Distinguished Alumni > 2003

2003 Distinguished Alumni

Roger L. Berger
M.S. 1975, Ph.D 1977, Statistics

Roger Berger is a Professor of Statistics at North Carolina State University in Raleigh , North Carolina . He joined North Carolina State in 1983 following six years in the Department of Statistics at Florida State University . He has published a long list of refereed journal articles and presented more than 50 invited scientific talks. In 2002, he co-authored the book Statistical Inference, Second Edition , with George Casella, another Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient from the Department of Statistics. He and Dr. Casella, along with Damaris Santana, also produced the Solutions Manual on CD-ROM for Casella and Berger's Statistical Inference, Second Edition . Dr. Berger is the editor of Statistical Science and has served as associate editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association and Biometrics . He is a member of the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics , and the Eastern North American Region of the International Biometric Society. In 1999, he was elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, and in 1991 he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

 

Leroy Davis
M.S. 1972, PhD 1979, Biological Sciences

Leroy Davis is recently retired from South Carolina State University , where he had served as President from 1996 to 2002. He began his career at South Carolina State University as an assistant professor of biology in 1979. Under Dr. Davis' leadership, South Carolina State University greatly expanded its role as one of the state's finest institutions of higher learning. The University obtained its first NCAA certification of its athletic program, earned a top ten ranking among Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the graduation of African Americans earning bachelor's degrees in 2001, developed a ten-year facilities master plan in 2002, and raised funds for the construction of its Fine Arts Center and major renovations of campus facilities. Dr. Davis was named 1985 Teacher of the Year by South Carolina State University , and has received honorary degrees from Francis Marion University and South Carolina State University . He was a Purdue Old Master in 2000, and in 2002 he was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina 's highest civilian award.

 

Arthur Y. Elliott
PhD 1969, Biological Sciences

Arthur Elliott is a consultant with the Biologics Consulting Group, LLC in Alexandria , Virginia . After receiving his PhD from Purdue, he went to the Departments of Urologic Surgery and Microbiology at the University of Minnesota , where he stayed until 1978. His principal research interests included the in vitro study of transitional cell tumors using tissue culture, biochemical, electron microscopy, immunology, virology and cytogenetic techniques. He joined Merck & Company in 1978, rising to the position of Executive Director of Biological Operations. In 1994, he became Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at North American Vaccine, Inc. in Beltsville , Maryland . During his tenure, the company grew from 94 to 320 employees, licensed vaccine products in six countries, and developed a pipeline of additional vaccine products. In 1999 he founded Biological Consulting, and has major clients including the World Health Organization, the Department of Defense, and many large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

 

Adel F. Halasa
PhD 1964, Chemistry

Adel Halasa is an R&D Fellow at The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company's corporate Research & Development Division. His current research interests are anionic polymerization for the preparation of novel elastomers with controlled micro and macro structures, miscible and immiscible blends of various elastomers and their effect on physical properties, and hydrogenation of block copolymers. He has 233 patents and 86 scientific publications. His most recent significant accomplishment was his contribution to the success of Goodyear's Aquatred tire, which has won awards in design, engineering and marketing. He has been recognized internationally for his lifetime contributions to rubber science, spanning numerous fields. Dr. Halasa is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemists, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences, Sigma Xi, and the Scientific Research Society. In 1997, he received the Charles Goodyear Medal, the highest honor of the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society.

 

Michael D. Hays
B.S. 1965, M.S. 1967, Mathematics

Michael Hays is Senior Vice President at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in Springfield , Massachusetts . After receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees from Purdue, he went on to the University of Colorado , where he earned the Ph.D in 1973. He began his career as an assistant professor of mathematics at Paine College in Augusta , Georgia , where he stayed until 1975, when he joined the Massachusetts Life Insurance Company. He was Chief Actuary of Retirement Services from 1986 to 1998, with responsibility for pricing, asset/liability management, reserving, risk management, and financial reporting. He was then Head of Portfolio Consulting at the MassMutual Investment Group, where he oversaw development of portfolio policy and strategy for all business units, oversaw investment risk management for the MassMutual general account, and assisted in the corporate asset and liability management process. He also served as the liaison between investment units and business units. Dr. Hays is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He is also a member of the Purdue Actuarial Science Advisory Council.

