Alumni Updates

Mechanical engineering alum Liz King ’79, chief revenue officer at Quantum Corporation, a technology leader in video and unstructured data solutions, was recently featured in an interview series on women leaders in the C-suite.

Mechanical engineering alum Ricardo Moreno ’08G was named vice president of manufacturing for Freshpet, a natural pet food producer, in December, according to a press release. He will oversee all of the company’s manufacturing operations including plants in Bethlehem, Penn., and Ennis, Texas.

Industrial engineering alum Holly Kortright ’89 has been named chief human resources officer of Navy Federal Credit Union, according to a press release. 

Navy Federal is the world’s largest credit union and is open to the Department of Defense and Coast Guard Active Duty, veterans, civilian and contractor personnel, and their families. 

Ski and snowboard enthusiast Nicholas Yarnall ’20 M.Eng. started a business around a problem he was passionate about—optimizing ski lift traffic. But when COVID-19 caused the industry to pull back, this recent graduate of Lehigh’s Technical Entrepreneurship master’sprogram took his crowd-management technology in a new direction, helping businesses reopen safely and operate efficiently during the pandemic. 

How did you develop an interest in entrepreneurship?

Materials science and engineering alum Ricole Johnson ’90 received a Patent Recognition Award at the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) WE20 conference in November. 

Materials science and engineering alum Edward Gorzkowski ’04 PhD has been recognized with the Richard M. Fulrath Award from the American Ceramic Society for excellence in research and development of ceramic sciences and materials, according to a press release. 

Integrated Business and Engineering alum Matt Annibale ’14 has been named director of acquisitions for New Jersey-based private equity real estate firm First National Realty Partners, according to a press release. 

Civil engineering alum Amit Varma '01 PhD is the 2021 recipient of the T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). The award recognizes an outstanding lecturer and author whose technical writing has made a groundbreaking contribution to fabricated structural steel.

As CEO of pharmaceutical company SIGA Technologies, chemical engineering alum Phillip Gomez ’91G ’93 PhD is at the forefront of health security, an industry concerned with preventing major outbreaks of diseases like COVID or SARS. 

Matt Bilsky is a Lehigh alum and an entrepreneur. Growing up, he was constantly building and inventing things, and that creator mindset helped him not only design his own PhD program, but start two companies focused on solving those “wouldn’t it be nice if” situations. Here’s the story of how a K’NEX kid became a problem-solving CEO—and what startup life sounds like in the era of COVID-19.