Spotlight

Tri Dev Acharya joined the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies as a postdoctoral researcher in 2019. Tri Dev’s name refers to the trinity of Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, and he grew up in a middle-class family in rural Nepal. Following his high school education, he went to the capital for post-secondary study and later joined Kathmandu University as an undergraduate.

As he approaches his 35th year on campus, mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Mohamed Hafez continues to leave an indelible mark on the department and his students. He has taught and mentored undergraduate, graduate and high school students and postdoctoral scholars alike while introducing several courses and being a driving force behind aerospace engineering at UC Davis.

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.

Since her time as a computer science student at UC Davis, Deb Frincke, B.S. ’85, M.S. ’89, Ph.D. ’92 has been at the forefront of cybersecurity as it has become an increasingly important part of modern life. With experience in academia, national laboratories and government—most recently as the Director of Research for the National Security Agency (NSA)—she has made a profound impact on the field through her leadership, mentorship and research.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.