Class of 1966 (PhD), Mechanical Engineering

Part 1: “They had the power of Hoover Dam in that little tin can”

John Swanson began his engineering career at Westinghouse, where he worked on the NERVA nuclear rocket program and learned computer programming—a skill he would apply to his PhD dissertation research in applied mechanics at Pitt in the late 1960s. In 1970, he founded Swanson Analysis Systems, Incorporated (ANSYS), a software company which grew from three people working out of Swanson’s farmhouse in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania to a 4,000-person company distributing software globally. In 2004, he received the Fritz Medal, the highest award in the American engineering profession. In 2007, he made a gift of $41.3 million to the University of Pittsburgh’s engineering school. Today, it is named for him: The John A. Swanson School of Engineering.

John Swanson, Part 1

Class of 1973 (B.S./M.S.), Industrial Engineering
 
“One of those serendipitous events”
 
George Whetsell was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in Miami, Florida. As an undergraduate student at Pitt, he worked closely with Professors Larry Shuman and Harvey Wolfe, developing a specialty in healthcare consulting and continuing on to graduate studies in industrial engineering and public health. Whetsell had a long career in healthcare consulting, working for major firms such as Ernst & Young and KPMG before founding the first of his own consulting firms in 1995. His firms specialized in turnarounds of financially- distressed hospitals. He retired in 2018 and lives in Windermere, Florida.

George Whetsell

Class of 1982 (B.S.), Industrial Engineering
 
“What we do is urgent”
 
Carlton Adams was born in Philadelphia in 1961. After graduating from Pitt with his degree in industrial engineering, he got a job at Philadelphia Electric Company, and, after a few years in the workforce, decided to pursue an MBA at Temple University. Throughout his career, Adams used his combined background in management and industrial engineering to optimize systems for a variety of companies, including Caterpillar, Peabody Energy, MasterCard, and Express Scripts. He entered the nonprofit sector in 2021, as Chief Operating Officer for Operation Food Search, an organization that works to reduce child hunger and family food insecurity.

Carlton Adams

Class of 2010 (M.S.) and 2014 (PhD), Civil and Environmental Engineering
Faculty, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2014 to the present
 
“I wanted to tackle the grand challenges”
 
Professor David Sanchez was born in 1984 on the island of Guam, where he grew up as part of a large, close-knit family. He left Guam to attend college at the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon, graduating with his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 2006. He went on to pursue his graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied sustainability and sustainable engineering as part of the first cohort of Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) fellows. Professor Sanchez earned both his master’s degree and PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, graduating in 2014. His research interests include energy, water and microbial fuel cells. In 2015, he joined the faculty at Pitt as an Assistant Professor and was named Assistant Director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainability.

David Sanchez

B.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering
 
“I saw the end point”

Born in New York City and raised in Pittsburgh, Andrew Toader has been involved in numerous organizations during his undergraduate studies, including serving as a corporate liaison for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a mentor in the biomedical engineer society, a student leader volunteer at Children’s Hospital and in multiple emergency medicine ski patrols. He also worked in a neuroimaging lab as a freshman and got an internship at Medtronic doing embedded systems engineering. Toader plans to attend medical school after graduation.

Andrew Toader

Kelly McPoyle

B.S. Mechanical Engineering
 
“If it’s meant to be, it will be”

Halima Morafa grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and came to Pitt to study Mechanical Engineering. She began her freshman year as a member of the Pitt EXCEL engineering program, which she now works with as a mentor. She has been a member of the National Society of Black Engineers since 2018, and also serves as the Student Co-Chair and Research Program Student Lead for the Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences (MEMS) Student Advisory Board. Morafa is also a member of Ya'baso, an African dance group at Pitt.

Halima Morafa

B.S. Civil Engineering, Certificate in Sustainability
 
“Life is pretty messy”

Isabel Lee was born in New Jersey. She grew up fascinated with Legos and building things, which eventually led to her passion for engineering. She is graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, with a minor in Spanish. She has been a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) since freshman year, holding a leadership position since sophomore year. During her time at Pitt, she was also captain of the Balsa Wood Bridge team, captain of the intramural volleyball team, and a member of the Society of Women Engineers.

Isabel Lee

B.S. Industrial Engineering 
 
“It’s a motivator, for sure”

Philip Andreoli was born in Harrisburg and grew up in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania with his twin brother, Carmen. During his time at Pitt, Andreoli has been a member of several on-campus organizations, including the Pitt Jazz Band, in which he plays guitar; the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, which he currently serves as Vice President; and the Supply Chain Management Club, which he currently serves as President. He received the award for Outstanding Senior from the Department of Industrial Engineering, as well as the Outstanding Service Award.

Philip Andreoli

B.S. Chemical Engineering
 
“A big turning point”

Born in Mason, Ohio, Natalie Steibel came to Pittsburgh to study chemical engineering in 2018, recruited as a member of the Pitt volleyball team. As an undergrad, Steibel has been involved with the student athlete advisory committee, Tau Beta Pi, and the Society of Women Engineers. She also completed a co-op at Johnson and Johnson in Philadelphia in 2021, where she worked in technical operations and later became the president of the Intern and Co-op Association.

Natalie Steibel

Class of 1989 (B.S.), Industrial Engineering
 
“It takes a village”
 
Robert (Rob) Copeland was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1967. He entered the University of Pittsburgh as an IMPACT scholar, graduating his bachelor’s degree in 1989. After working as an industrial engineer for the United States Army, he returned to Pitt, where he earned an M.B.A. and M.S. in management of information systems in 1995. Copeland has had a long career in software engineering and consulting, working in various private sector roles at Lexis-Nexis, Highmark and PNC. Throughout his career, he has stayed connected to the Pitt IMPACT program, now known as Pitt EXCEL, supporting engineering students from underrepresented groups. Copeland’s son Sam studied Civil Engineering as a Pitt EXCEL scholar, graduating in 2022.

John Swanson, Part 1

PittEngineering

Related tracks