Alumni

Alumni Spotlight: John Maroney, '75

John Maroney graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1975. Currently, he is the CEO of Alessa Therapeutics, a pre-clinical stage company developing implantable drug delivery systems focused on sustained delivery of drugs to solid organ tumors. Arising from the work done in Dr. Pamela Munster’s labs at UC San Francisco, Alessa’s initial focus is on breast and prostate cancer. Maroney has held several leadership positions over his career and has been on a number of boards. Since graduating, he has remained involved with the College of Engineering in various ways.

Alumni Spotlight: Robert Kiss, ’84

Among his accomplishments over a 27-year career in the biotechnology industry, Robert Kiss has helped develop and manufacture multiple biotherapeutics, including Herceptin® for the treatment of breast cancer and Rituxan® for lymphoma. In 2019 Kiss, who spent 24 years at Genentech, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for “contributions to mammalian cell culture and microbial processes that produce recombinant proteins and antibodies.”

Alumni Spotlight: Michael Hurlston, '88, '90, '91

Mike Hurlston received his B.S and M.S. in electrical engineering at UC Davis in addition to a M.B.A from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management (GSM). He has had a successful career as an electrical engineer and as a business leader. Hurlston is currently the CEO of Synaptics, the leading developer of human interface solutions, bringing innovative and intuitive user experiences to intelligent devices. Since graduating, Hurlston continues to be involved with UC Davis both philanthropically and by volunteering with the two colleges he spent his time in.

Alumni Spotlight: Dennis Discher, '86

Dennis Discher earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering at UC Davis in 1986, his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco in 1993 and his postdoc from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University in 1996. Discher is currently the Robert D. Bent chaired Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the School of Engineering and Applied Science: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics and Bioengineering.

Alumni Spotlight: Kimberly Budil, '88, '94

Kim Budil received her B.S. in physics from University of Illinois Chicago in 1987, her M.S. in applied science from UC Davis in 1988, and her Ph.D. in applied science from UC Davis in 1994. She has held positions at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL), the UC Office of the President and the US Department of Energy. Today, Budil leads LLNL’s nuclear weapons program.

2019 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal Recipients

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 name Kimberly Budil, Dennis Discher, Deborah Frincke, Michael Hurlston, Robert Kiss, John Maroney and Shelten Yuen as the 2019 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal (DEAM) recipients. This award is the highest recognition presented by the College to alumni.

Entrepreneur Brian Underwood to deliver keynote at 2019 Engineering Commencement

Brian Underwood, UC Davis engineering alumnus and co-founder of the company that developed the technology underlying high-definition video devices (HDMI) and digital visual interface (DVI), will deliver the keynote address at the College of Engineering’s spring 2019 commencement ceremony on Friday, June 14 at 2 p.m. at the ARC Pavilion.

Alumni Spotlight: Diane Bryant, '85

UC Davis electrical engineering alumna Diane Bryant (’85) is one of the most powerful women in tech. Most recently, she was the chief operating officer of Google’s Cloud Platform where she managed Google Cloud’s supply chain optimization, customer adoption and IT product development efforts. She was previously the senior vice president and general manager of Intel Corporation’s Data Center Group, a role that landed her on Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” and Business Insider’s&nb