News: Alumni
The Fifth Annual Science and Engineering Alumni Awards Celebration
Will held in conjunction with the Spring 2013 School of Science and Engineering
Board of Advisors and Distinguished Leadership Circle Reception
Submit Your Nomination for 2013 Alumni Awards »
2013 Alumni Awards Celebration ~ April 11, 2013 ~
2012 Alumni Awards Celebration April 12, 2012
2011 Alumni Awards Celebration April 7, 2011
2010 Alumni Awards Celebration April 8, 2010
2009 Alumni Awards Celebration May 3, 2009
Emanuel Names New Top Staffers March 22, 2013
Dr. David M. Sander Elected to the National Academy of
Public Administration March 1, 2013
Dr. David M. Sander (Graduate School, Molecular and Cellular Biology Ph.D., 1997) is a City Councilman and Mayor in the City of Rancho Cordova, California, and has been elected to the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). Sander is one of the youngest members of the Academy, and one of very few elected officials inducted. He lives with his wife Maggie and son Charles in Rancho Cordova, California.
Bioscience Toothpaste Company Theodent is Revolutionizing Oral Care
February 15, 2013
Norvin Leroy Pellerin February 11, 2013
Tulane graduate, Norvin Leroy Pellerin passed away on February 11th.
Endowed Chair Pioneers New Path for Engineering at Tulane February 8, 2013
The School of Science and Engineering welcomed Douglas Chrisey as the new Cornelia and Arthur L. Jung Chair in Materials Engineering during an investiture ceremony inside Freeman Auditorium on Jan. 30.
Alumnus Introduces Chocolate-Flavored Toothpaste for Kids January 30, 2013
Children around the world have a new reason to smile thanks to the latest product from Tulane alumnus Arman Sadeghpour, president and CEO of Theodent, a New Orleans-based biotechnology company known for its cocoa-based toothpaste.
Jankowski (Civil Engineering '86) – New Sound Transit Rail Line December 2012
Parsons Brinckerhoff Bulletin – Volume 44
Tulane Engineering alumni, Jeanine Jankowski, managed design of the New Sound Transit Rail Line extension in Tacoma, Washington. Opened in October 2012, the line connects multiple communities, including Seattle and the Puget Sound area.
Chester Arthur Peyronnin Jr. December 14, 2012
Tulane graduate and professor, Chester Arthur Peyronnin, Jr. passed away on December 12th, following a distinguished engineering career.
Tulane Dedicates New Research Facility December 12, 2012
Obama Taps Dr. Norma Jean Mattei for Post November 29, 2012
SSE Event Celebrates the Impact of Endowed Gifts November 13, 2012
Each year, the Distinguished Leadership Council Reception brings together board members, donors, professors, and students to learn about SSE and the impact of their support...
Alumnus Joins Gulf Water Institute October 9, 2012
The Water Institute of the Gulf has hired veteran researcher and Tulane University alumnus Ernst Peebles as director of coastal systems ecology. Peebles has studied coastal ecology and estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean for more than 30 years.
Scott Heape and Bob Marshall: A Legacy of Teamwork Fall 2012
In the summer of 1968, freshmen recruits Bob Marshall from New Orleans and Scott Heape of Dallas walked onto the football practice field at Tulane University, becoming close friends, as they both learned to balance the rigors of football practice with a demanding geology curriculum, ultimately winning Tulane a Liberty Bowl championship in 1970 and then going on to successful careers in the energy industry.
UK's New Engineering Dean, John Walz July 18, 2012
When John Walz steps into the role of leadership at the University of Kentucky College of Engineering, manufacturers will be waiting eagerly for him to help them overcome the issue they cite as their most troublesome: the development — ASAP — of qualified, highly skilled talent.
NASA's Final Space Shuttle Mission — Where Are They Now? July 10, 2012
Ceremony Celebrates Alumni Achievements May 2, 2012
The Tulane University School of Science and Engineering celebrated the diverse achievement of alumni at an awards ceremony in the Lavin-Bernick Center on April 12.
Photos: Outstanding Alumni April 18, 2012
U.S. surgeon general Dr. Regina Benjamin was among Tulane alumni receiving awards from the Tulane Alumni Association at the annual awards celebration on Sunday (April 15) at the Audubon Tea Room in New Orleans.
High Honor for Philanthropists March 21, 2012
In honor of total giving to Tulane University of at least $1 million, 31 individuals and organizations were inducted into the Paul Tulane Society at a ceremony on March 15 in the Freeman Auditorium at the Woldenberg Art Center.
