Oral History Project

Class of 2019 (B.S.), Mechanical Engineering

“That number is who you are”
 
Leo Li was part of the first class of students at the University of Pittsburgh’s Sichuan University Pittsburgh Institute (SCUPI). Born and raised in Hunan Province, China, he moved to Chengdu in 2015 to attend SCUPI, before coming to Pittsburgh to finish his studies on the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus two years later. After graduation, he got a job as a product design engineer for Cooper Tire and Rubber Company in Finley, Ohio.

Leo Li

Class of 1984 (B.S.), 1987 (M.S.), Industrial Engineering
IE Faculty 1993-2008

“I was an accidental graduate student”
 
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Professor Kim Needy earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Pitt, completing the latter while she worked as an engineer for PPG Industries. She went on to work for Boeing in Kansas, where she earned her PhD in industrial engineering from Wichita State University before returning to her alma mater as a member of the faculty in 1993. She left Pitt in 2008 to become IE Department Chair at the University of Arkansas. She was later named Dean of the Graduate School and International Education, and, in 2020, she became the first Dean of the College of Engineering. Her research interests include engineering management and sustainable engineering, and she is a co-author of the textbook Fundamentals of Engineering Economic Analysis.

Kim Needy

Dean of the School of Law, 1985-1993
Interim Provost, 1993-1994
Chancellor, 1995-2014

“The process of change does not come easily”
 
Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1977, where he established a reputation as an outstanding teacher and developed research in civil litigation. He served as Dean of the law school for eight years before being named Interim Provost in 1993, Interim Chancellor shortly thereafter, and, finally, Chancellor of the university – a role in which he served from 1995 to 2014. Chancellor Nordenberg was closely involved with the Swanson School of Engineering throughout his tenure in administration and helped to oversee sweeping transformations in the School over time. Following his retirement as Chancellor, he has remained active as Chair of the Institute of Politics and Director of the Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law and Public Policy.

Mark Nordenberg

Faculty, Industrial Engineering, 1969 to 2020
Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, 1985 to 2017
 
“Is this what you want to do?”
 
Professor Larry Shuman joined the engineering faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 1969 and served for 32 years as Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. As faculty, he worked with various interdisciplinary and multi-university research projects, including developing pre-hospital care systems in rural areas throughout the U.S. He also worked extensively in the area of engineering ethics and education. Professor Shuman’s legacy includes development of the engineering co-op program; assisting with the founding of the bioengineering program; and establishing a robust international study initiative. The latter was inspired by his time as Academic Dean for the Semester at Sea program.

Larry Shuman

Faculty, Industrial Engineering, 1964 to 2006
Chair, Department of Industrial Engineering, 1985 to 2000
 
“People are much more erratic and difficult to deal with than machines”
 
Harvey Wolfe began his research on healthcare systems as a graduate student, working with nurses at Johns Hopkins University Hospital and developing some of the early nurse staffing models as a pioneer in the field. He continued his hospital work after joining the faculty at Pitt in 1964, developing the Health Service Research Group. He also served as a consultant to Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania. Professor Wolfe went on to serve as Chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering as well as President of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He later received the Institute’s Albert G. Holzman Distinguished Educator Award, as well as its highest honor, the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award recognizing his many contributions to human welfare in the field of industrial engineering.

Harvey Wolfe

Faculty, Bioengineering, 1990 to 2017
Rehabilitation Science & Technology - School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
 
“And that’s how I survived”
 
Savio L. Y. Woo, a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, is a pioneer in the field of bioengineering. Born in Shanghai, China, his family fled to Hong Kong after the revolution in 1950; he later emigrated to the U.S. to study engineering. Professor Woo began his academic career in orthopedic research at the University of California, San Diego and was subsequently recruited by the University of Pittsburgh, where he founded the world-renowned Musculoskeletal Research Center. In 1998, he was awarded the International Olympic Committee’s first Olympic Gold Medal and Prize for Sports Science. Professor Woo and his wife, Pattie, used the prize money to create the Asian-American Institute for Research and Education (ASIAM) that has awarded over $1.5 million in scholarships and fellowships for up-and-coming students and researchers.

Leo Li

PittEngineering