The Applied Engineering Sciences (AES) Alumni Advisory Board facilitates the exchange of ideas between Board members and the faculty and students of the Applied Engineering Sciences program. The board focuses on the following objectives to continuously improve the AES program and the experience for students.
Alumni Advisory Board Objectives
- Improve quality of the educational experience of AES students
- Improve employment opportunities of AES students
- Improve program camaraderie and identity for AES students and alumni
- Create undergraduate research grant opportunities for AES students
- Expand student scholarship offerings
- Expand corporate sponsorship of AES design day and other AES projects.
The Board consists of graduates of the major, as well as several engineering faculty and administrators who are actively involved with the program. The Board advises the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and the Program Director on specific matters identified by the Board Chair or suggested by Board Members. These include curriculum matters, mentorship to current students, development/partnership activities with program alumni, assistance with corporate relations and program promotion, and providing another voice in the development of policy recommendations.
Meet our board
- Holly D. Aikens - haikens@ford.com, Aug - 2025
- Morgan Bujold - mbujold@steelcase.com, Aug-2025
- Hardik Dalal - dalalhar@gmail.com, Aug - 2024
- Madison Farrell - madisonrpfarrell@gmail.com, Aug-2026
- Nathan Harrison - nathanharrison14@gmail.com, Aug-2025
- Donnie Haye - dhaye@aol.com, Aug-2024
- Nicholas Kilpatrick - nicholas.kilpatrick@gmail.com, Aug-2026
- Charles Kosmas - chuck.kosmas@stellantis.com, Aug-2026
- Daniel McNulty - dan.mcnulty@blackbirchcapital.io, Aug-2024
- Anthony Messina - Messinas1451@gmail.com, Aug-2025
- Kyle Newman - KyleNewmanContact@gmail.com, Aug-2026
- Keith Preston - presto40@gmail.com, Aug-2026
- Eric Thomas - eric.thomas8989@gmail.com, Aug-2025
- Alex Warner - amwarner5@gmail.com, Aug-2024
- Alec Wilhoite - awilhoi1@ford.com, Aug-2024
Alumni Awards
Claud R. Erickson Distinguished Alumni Award
2021
Michael W. Lamach Sr.
Receiving this year’s Claud R. Erickson Distinguished Alumni Award was Michael W. Lamach Sr., retired Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer at Trane Technologies and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Ingersoll Rand. The Erickson Award is the highest honor presented to an alumnus by the college. It recognizes professional accomplishment, volunteer service, and distinguished service to the college and the engineering profession.
Lamach led Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator, for 12 years. As CEO, he transformed Trane Technologies from a diversified industrial manufacturing company, formerly Ingersoll Rand, to an industry-leading climate company with consistent top tier financial and ESG performance. He led the creation of the company’s purpose-driven sustainability strategy, its proprietary business operating system, and its widely recognized culture of engagement and inclusion.
He was named one of Harvard Business Review’s top performing CEOs and listed by Forbes among America’s 100 Most Innovative Leaders. He is active in the Charlotte, N.C., community and co-chairs the Charlotte Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative.
As part of the Erickson Award honor, Lamach presented the keynote address to 825 engineering undergraduates during the 2022 Spring Commencement in the Breslin Center on Sunday, May 8.
Lamach received a bachelor’s degree from MSU in 1985 in applied engineering sciences.
2013
Philip L. Fioravante
B.S. ’84, Engineering Arts / Applied Engineering Sciences
Philip L. Fioravante, Ph.D., is currently president, North America – Commercial, Global Quality,Procurement, and Program Management, with the Woodbridge Group, a $1.4 billion privately held Canadian company with 63 global facilities in 19 countries with a focus on developing and manufacturing urethane foam products for a wide range of end markets including transportation, healthcare,consumer products, and construction/ building.
Distinguished Alumni Award
Recipients of the Applied Engineering Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award, established in 2004, must have a distinguished career, evidenced by significant accomplishments; possess high standards of integrity that positively reflect on the prestige of the college and the university; be recognized for leadership in the community; and demonstrate support of the Applied Engineering Sciences program, the College of Engineering, and/or MSU
2022
Jason Napolitano
Jason Napolitano has been with Altair Engineering for nearly 27 years in various positions in management, sales, and technical support. He started as a software support engineer in 1995, the same year he graduated from the MSU with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Arts (applied engineering sciences). In 1997, he moved into the Altair sales organization as an account manager and in 2001, he took on a sales management role. Today he is responsible for overseeing sales, support, and operations for Altair’s business throughout the Americas as senior vice president – Americas. Napolitano and his wife, Janelle, have three sons, Nicholas, Andrew, and Jacob, and live in Rochester, Michigan.
2021
Holly D. Aikens
B.S. '93, Applied Engineering Sciences
Holly D. Aikens came to MSU as a student in the Fall of 1989 and in many ways - she has never left. While on campus, she lived in Bailey and South Wonders halls and became a member of the Applied Engineering Sciences Society and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, where she served as treasurer and helped manage household expenses of around $500,000 annually. She graduated with an Applied Engineering Sciences degree in 1993 and has been supporting and/or recruiting Spartan Engineers for jobs in industry ever since. First, she was a recruiter at Detroit Diesel (1994-1999) and since 2000, she has been a recruiter for Ford Motor Company Purchasing. She particularly focuses on AES students in the supply chain cognate.
2020
Joseph Podulka
B.S. '94, Applied Engineering Sciences
Joseph Podulka has built a career around his broad finance and analytic experience from strategic, financial, and operational roles – in the United States and abroad. He has created global teams and functions from the ground up, consolidated operations and refocused failing businesses, acquired companies, and provided strategic insight to both large and small organizations.
