2025 Alumni Award Recipients

Receiving this year’s Claud R. Erickson Distinguished Alumni Award was David A. Pahl, vice president and head of Investor Relations at Texas Instruments (TI), where he oversees communications with TI’s investor community. He is a 1986 electrical engineering graduate.

The Erickson Award is the highest alumni honor presented by the college. It recognizes professional accomplishment, volunteer service, and distinguished service to the college and the engineering profession.

He has more than 38 years of TI experience. He began his career as an application engineer in Dallas, Texas, where he worked on MCU hardware design, ASIC design and developed software. He also taught classes for digital signal processing. He then worked in sales and sales management in Silicon Valley for eight years. His clients included a long list of Silicon Valley startups as well as some of the company’s largest customers.

He returned to Dallas as a marketing manager and then moved to Houston as a product development manager. There he managed the development of more than a dozen embedded processors, with teams based in Houston, Dallas, Tokyo and Bangalore. Later, he served as business manager of several product lines in what is now TI’s Embedded Processing segment.

Along with his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MSU, he holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

He served as a committed member of the College of Engineering Alumni Board, including in the role as co-chair. He currently serves on the Dallas Symphony Executive Board of Directors. He has been named on the All-America Executive Team by Institutional Investor Magazine multiple times during his tenure.

He has been married to his wife Michele, a 1986 graduate of the MSU College of Engineering, for more than 40 years. He has three children and three grandchildren, all living in Dallas, Texas.

Michael Rose is the co-founder of ClubUp, a cloud-based software solution designed for golf courses, resorts, and country clubs. He launched the company with his brother Matthew. In 2022, ClubUp was acquired by Troon, a TPG portfolio company.

ClubUp specializes in caddie management and staff scheduling technology. It is now operational at over 280 locations worldwide, including prestigious venues such as St. Andrews, Oakland Hills Country Club, and Bandon Dunes. Before co-founding ClubUp, he built a strong foundation in finance and operations at Vallourec Star, a leading seamless pipe supplier in Youngstown, Ohio. Over the course of his tenure, he held roles of increasing responsibility, ultimately serving as general manager of operations before departing in 2019.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in 2001 in applied engineering sciences (formerly engineering arts). During his time at MSU, he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and participated in General Motors’ Cooperative Education program.

Following graduation, he worked at GM’s Fort Wayne Assembly plant and later at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. While at GM, he completed a master’s degree in operations management from Kettering University.

Pursuing further education, he earned an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He then rejoined GM in 2008, working in the corporate finance staff at the New York Treasurer’s Office, where he gained valuable experience working on the GM restructuring and subsequent IPO.

Beyond his professional success, he values family and community. He met his wife, Kerry, in fifth grade at Leonard Elementary in Troy, Michigan, and they have been married for 22 years. They reside in Hudson, Ohio, with their two daughters, Waverly and Marion, who are actively involved in sports and other activities. An avid golfer and traveler, he enjoys spending time on the course with his wife and supporting his daughters’ endeavors.

Truman C. Surbrook, P.E., master electrician, began his career at MSU in 1965 as an electrical and energy specialist for MSU Extension working with agricultural producers and 4-H youth across Michigan. He produced a syndicated public service radio program, Energy for Living, carried by over 60 radio stations across rural Michigan.

In 1970, the rural areas of Michigan needed more electrical wiring specialists so he was asked to build and offer electrical training at MSU. Working through the Institute of Agricultural Technology, the Electrical Technology Apprenticeship Program accepted its first students in the fall of 1970 and graduated its first certificate class in 1972. That innovative program continues today with on-campus and on-line training to support remote areas of Michigan.

In the late 1970s, a national issue developed where farm livestock were being affected by ground electrical currents. Surbrook conducted research to determine sources of the currents and develop detection techniques and solutions. He also conducted training for personnel across the Midwest to understand neutral-to-earth voltage and establish the procedures needed to mitigate the problems.