Green Wave Alumnus vs. Robots at Regional Contest March 21, 2012
Johnny Arthurs, a former Green Wave player whose basketball jersey (#31) was retired in 1993, joined the FIRST Robotics Bayou Regional on March 16 to test his skill against robots designed by high school students as part of the FIRST Robotics program supported by the Tulane School of Science and Engineering. Arthurs won.
Boh Family Enhances Tulane Engineering March 13, 2012
Anne Skaja Robinson said she was drawn to Tulane because of the opportunity to enhance her research and teaching as the Boh professor and at the new Donna and Paul Flower Hall for Research and Innovation, opening this fall.
EPA Administrator Speaks About Hurricane Katrina, Pollution Standards
March 12, 2012
EPA’s Lisa Jackson to address Tulane Commencement March 12, 2012
Lisa Jackson, the New Orleans native whose life journey has taken her from the Ninth Ward to the White House, will deliver the keynote address at the Tulane University Commencement 2012, which will take place at 9 a.m. on May 19 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
IHMC CEO Ford Joins Defense Sciences Board February 22, 2012
Photos: Crawfish Tales January 23, 2012
Henry “Hank” Bart Jr. is an expert in astacology, the study of crawfishes. Thanks to Bart, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Tulane, a group of alumni is now well informed about astacology. He was guest speaker at a gathering celebrating crawfish that was hosted by Alumni Affairs on Thursday (Jan. 19).
Photo: Scientific Framework January 11, 2012
Steel girders are in place for a new $7.4 million science building on the uptown campus, the Donna and Paul Flower Hall for Research and Innovation. The 24,000-square-foot building will house labs, study rooms and offices.
Chocolate-based Toothpaste Debuts January 6, 2012
As CEO and president of New Orleans-based company Theodent, Tulane alumnus Arman Sadeghpour and his partners debuted a chocolate-based toothpaste that is a safe alternative to fluoride at a news conference on Wednesday (Jan. 4).
New Toothpaste Derived from Cocoa Extract Heralds Sweet Potential for N.O. January 1, 2012
Photo By: Chris Granger,
The Times-Picayune
Article By Kimberly Quillen, The Times-Picayune
Is chocolate good for your teeth? Probably not, but a certain extract of cocoa might be. A team of university researchers in Louisiana made the discovery and used their findings to develop a new toothpaste that hits retail shelves around the country this week.
Joseph Sullivan, former S&WB leader, dies at 85 December 18, 2011
Photo By: Ted Jackson,
The Times-Picayune
Article By Katie Urbaszewski, The Times-Picayune
G. Joseph Sullivan, who was general superintendent of the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board for 36 years and led the effort to pump floodwaters out of the city after Katrina, died on Saturday. He was 85.
Alumnus Has a Hauntingly Ghoulish Job October 31, 2011
Upon entering a haunted house at Halloween, you may experience the hairs on your forearms rise in anticipation of the frights ahead. Those frights are the result of months of design by individuals such as Harold Bufford, a Tulane computer engineering alumnus and owner of the New Orleans–based Dead House Designs.
Photos: From Space to Homecoming October 25, 2011
Students, parents and alumni give a warm welcome to alumnus and astronaut Doug Hurley during homecoming events. He was pilot of the final mission of the space shuttle Atlantis earlier this year.
Hurley talks about his experience on the shuttle mission at the Dean’s Colloquium of Newcomb-Tulane College on Thursday (Oct. 20) as part of homecoming festivities.
Zafgen Appoints Business Development Veteran Frances K. Heller to Board of Directors October 13, 2011
Ms. Heller is currently Executive Vice President of Business Development at Exelixis and has more than 15 years experience as a corporate development and legal executive. Ms. Heller has now joined Zafgen, Inc. to help advise and lead the company's business and legal division.
BME Graduate Featured in Electrical Engineering Website October 10, 2011
Jeff Crystal '96 (on the right) was the featured engineer on today's EEWeb.
Jeff is Chief Operating Officer of Voltaic Systems, which makes products that produce and store their own power to run personal electronics devices anywhere. He's had previous careers as a Consultant at McKinsey & Co., COO at NetBeans and as a Fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Flower Hall to Blossom on Campus July 26, 2011
Construction on Flower Hall will begin in August to replace Taylor Laboratory on the uptown campus. The outdated facility, built in 1949, has become unsuitable for contemporary research.