2019
David Foulke
B.S. '88, Applied Engineering Sciences
David Foulke is the Health, Environmental and Safety (HES) and Training manager for Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) in Findlay, Ohio. Marathon is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company.
2018
Mitzi Montoya
B.S. '90, Applied Engineering Sciences
Mitzi M. Montoya became the Sara Hart Kimball Dean of the College of Business at Oregon State University in August 2015. In this role, she is responsible for providing leadership of the college, which is focused on innovation and entrepreneurship and serves more than 5,800 students, including 3,900 business majors and pre-majors, nearly 850 business and entrepreneurship minors, 250 graduate students, and more than 800 design students.
2017
Renee Collins
B.S. '81, Applied Engineering Sciences
Renee Collins began her career in 1981 with Johnson Controls, Inc. Since her start she has worked in the Saginaw MI, Cleveland OH, and Detroit MI locations. Renee has held many positions from sales, sales management and region general management within the Building Efficiency group. In her current role, she develops service strategies to achieve desired business outcomes for JCI customers.
2016
Anthony Messina
B.S. '87, Engineering Arts/ Applied Engineering Sciences
Anthony A. Messina has held executive leadership positions in manufacturing, product engineering, sales, and mergers/ acquisitions, and has been responsible for profit and loss, top line growth, operational effectiveness, product development, and commercial management. He is currently vice president of Global Engineering for Borg Warner, a leading supplier of automotive powertrain technologies.
2015
Maura Frances McDonald
B.S. ’87, Engineering Arts/Applied Engineering Sciences
Maura Frances McDonald is a supply chain professional with expertise in compliance, distribution, planning,customer service improvement, and purchasing.
2014
Eric Seger
CFP, MBA B.S. ’94, Engineering Arts/Applied Engineering Sciences
Eric Seger is a principal at Integrated Capital Management. Prior to working in the financial and investment arenas, Eric worked his way up in the engineering field. He started a technical support engineer, was quickly promoted to sales engineer, and ultimately ascended to the role of program manager.
2013
Randy Shacka
B.S. ’04, Applied Engineering Sciences
Randy Shacka is president of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK INTERNATIONAL, Inc., a franchised moving company based in Lansing, Michigan, which generated more than $260 million in 2012.
2012
Michael W. Lamach, Sr.
B.S. ’85, Engineering Arts / Applied Engineering Sciences
Michael W. Lamach is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Ingersoll Rand, a $14 billion global diversified industrial company that advances the quality of life in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable, and efficient environments.
2011
Daniel McNulty
B.S. ‘82, Engineering Arts / Applied Engineering Sciences
Daniel McNulty is president of Rockwood Real Estate Advisors, a division of CW Financial Services (CW). A subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group, CW is a commercial real estate finance and investment management company focused on multifamily and healthcare lending, primary servicing, special servicing, investment management, and research and consulting services.
2010
Donnie D. Haye
B.S. ’81, Engineering Arts / Applied Engineering Sciences
Ms. Donnie D. Haye began her career with IBM as a product manager in Princeton, New Jersey. She held various marketing research positions before becoming a financial analyst for the high end server and storage businesses of IBM’s Asia Pacific Group,headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
2009
Les L. Leone
B.A. ‘68, Political Science, Public Administration
M.A. ‘70, College Student Personnel Administration
Ph.D. ‘74, Higher EducationAdministration
Les L. Leone held almost every student service position in the College of Engineering over a 37-year span, bringing innovation and excellence to each.Les assisted more than 10,000 Spartan Engineers in the pursuit of their degrees and careers, mentored many staff members, and became known as a “walking encyclopedia of engineering academic history and university policies.”
2008
Monte L. Falcoff
B.S. ’86,Engineering Arts / Applied Engineering Sciences Monte Falcoff’s illustrious career in engineering and law, along with his leadership and service to the College of Engineering, are the basis for his selection for the AES Distinguished Alumni Award. A principal and registered patent attorney at Harness Dickey and Pierce, PLC in Troy, Michigan.
2007
Steven J. Trecha
B.S. ’80, Engineering Arts / Applied Engineering Sciences Steven J. Trecha is president and CEO of Integrated Strategies, Inc., a strategic sourcing, supply chain, and logistics consulting firm. Co-founded by Steve in 1990, the firm is the only operations consultancy that holds the state of Michigan’s Quality Leadership Award.
2006
Daniel Brouse
B.S. ’84, Engineering Arts/Applied Engineering Science. Daniel Brouse grew up in Haslett, Michigan, and graduated with honors from Michigan State University in 1984 with a B.S. in engineering arts/applied engineering sciences. He earned his way through school as an orthopedic technician at Lansing General Hospital and received academic merit scholarships to assist with tuition.
2005
Jane E. Sydlowski
B.S. ’86, Engineering Arts / Applied Engineering Sciences Jane Sydlowski has more than eighteen years’ experience in the telecommunications industry. She began as an engineer in the trunk engineering switched access department at Ameritech (formerly Michigan Bell) in Southfield, Michigan.
2004
Philip L. Fioravante
B.S. ’84, Engineering Arts / Applied Engineering Sciences Philip L. Fioravante, Ph.D., is currently president, North America – Commercial, Global Quality, Procurement, and Program Management, with the Woodbridge Group, a $1.4 billion privately held Canadian company with 63 global facilities in 19 countries with a focus on developing and manufacturing urethane foam products for a wide range of end markets including transportation, healthcare, consumer products, and construction/ building.