More recently and in addition to his teaching responsibilities, he and another faculty member developed a nationally certified certificate program to train rural area business and farm energy audit and energy assessment personnel. Over the years he has developed specific publications called Tech Notes that are used as text materials for teaching. He also developed a web site to provide public access to publications and other training materials.

He has worked with electric utilities that supply power to all rural areas of Michigan. In 1993, he organized the Michigan Agricultural Energy Council that brings electric utility representatives and agricultural organizations together to communicate and solve problems.

While working full-time during the early years of his career, he earned two advanced degrees, obtained his P.E. license, and became licensed as a master electrician. He was won multiple teaching awards at MSU and remains active as a teacher and advocate for electrical and energy management in rural Michigan.

He and his late wife Mary have one son, and five grandchildren.

Martin Toomajian, P.E., has more than 35 years of experience in research and development, systems commercialization, large and small business management, and business strategy consulting.  

He is the founder and CEO of MagPlasma, Inc., in Brighton, Michigan. At MagPlasma, he leads the development of plasma-based sterilization and air purification technologies, as well as using plasmas to improve chemical and material processing.

His engineering expertise includes adaptation of commercial systems for national defense use and transition of novel systems to commercialization. He also provides strategy and economic development support to small businesses and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. This support includes developing new companies and business opportunities with a focus on energy resilience and alternative energy project development.

Previous roles include chief strategy and growth officer at Ventech Solutions; advising the executive vice president of administrative services at Michigan State University; and CEO of a specialty chemical manufacturing company.

He spent almost two decades at Battelle in Columbus, Ohio, serving in various leadership roles, including president of Energy, Health, & Environment, vice president and general manager of National Security Operations, and president of Energy, Environment, and Material Sciences. He began his career as an instructor in the Department of Chemistry at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

He is a licensed professional engineer (chemical engineering) and inventor with five issued patents and three pending. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1985 from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in chemical engineering in 1991 from MSU. In 2008-2009, he attended the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy to obtain a master’s degree in national resource strategy.

He is a volunteer advisor to the MSU Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and spent eight dedicated years as an instrumental member on the College of Engineering Alumni Board.

Bradley C. Wieferich, P.E., was appointed director of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) on May 30, 2023, by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

He has served the department for nearly 30 years in several capacities throughout the state. His management roles have included the transportation service centers in Mount Pleasant and Marshall; engineer of design; director of the Bureau of Development; and chief operations officer and chief engineer.

Throughout his time at the department, he has been a champion of innovation, advocating for innovative contracting methods, building for resiliency, and putting an emphasis on context sensitive solutions and safety in design.

He is a leader at MDOT and nationally. He is a member of the board of directors for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He also represents MDOT on Michigan’s Council on Future Mobility and Electrification, the Intelligent Transportation Society of Michigan board of directors, the Mackinac Bridge Authority, and MSU’s Mobility Advisory Council.

Prior to joining MDOT, he was employed for three years as a field engineer by a consulting firm in the greater Chicago area.

He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from MSU in 1992.  

He and his wife, Michelle, live in DeWitt, and have three children, Nick, who graduated from MSU in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Jake, a current MSU student, and their youngest son, Luke.

Jaya Ramanathan created a first in the MSU College of Engineering. She was the first female to graduate with a Ph.D. in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Since her graduation, she has held significant leadership and technically innovative roles within IBM and Red Hat, while being a dedicated mentor to many in STEM.

As a distinguished engineer at IBM and Red Hat, she held chief architect roles for various security related technologies, cloud security, and governance. She has served as a panelist in leading industry conferences and analyst conversations. She also led the creation of industry best practices in her area of expertise.

Since retiring, she has been writing about her nature experiences for various non-profit organizations. Her two children are now pursuing their own STEM careers.

She received a master’s degree in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, and a Ph.D. from MSU in 1992.

Beyond her professional and academic achievements, she has remained deeply committed to giving back to the community. She actively volunteers her time to support STEM education and an innovative future in technology.

