Alumni Updates

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.

Industrial engineering and manufacturing systems engineering alum Laurence Sax ’86 ’87G was named chief operating officer for Gordon Brothers, a global advisory, restructuring, and investment firm, in April 2020, according to a press release.  

Steve Boerner is co-founder of the HeliumIQ website.