Congratulations to the 2009 Swanson School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni.

Steven R. Tritch Swanson School of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus
Richard Baxendell Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering	James McCaffrey Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering	Ronald Stovash Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Timothy Shack Dept. of Industrial Engineering	Luke Gill Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science	Ray Andrick Distinguished Young Alumnus

Read about the awardees.

Swanson School of Engineering researchers are helping to lead dozens of engineers and doctors from universities and industries around the world for a five-year project to develop implantable devices made from biodegradable metals.

The project stems from an Engineering Research Center (ERC) grant the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) received from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with Pitt and the University of Cincinnati. The highly competitive ERC grant supports large-scale university and industry collaborations on pioneering technologies. Five grants were awarded this year from 143 applicants and only 29 universities in the past 25 years have received ERC designation.

Read the full story.

When John C. (BSChE '86) and Melissa Staff (BSIE '87) Gargani decided to name a classroom in Benedum Hall, they did it as a way to invest in the Swanson School and the surrounding community. "I'm a Western Pennsylvania native and interested in seeing the area and economy flourish," explained John Gargani. "Pitt is a strong growth engine for the area–the University provides resources to industry by educating a qualified workforce, as well as access to labs and research collaborations. We invested to be a part of this catalyst for improvement."

Gargani also noted that he wanted to give back to the University and help up-and-coming engineers. "The doors to many opportunities for my wife and me were opened because of our own Pitt educations, so we invested in the Benedum Hall Transformation Plan to help strengthen engineering education for others."

Learn more about the Garganis, or view the floor plan of the John C. and Melissa Staff Gargani classroom.

One year ago, construction began outside Benedum Hall, preparing O'Hara Street and Benedum Plaza for the new Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) building. Today, construction of the MCSI building nears completion and considerable progress has been made on the Benedum auditoriums.

Visit the award-winning Benedum Hall Transformation Web site to view construction plans, photography, and details about the latest renovations.

Meet Alissa Fry (BSIE '10), student, volunteer, ambassador, and vice president. She began carving out these roles for herself during her first days on campus, when she participated in the Pitt EXCEL Summer Education Academy (SEA) to sharpen her time management and study skills. She found the program to be so helpful that she wanted to give back to the Swanson School.

Learn about Alissa Fry's involvement in the school.