William (Bill) G. Scott grew up on air bases around the world, which fueled his enthusiasm for aviation and travel. While at MSU he learned to fly with the Winged Spartans Flying Club, earning his private and commercial pilot licenses and an instrument rating. He also held basic, advanced, and instrument ground instructor certificates and taught ground school classes for new Winged Spartan members.

He graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1968. Following graduation, he began his career with Sperry Flight Systems in Phoenix, Arizona, where he developed and programmed automatic test equipment for avionics equipment. His work included the autopilot system for the Boeing 747.

He led a team of programmers to build a library of test programs for a variety of equipment and traveled internationally to develop and install the test equipment at various airline maintenance facilities. His career then took him to Litton Guidance and Control Systems in Woodland Hills, California, where he continued to develop automated test equipment for military inertial guidance systems for Navy aircraft and missiles, including the F-14 fighter jet and the Tomahawk cruise missile.

After 10 years in the aerospace industry, he moved to the material handling industry. He spent 27 years at Eaton-Kenway and HK Systems in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a software engineer developing automated warehouse systems. Initially focused on real time control of equipment including storage and retrieval machines, conveyor systems, and automatic guided vehicles, he expanded his repertoire to include user interface, database, and network software.

He traveled extensively throughout the United States to install, upgrade, and expand these systems for customers, such as Frito-Lay, Keebler, Kimberly-Clark, Abbott Laboratories, General Motors and many others.

He resides in Irvine, California, where he participates in MSU Orange County Alumni activities. He is a former member of the MSU College of Engineering Alumni Board. His volunteer activities include serving weekly meals at a homeless shelter. He is happily retired and enjoys frequent domestic and international travel, especially cruises.

Brad Kruchten, owner of Kruchten Properties in Pittsford, N.Y., retired from Eastman Kodak in April 2018 after a distinguished 36-year career.

He held multiple senior leadership roles, including president of the Print Systems Division, which served graphic arts and commercial print customers. He was also president of Graphics, Entertainment and Commercial Films business segment and president of the Film, Photofinishing & Entertainment Group.

He was elected senior vice president in 2009 and corporate vice president in 2002, overseeing key business units and spearheading initiatives including Kodak's acquisition of Bell & Howell's Imaging division.

Prior to Kodak, he worked as a project engineer at Inland Steel and as a tool designer for General Motors Corp.

He grew up in Flint Township and always had an interest in math and science. Among his MSU student stories, he played pick-up basketball with Spartan basketball legend Magic Johnson.

He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from MSU in 1982 and a master’s degree in statistics and quality management from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1987. Additionally, he completed the executive management development program at Penn State University.

He and his wife, Dolores, have three grown children and live in Pittsford, N.Y.

Jennifer Krengielski has been blessed with many roles throughout her life: daughter, sister, wife to a hardworking farmer, mother of three amazing children, and teacher to many. While each role has been rewarding in unique ways, without a doubt the most challenging role was teacher.

“I was inspired to become a teacher because I always had a love for children and their curiosity. My fascination with the beauty of nature and my desire to understand how our world worked led me to love science,” she said.

She began teaching elementary students in Pinconning, Michigan, in 1991. She taught grades 3-6 for 10 years and while she enjoyed teaching all subjects, she especially liked science. In 2001, she began teaching middle school science, grades 6-8.

“The years 2001-2021 were some of the most difficult, but most fun. Middle school definitely had its challenges, but the positives, such as a note from a student saying, ‘Science is my favorite subject!’ and now this Green Apple Award, far outweighed the negatives.”

As a teacher, her main goal was to get her students to wonder about things and really think. She often referred to a quote from Claude Levi-Strauss: “’The scientific mind does not so much provide the right answers as ask the right questions.’ I’m proud to say that in my classroom you couldn’t just listen and reiterate, you had to think,” she added.

Today, she is retired and cherishes her memories as a teacher.

“I am thankful that I inspired some amazing students, like Chance, my nominating student, who continues to inspire others today.”

Jennifer Krengielski was nominated for the 2025 Green Apple Teaching Award by Chance Wilczynski, a December 2024 graduate in Applied Engineering Sciences.