 

Clare McKinney
B.S. 1990, Biological Sciences

Clare McKinney is a biology teacher at Jefferson High School in Lafayette , Indiana . After receiving her bachelor's degree from Purdue, she went on to earn the M.S. in education from Indiana Wesleyan University . She has continued her professional development by completing additional graduate work and participating in workshops, summer institutes and many seminars and professional meetings. Ms. McKinney has provided leadership in the evolution/creation debate in public education. She has been a leader at her school and has been a national voice for the scientific perspective on this topic. She was recently featured in the PBS series "Evolution", which sought to clarify the correct approach to teaching the subject in the nation's schools. She is a member of the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Indiana Association of Biology Teachers, the Indiana State Teachers Association, the National Education Association, and the Hoosier Association of Science Teachers. In 1996, she received the Golden Apple Award and has received Teacher Appreciation awards in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2002.

 

David Mortara
B.S. 1961, Physics

David Mortara is founder and president of Mortara Instrument, a medical instrumentation company based in Milwaukee , Wisconsin that makes cost-effective and dependable electrocardiographic systems, serving both primary care doctors and hospitals. He has been a leader in the field of electrocardiography for some thirty years, making several significant contributions to cardiology. As head of engineering at what was then Marquette Electronics, he was instrumental in the development of several products. He created the 12SL resting ECG interpretation program, which became widely recognized as the leading resting interpretation algorithm. Also while at Marquette , he established the first digital ECG transmission protocol for communication of data between electrocardiographs and a centralized storage system. He founded Mortara Instrument in 1982. Under his leadership, the company has developed several ECG components and algorithms that are widely recognized for their superior performance and accuracy. Dr. Mortara serves as the industry co-chair of the AAMI ECG Committee, which is responsible for establishing performance standards for cardiac monitors, electrocardiographs, Holter monitors and stress exercise equipment.

 

Arlene K. Musser
B.S. 1974, Chemistry

Arlene Musser is Senior Patent Counsel for Pfizer, Inc. in Groton , Connecticut . Following her graduation from Purdue, she received the PhD in organic photochemistry from the University of Cincinnati . In 1981 she joined 3M Corporation as a research and development chemist in the graphic arts division, where she became known as an expert in the field of color proofing. She held several leadership positions including global team leader for the commercialization of two major color proofing systems. She also served as co-chair of the Corporate Women's Advisory Committee and the team leader of the patent liaison group supporting the information, imaging and electronics sector. Her excellence in patent drafting and strategy persuaded 3M to pay her tuition to law school, and she graduated magna cum laude from the William Mitchell College of Law in 1998. Dr. Musser is a strong supporter of education, mentorship and sponsorship of women and underrepresented minorities. She has actively encouraged women and minority students to enter the field of science and patent law, and she has served leadership roles on various corporate advisory committees on gender and diversity.

 

Thomas A. Schroeder
M.S. 1971, Ph.D 1974, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

Thomas Schroeder is Chairman of the Department of Meteorology and Director of the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research at the University of Hawaii . He joined the University of Hawaii in 1974, and has served three terms as Chairman of the Department of Meteorology. He was appointed Director of the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR) in 1998, after serving three years as interim director. JIMAR links researchers from the University of Hawaii with NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research as well as with the National Weather Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. He manages a research venture that includes climate, equatorial oceanography, tropical meteorology, fisheries oceanography, and tsunamis. Dr. Schroeder has chaired the American Meteorological Society's Committee on Several Local Storms. During his tenure in Hawaii he has worked on a variety of tropical and mesoscale themes, and he has served on state boards on hurricane insurance and hurricane response and mitigation. He also directs the Pacific El Niño/Southern Oscillation Applications Center, which advises on response and mitigation of El Niño effects in the Pacific Islands .

 

Beatrice Yormark
M.S. 1968, Computer Science

Beatrice Yormark is President and COO of Echelon Corporation in San Jose , California . Echelon is the creator of the LonWorks platform, the world's most widely used standard for connecting everyday devices such as appliances, thermostats, air conditioners, electric meters, and lighting systems to each other and to the Internet. She joined Echelon from Connect, Inc., an on-line information services company. She has held a variety of positions, including executive director of systems engineering for Telaction Corp., director in the role of partner at Coopers & Lybrand, vice president of sales at INTERACTIVE Systems Corp., and various staff positions at the Rand Corporation. She is a member of the board of directors of the Continental Automatec Buildings Association (CABA), a nonprofit industry association that provides information, education and networking to help promote advanced technologies for the automation of commercial buildings and homes in North America . She is also a member of the board of directors of I.D. Systems, Inc., a leading provider of wireless solutions for corporate asset management.