Paul Flower Establishes Flower Hall June 17, 2011
Seven years ago, Paul Flower established his first faculty chair at the university he loves. This summer, he will begin building a brand-new facility to hold it.
Final space shuttle crew will include Tulane graduate Doug Hurley July 6, 2011
Countdown July 6, 2011
When the space shuttle Atlantis makes its final launch, set for Friday (July 8), Tulane alumnus Doug Hurley will be in the pilot’s seat. The astronaut is a 1988 graduate of the School of Engineering who attended the university on a Navy ROTC scholarship.
Last Space Shuttle Mission Pilot, a Tulane Grad, Gives Tour of Shuttle
April 29, 2011
Memory of Classmate Felled in Vietnam Inspires Scholarship
40 Years Later March 1, 2011
Throughout his career, Mike Goodrich carried with him the memory of Tulane classmate Tim White, a brilliant young civil engineer tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Vietnam. Now, more than 40 years later, Goodrich has given White’s memory and legacy a permanent place at Tulane in the form of a new scholarship in his name.
Lisa Jackson's Story: Protecting the Health and the Environment of the American People February 3, 2011
Louis Orth, Longtime Tulane Engineering Professor, Dies January 20, 2011
Louis Peter Orth Jr., who was Tulane University's first candidate for a master's degree in mechanical engineering and went on to teach there for 43 years, died Sunday at his home in Metairie. He was 78.
Mr. Orth was born in New Orleans and lived in Metairie for 52 years. He graduated from Warren Easton High School, received his bachelor's degree from Tulane in 1953 and was certified as a professional engineer in 1956. Four years later, he became Tulane's first candidate for a master's in mechanical engineering, a degree he obtained in 1960.
Mr. Orth served in the Army for three years and taught mechanical engineering at Tulane from 1951 to 1994, retiring as professor emeritus. He also was a volunteer teacher of physics and chemistry at Lutheran High School, holding class in the morning before heading to work at Tulane, said his wife, Dorothy "Dolly" Orth.
During his career, Mr. Orth held every office of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, including president in 1984 and 1985. He also was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi and the mechanical engineering honor society Pi Tau Sigma.
He was a member of First English Lutheran Church and chaired its building committee when the congregation moved from New Orleans to Metairie in 2004.
Besides his wife, Mr. Orth is survived by six children, Louis J. Orth of River Ridge, Lawrence Orth of Mandeville, Leonard Orth of New Orleans, Laurie Anderson of Mandeville, Linda Wright of Mandeville and Lonny J. Orth of Covington; 15 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held Monday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans.
Getting a Kick Out of Medical School July 6, 2010
For Tulane medical student and World Cup soccer fan Jabar Whittier, heading to South Africa this summer for an international medical rotation was a dream assignment. A rising senior medical student, Whittier is spending two months at the world-renowned Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, and attending World Cup matches in his spare time.
Alumnus Named to National Oil Spill Commission June 30, 2010
Tulane alumnus Donald “Don” Boesch has been appointed to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, the White House announced. The commission is tasked with providing recommendations on the prevention and mitigation of future offshore drilling spills.
A Mathematics Homecoming May 4, 2010
James "Mac" Hyman, who graduated from Tulane in 1972 with honors in both math and physics, has returned to join the math department faculty and is now the new holder of a distinguished chair.
Tulane Engineering Alumnus and Professor Dies February 23, 2010
Walter Blessey, a lifelong resident of the New Orleans area, died Wednesday, February 17, 2010.
Member of Tulane Engineering Hall of Fame Dies December 26, 2009
Colonel Albert John “Red” Wetzel, 91, of New Orleans, died Saturday, December 26, 2009.
EPA Leader Optimistic About Rebuilding November 19, 2009
Students at Tulane have a special role to play in this defining moment, Lisa Perez Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, told the audience in Freeman Auditorium at the John J. Witmeyer III Dean's Colloquium on Wednesday (Nov. 18).
A NSBE President Goes to Washington
At Tulane University, Lisa P. Jackson served as vice president then president of her NSBE chapter and earned her bachelor’s degree,summa cum laude, in chemical engineering. In January, she was appointed by President Barack Obama as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the first African-American to hold the position. Photo courtesy of the U.S. EPA.
Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Alumnus Orbits Earth September 9, 2009
Astronaut Doug Hurley, the first Tulane alumnus to travel in space, quietly acknowledged that fact by bringing a Tulane flag aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, which returned from the International Space Station on July 31. "Being a Tulane graduate and, as far as I know, being the only one who has gone into outer space, I figured it was worth doing," said Hurley, who piloted the mission.
