Purdue News

April 22, 2002 Purdue Schools of Engineering honor 10 distinguished alumni WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Ten graduates from the Purdue University Schools of Engineering were honored Friday (4/19) during the 2002 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Convocation on campus. The awards are given each year to Purdue engineering graduates for their professional achievements and related accomplishments. The 2002 recipients are: John M. Atalla , Atherton, Calif., chairman and chief executive officer of TriStrata Corp. in Redwood Shores, Calif. TriStrata Corp. is a developer of a unified privacy and security infrastructure to provide software solutions that protect, control, and track information on the Internet. Atalla is the inventor of the PIN, or Personal Identification Number, and the Atalla Box, which currently secures 80 percent of all ATM transactions worldwide. He earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1947 and a doctorate in mechanical engineering in 1949 from Purdue. Mark K. Craig, Picayune, Miss., acting director of Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, NASA’s primary center for testing and flight-certifying rocket propulsion systems for the space shuttle and future generations of space vehicles. He earned a bachelor’s degree in astronautical engineering from Purdue in 1971. Frank S. Greene Jr., Palo Alto, Calif., founder and general partner of New Vista Capital, Palo Alto, Calif., which invests in early-stage information technology companies. He earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1962. Deborah L. Grubbe, Wilmington, Del., corporate director for safety and health at E. I. DuPont deNemours and Co. in Wilmington, Del. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue in 1977. David Japikse, White River Junction, Vt., founder and chairman of Concepts NREC Inc., the world's leading independent, full-service turbomachinery design and development organization. He earned a master’s in mechanical engineering in 1967 and a doctorate in mechanical engineering in 1968 from Purdue. Donald L. Lamberson, Niceville, Fla., major general (retired) in the U.S. Air Force, with technical experience in energy physics and impact physics. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue in 1953. Matthew E. Massengill, Laguna Niguel, Calif., chairman and chief executive officer of Western Digital Corp., Lake Forest, Calif., a leader in information storage management and producer of hard drives for personal computers. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1983. George M. Scalise, San Jose, Calif., president of the Semiconductor Industry Association in San Jose, Calif., a trade organization of more than 80 member companies that accounts for 90 percent of U.S. semiconductor production. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1956. Robert L. Turner, Zionsville, Ind., founder and chairman of the board of the R. L. Turner Corp., a general contracting and construction firm in Zionsville. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue in 1963. Paul L. Wattelet, Oak Brook, Ill., is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Sargent & Lundy, a leading international power engineering consulting firm based in Chicago, and the author of the book "Managing to Get It Done: A Manifesto on Business Sustainability From the CEO of a Company That Has Been Managing to Get It Done for Over 100 Years." He earned a doctorate in nuclear engineering from Purdue in 1967. Writer: Grant Flora, (765) 494-2073, gflora@purdue.edu Source: Linda P.B. Katehi, John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering, (765) 494-5346, katehi@purdue.edu Other sources: Lisa Tally, senior writer, managing editor, Schools of Engineering, (765) 494-9996; lisat@ecn. purdue.edu NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Publication-quality photographs of the 2002 School of Engineering distinguished alumni are available at https://news.uns.purdue.edu or at ftp://ftp.purdue.edu/pub/uns/dist.engr.alums02/ Links to biographies: https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/DEA/ Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page