aerospace engineering and service to the Society of Women Engineers; for leadership and dedication on the local, regional, and national levels; and commitment to the community. “Erin Penne is an intelligent and talented engineer, who has made impressive contributions to SWE on the regional and national levels. As a wife, mother, engineer, SWE officer and community volunteer, she is a wonderful example of an engineer who has achieved success and balance,” said Virginia Connolly, SWE President. Penne is a principal systems engineer for General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. She is working as a technical subcontracts lead for the repair activities for Advanced Mission Computer on the F/A-18 and the AV-8B Aircraft. In 2006, she was selected for a job rotation in manufacturing as a project engineer. In this role she operated as the manufacturing focal point for all repair activities for the Advanced Mission Computer on the F/A-18 and AV-8B aircraft. She coordinated the manufacturing projects from start to finish. Under her leadership, the team improved material handling, shortened inspection times, eliminated errors in the data management system and reduced cycle time for repairs. “One characteristic that describes Erin is devotion: devotion to our company, devotion to our customers, and devotion to our community,” said Lou Von Thaer, president of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. “She has excelled in a number of different roles at General Dynamics, and we've come to expect that. But it's what she brings to the office beyond her engineering knowledge, skills and abilities that makes her truly unique. Erin helps coordinate her unit’s United Way It's her excellence in engineering and her tireless devotion that make Erin such a deserving recipient of the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award. campaign, Engineer's Week activities, Adopt-a-Family and Cancer Walk teams in her community. As an active SWE member, Penne helped charter the SWE East Central Iowa Section and served as their vice president and section representative among other positions. She is also involved on the region and national levels. Penne is currently on the Membership Committee and serves as the region membership coordinator and interim chair-elect. She is also the region membership coordinator. Penne holds a M.S. in systems engineering and a B.S. in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University. The Distinguished New Engineer Award honors women engineers who are actively engaged in engineering, demonstrate outstanding technical performance, and have no more than 10 years of cumulative engineering experience. The Distinguished New Engineer Award recipients were recognized Nov. 8 at WE08, the Society of Women Engineers national conference. WE08 was held at the Baltimore Convention Center, Nov. 6-8, in Baltimore, Md. The more than 5,000 attendees included professionals from every discipline of the engineering profession and engineering students and educators. The WE09 conference is scheduled for Oct. 15-17, 2009 in Long Beach, Calif. About SWE The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and receive the recognition and credit for their life-changing contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders. For more information about the Society please visit www.swe.org or call (312) 596-5223.

Paula Rose was born in April 2008. She joins her sister Katie, now 4 yrs old, as part of the family.

Henrietta Van Maanen is one of 31 former National 4-H fellows who commemorated the 77th Anniversary of the National Payne/4-H Fellowship program at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Washington, DC, in October '08 The fellowship, initiated in 1931, prepared young professional Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service staff for leadership in the 4-H Youth Development Program. The one-year fellowship combined post-baccalaureate study with an informal study of the federal government and related organizations in Washington, DC. Henrietta was Extension Home Economist in Hardin County, Iowa when she was awarded the fellowship. After the fellowship, she served as Extension Home Economist in Linn County, Iowa; District Program Leader in Prosser, Wash.; Area Extension Director in Fort Dodge, Iowa; and Area Extension Director in Reno, Nev., prior to retiring in 1991. After retirement Henrietta volunteered with Volunteers in Mission, a ministry of the Presbyterian Church, alternating between two locations from 1991 to 2007: Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska and Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C. She now lives in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Roy E. Hougen is one of 31 former National 4-H fellows who commemorated the 77th Anniversary of the National Payne/4-H Fellowship program at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Washington, DC, last October. The fellowship, initiated in 1931, prepared young professional Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service staff for leadership in the 4-H Youth Development Program. The one-year fellowship combined post-baccalaureate study with an informal study of the federal government and related organizations in Washington, DC. Roy was a recipient of the fellowship in 1967, when he was a District Leader of Iowa 4-H and Youth Programs. After the fellowship, Roy served as Assistant State Leader for 4-H and Youth Programs and later as an Iowa State Extension 4-H Youth Development Specialist for volunteer development and youth community development programs until his retirement in 1992. Roy and his wife serve as coordinators of a food pantry in Ames, Iowa, where they reside.

Florence (Pavlik) Rush enjoys an active retirement in St. Petersburg, Fla. She was elected precinct committee woman last fall, and enjoys being active in yoga, Pilates, sewing group, and spending time with her children, twenty-nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Alliant Energy is pleased to announce the following promotion to the position of Principal Engineer: Providing expertise in boiler performance, cycle isolation and leakage, boiler combustion processes and turbine performance and diagnostics, Wes Kaufman moves into the position of Principal Thermal Performance Engineer. With 23 years of service to the company, Wes has held positions including Station Nuclear Engineer and Plant Performance Engineer at DAEC, Results Engineer, Predictive/Preventative Maintenance Engineer, Hydroelectric Supervisor-IA, and Senior Thermal Performance Engineer. Wes is a registered professional engineer and a LSS Green Belt. He has been an active contributor and leader in the industry, presenting several papers to national and international delegates at EPRI conferences. Being the lead in the tuning of new low NOx burners to meet emissions permits, he delivers proactive customer service and is a strong leader, mentor and role model for the generation engineering department.

Jesse E. Shively received one of three 2008 Lifetime Career Awards in the Purdue University Animal Sciences Distinguished Alumni program on November 21, 2008.