Students’ Invention Aids Safe Childbirth August 18, 2009
A group of Tulane bioengineering graduates and a professor have applied for a patent for an inexpensive device that could prevent millions of infection-related neonatal deaths in developing countries.
Selling the Perks of Science APRIL 7, 2009
Louisiana first lady Supriya Jindal wants to expose more of the state’s children to math- and science-based careers. On Friday (April 3) she charged engineers at the ninth annual Tulane Engineering Forum with the task of speaking up about the perks of working in science.
A Concrete Solution DECEMBER 18, 2008
“I want to see the best for the people of the New Orleans. I want people to be educated about all of the options they have when building,” says Tulane alumnus Patrick Ibert. (Photo by George Long)
Obama Names New Orleans Native to Lead EPA DECEMBER 15, 2008
– By Associated Press
Former New Orleans resident and Tulane University graduate Lisa Jackson is nominated Environmental Protection Agency administrator by President-elect Barack Obama.
Alumnus Sails Into Beijing Olympics AUGUST 22, 2008
John Dane III has waited a lifetime for his shot at the Olympics. At 58 and four decades after setting his goal, the Tulane civil engineering graduate finally got his chance to represent the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.
Louisiana's Better Half July 1, 2008
Her husband, Bobby, may be running the state, but Supriya Jindal brings her own record of accomplishment to the governor’s mansion.
This was her third child, so Supriya Jindal (E ’93, B ’96) figured she knew what she was doing when it came to having a baby.
Download the PDF from the Tulanian »
Marshall Scholar Shows He’s Got Heart MAY 23, 2008
Jason Mellad, who graduated from Tulane with a bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology, is pursuing a career as a researcher in cardiovascular medicine in England. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)
Tulane Chemical Engineering Graduate is now Louisiana's First Lady
Supriya Jolly Jindal, who has two degrees from Tulane University, is the new first lady of Louisiana. Her husband, Bobby Jindal, was sworn in as governor of the Pelican state on Monday (Jan. 14).
Supriya Jindal, 35, received an engineering degree from Tulane in 1993 and an MBA in 1996. She has put her PhD on hold as well as a marketing job at a global chemical manufacturer to move with her husband from the New Orleans area to the governor’s mansion in Baton Rouge, La.
As a chemical engineer, she has worked at an herbicide plant run by Monsanto Co. and a job marketing chemical products for Albemarle Corp.
Her first date with Bobby Jindal was to a Carnival ball in New Orleans. They were married in 1997, less than a year later. The couple has three children: daughter Selia, 5, and sons Shaan, 3, and Slade, 17 months. Along with childproofing the governor’s mansion, Supriya Jindal has been at her husband’s side amidst the national and international media attention that has surrounded Gov. Bobby Jindal’s inauguration.
Coast Guard JANUARY 25, 2008
The “ding” of the elevator bell marks the start of another day working to save a precious little corner of the environment. Carlton Dufrechou (E ’78, ’93), executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, uses the ride up to his 20th-floor office to center his thoughts around the hundreds of details that are going into the foundation’s efforts from revitalizing the lake to developing an ambitious program combining coastal restoration and hurricane storm protection.
Download the PDF from the Tulanian »
Tulane Chemical Engineering Graduates Brother/Sister Duo in Amazing Global Race DECEMBER 6, 2007
In an “Amazing Race” episode, brother/sister team Azaria Azene (center) and Hendekea Azene (right) in Amsterdam search among 2,500 bikes for two marked ones and then ride 5 miles to receive their next clue. (Photo by Robert Voets/CBS ©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Tulane Alumnus Thomas Lee Part of Aviation History OCTOBER 29, 2007
Showing off his certificate from the first Boeing 747 flight in 1970, Tulane alumnus Thomas Lee, left, is ready to fly on the Airbus 380 with his wife, Sally, center, and daughter, Briana, right. (Photo provided by Thomas Lee)
Chocolate Toothpaste Better than Fluoride, Researcher Says MAY 16, 2007
For a healthy smile brush between meals, floss regularly and eat plenty of chocolate? According to Tulane University doctoral candidate Arman Sadeghpour an extract of cocoa powder that occurs naturally in chocolates, teas, and other products might be an effective natural alternative to fluoride in toothpaste. In fact, his research revealed that the cocoa extract was even more effective than fluoride in fighting cavities.
School of Science and Engineering, 201 Lindy Boggs Center, New Orleans, LA 70118 504-865-5764 sse@tulane.edu