1952

Herbert W. Hoeptner, Jr. (BSAE) spent his pre-college years working on the ranch to round up, inoculate and brand cattle while also breaking wild horses. He served 3 1/2 years in the Army Air Corps and then received an AA in Math & Physics from LA City College. In 1950, he transferred to USC where he joined Phi Delta Theta fraternity and received a BS degree in mechanical engineering-aeronautical sequence. After graduating, he worked in the aerospace industry for the 16 years, during which time he was awarded three US patents. In later years, he joined the US Masters Swimming organization and during his competition in 1992, at the age of 70, he was ranked third in the world in his age group for the 1500 meter freestyle swim. Married in 1951, he and his wife enjoy spending time with their three sons and extended family.

1971

Michael Martorano (MSEE) is the Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Program Manager/Lead Test Engineer at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Pt Mugu, California.

1982

John Latas (BSISE) is a Captain on the Hawker 400XP business jet for Netjets, Inc. He lives in Cape Coral, Fla., with his wife Kristen.

1984

Stephen Monarque (BSME) worked as a nuclear engineer at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the San Francisco area from 1987 to 1994. Later he became an environmental engineer for the Marine Corps base in Barstow, CA. During this period he obtained his professional engineering license in
mechanical engineering. Since 2000, he has been working as a project engineer for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington D.C.

1990

Shannon (Davis) Clark (BSAE) and her husband Al Clark are pleased to announce the birth of twin daughters Alison Rose and Sarah Louise, on May 13, 2005. They join sister Emily Michelle.

1991

Judith Redpath (BSAE) and her husband Steven Redpath are happy to announce the birth of a son, Etienne Francis, born June 4, 2006. Etienne joins big sister Veronica and big brother Carlton.

1996

Hamad Mubarak Buamim (BSEE) was appointed as deputy director general of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI). He was previously secretary general of the Dubai Council for Economic Affairs and was senior commercial manager at HSBC Bank from 2002 to 2004. He also served as a lecturer at the College of Business and Economics at UAE University from 1999 to 2002.

1997

Captain Aaron A. Tucker (BSAE) recently graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. Students who are selected to attend this highly competitive school consider it an honor to be a graduate of the training. Graduates serve on active flying-duty status in support of important Air Force flight-test programs. During the 11-month course, Tucker received training in a variety of aircraft, including the T-38 Talon, F-15 Strike Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The training is designed to educate pilots, navigators and engineers to fully test and evaluate aerospace vehicles and their systems.

1998

Carlos Garcia (MSCE) married fellow USC graduate Jacqueline Hernandez Garcia on April 29, 1997 and they had their first child, Carlos Jose Garcia, III, on April 21, 2004. They just moved to Oceanside, CA. Carlos has been working in the construction industry since 1998 for various top ten building companies, and has been at Richmond American Homes, Inc. in San Marcos, since October 2004.

2002

Praveen Vettiyattil (MSME) moved to India to teach engineering and business at a leading business school after graduation. During his spare time, he continues with his passion for inventing technologies that make the world a better place to live. He has a patent for a power saving technology in street lighting and has also designed and prototyped a foot powered centrifugal pump that can pump water to a height of 8 meters at 20 liters per
minute. His next prototype will be able to pump water to a height of 16 meters at 20 lpm. There is no electricity, no fossil fuel, no operating cost, no sound and no pollution. It is portable and is great exercise. It is as clean, green and healthy as it can get. His marketing slogan is “Don’t just workout, pumpout.”He has inquiries from water theme parks and the Indian Army and is in the process of redesigning it to suit customer requirements.

To see a video of Praveen on his pump, visit the Viterbi School Online Classnotes.

2005

Jeongmin Ahn (PhD AE) has recently been accepted for a new tenure track faculty position as assistant professor for the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University.

Anita Sengupta (PhD AE, MSAE ’00) was selected as the recipient of the 2006 Woman Engineer of the Year Award by the ASEI — American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin, for her accomplishments in developing propulsion technologies for space missions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Swaminathan Balakrishnan (MSEE) is working as an RF Systems design engineer with Sprint Nextel in Kansas City.