Monica Schwartzman* (’07 comm. studies) and fellow ISU sweetheart Daniel Kenney were married October 4, 2008, and their pride in ISU was reflected in the wedding and reception, including toasting with ISU beer mugs. Monica predicts that “our children’s first words will be the fight song because we live, breathe, and die ISU pride.” Monica works as an account executive at a public relations firm, and Dan works as an athletic performance coach. They live in Carlsbad, Calif.

Alison Monaghan* (’05 journ.) was promoted to assistant account executive at Kirvin Doak Communications, Las Vegas’ premier public relations agency. She works with a variety of clients, including Nevada Cancer Institute and MGM Grand Nightlife. Alison lives in Las Vegas, Nev.

A number of Iowa State alumni were present at the July 12, 2008, wedding of Anne Stewart (’04 elem. ed.) and David Cooke* (’04 mgmt. info. sys.) in Ames. Among them were Anne’s grandfather, Leonard Neidig** (’46 ag. engr.). Anne works as a third grade teacher while David is employed by his family’s business. The couple resides in Omaha, Neb.

Lee Edgar* (’02 civil engr.) was married to Marybeth Walley on April 5, 2008, in Alexandria, Va,, and they reside in Falls Church, Va. Lee earned a Master’s in Public Administration from The George Washington University and is a civil engineer for Queen Anne’s County , Maryland. Marybeth is a graduate of Simmons College and is an executive recruiter for the law firm of Williams and Connolly in Washington, DC.

Srikanth Padmanabhan** (’91 PhD mech. engr.) has been named Vice President and general manager of Cummins Emission Solutions, a division of Cummins, Inc. with whom he has been employed since 1991. He, his wife Usha, and daughter Megna have moved back to Columbus, Ind. after spending the past eight years in Tennessee, Mexico, and England.

Lawrence (Lorry) Massa* (’91 MS business) assumed the position of president of the Minnesota Hospital Association in October, 2008. MHA is a trade association representing 145 hospitals and health systems. Most recently, Lorry was CEO at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar, Minn., and he previously served as South Dakota Secretary of Health. He lives in Lake Lillian, Minn.

Lorna Lingren Scott** (’88 ag. studies), her husband Rob, and son Bryce adopted a sibling group of six out of Iowa’s foster care system on May 9, 2008. Joining Bryce, 10, are Aaliyah, 10; Vanessa, 9; Ebony, 7; Viatris, 6; Kaleb, 4; and Nate, 3. Lorna farms and substitute teaches, and Rob manages a community-shareholder-owned grocery store in Dayton, Iowa. The family resides at Pilot Mound, Iowa.

Troy Strader** (’86 mgmt., ’91 MS bus. admin.) has been promoted to Professor of Information Systems in the College of Business and Public Administration at Drake University. He resides in Ames, Iowa.

Cynthia J. “C.J.” Jackson** (’86 speech comm.) is the Baylor Business Marketing Director. The Hankamer School of Business’ magazine, Baylor Business Review captured a prestigious Gold Quill Award from the International association of Business Communicators. From more than 1000 entrants in 30 countries, just 116 Gold Quills were awarded. In addition, Baylor Business Review won a Public Relations of America National Award and an international award from the International Academy of the Visual Arts. Published twice a year, the magazine reaches nearly 39,000 subscribers, alumni and friends of Baylor’s business school. C. J. lives in Hewitt, Tex.

Choy Leow** (’85 architec., ’88 MAR) is Director of Architecture for Allina Hospitals and Clinics in Minnesota. The Public Policy and Government Affairs division of Allina has selected him as one of 21 members of the inaugural 2008-2009 Public Policy and Government Affairs Institute, which is a nine-month course developed to inspire and facilitate deeper involvement in public policy among Allina leaders and key stakeholders. Choy makes his home in Apple Valley, Minn.

James Cushing* (’83 management) has been named Executive Director – Performance Improvement for Iowa Health System, Iowa Health Home Care. He resides in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Stan Thompson** (’82 pol. sci.) has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America 2007. Best Lawyers is the oldest peer-review publication in the legal profession. Stan resides in Clive, Iowa and is a shareholder of the Davis Brown Law Firm in Des Moines, practicing in the Business Division.

Bruce Haylock** (’81 comp. sci.) and Cathy Haylock** welcomed a daughter, Hope Haylock, born August 6, 2008. The family resides in Dubuque, Iowa.

Thomas Cropper** (’81 engr. op.) has been named rear admiral and deputy commander of U.S. forces in Manama, Bahrain. He is also a flag officer, of which there are fewer than 250 in the Navy. While at Iowa State, he was in the NROTC program. Thomas’ permanent residence is in Fairfax, Va. with his wife, Heather (Brown) Cropper** (’81 comm. nutrition).

Sheryl Monkelien** (’80 music) is Associate Professor and Director of Music Education at Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, where she directs the Mansfield University Vocal Jazz Ensemble, the Mansfieldians. The Mansfieldians were named World Champions of the Vocal Jazz A Capella Category at the 2008 World Choir Games in Graz, Austria, which featured 441 choirs from 93 countries. The Mansfieldians and another choir from Mansfield University were the only two American choirs to be named champions. Sheryl resides in Wellsboro, Pa.

John McDonnell** (’79 metal. engr.) has been promoted to Senior Engineering Specialist in Engine Materials Technology for Fuel Systems at Caterpillar’s Technical and Solutions Division. He lives in DeWitt, Iowa, and is proud to report that two sons, Josh and Jason, currently attend Iowa State.

Johanna Baedke** (’77 phys. ed.) reported that her house was destroyed by the EF5 tornado which hit Parkersburg, Iowa on May 25, 2008. She lost nearly everything and plans to rebuild on the same location. She appreciates all of the volunteers who assisted the Parkersburg community after the tornado.