Alumni

Prem Jain received his B.S. from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in 1973 and his M.S. from UC Davis in 1977, both in electrical and computer engineering.

Connie Chang-Hasnain received her B.S. from UC Davis in 1982 and her M.S. and Ph.D from UC Berkeley in 1984 and 1987, respectively, all in electrical engineering. Since 2014, she has been the associate dean for strategic alliances at the UC Berkeley College of Engineering.

Mike Child received his B.S. in electrical engineering from UC Davis in 1976 and his MBA from Stanford University in 1980.

Each year, the UC Davis College of Engineering recognizes outstanding alumni whose professional and personal achievements bring special honor to the college. This year, the college is pleased to honor Michael Child, Connie Chang-Hasnain, Prem Jain, Claude Laguë and Stephen McCord as 2021 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal (DEAM) recipients. This award is the highest recognition presented by the college to alumni. These five alumni will be honored at the college’s Alumni Celebration later this year.

by Tim Dyer

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience becoming a materials engineer at UC Davis. Currently, I am president of Elcon Precision in San Jose, CA. Elcon Precision is a materials science manufacturing company that makes space, medical and radio frequency technology products. As a team of materials scientists, we ensure success in critical applications that directly contribute to the preservation and betterment of human life. I have many fond memories of the UC Davis campus, culture and the fantastic people I met while getting my education.

When NASA's Perseverence rover approached Mars on February 18, 2021, UC Davis mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) alumna Jessica Samuels ’99 and Sara Langberg ’16 watched particularly closely to see their hard work pay off. Perseverance, the largest and most advanced Mars rover to date, will explore the existence of water, launch history’s first extraterrestrial helicopter and serve as the first leg of a mission to collect Martian rock and soil samples and bring them to Earth.

UC Davis engineering alumna Kim Budil, M.S. ’88, Ph.D. ’94 was named the 13th director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the first woman director in the lab’s 69-year history.

Felipe Valdez received his master’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) at UC Davis this past summer. Without skipping a beat, he’s off to his next journey as an aerospace engineer at the NASA Armstrong Research Center in Edwards, California.

Hope Bovenzi received her B.S. degree in electrical engineering at the UC Davis College of Engineering in 2012. Since graduating, she has been successful in the industry while continuing to give back to her community and the college.

Engineering alumnus and Inneos CEO Brian Peters ‘88 is a successful leader, businessman and entrepreneur in the optics industry, but he wouldn’t lead with that. In his 25 years in business, Peters takes the most pride in leading companies with an inspired community of colleagues who have helped him carve out his place in Silicon Valley.