2016 College of Engineering Alumni Award for Distinguished Service

Each year the College of Engineering honors an elite group with the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service. As the honor implies, these are people who have set themselves apart with significant contributions to their fields, whether through discovery, innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, or generosity. The individuals will be recognized as part of the Student & Alumni Awards ceremony on Saturday, April 16. This year three of the six alumni honored are graduates of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Distinguished ECE ILLINOIS Alumni

Kenneth A. Hansen (BS 1974, MS 1977, Electrical and Computer Engineering)

President and CEO, Semiconductor Research Corporation

At the forefront of cellular wireless development, Ken, who has had leadership roles at both Motorola and Freescale, is recognized as one of the most influential technical leaders in the wireless and semiconductor industry.

Arvind Krishna (MS 1987, PhD 1991, Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Senior Vice President and Director, IBM Research

For more than 25 years, Arvind has had a guiding influence for IBM through roles in product management, technical research and executive leadership capacities.

David W. Yen (MS 1977, PhD 1980, Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Retired SVP and GM for Data Center Business Group, Cisco

David has had key leadership roles for Sun Microsystems, Juniper Networks and Cisco, raising Cisco United Computer Systems annual revenues from about $700 million to more than $2.7 billion annually.

Fellow Distinguished College of Engineering Alumni

William H. Payne (BS 1963, MS 1964, Materials Science and Engineering)

Angel Investor, Board Member, Lead Instructor, Angel Resource Institute; Founder, Solid State Dielectrics, Inc.

Bill is often introduced as the “grandfather of angel investing,” having served as a counselor and resource to budding entrepreneurs for four decades. He has collaborated in the development of seven seminars for angels and entrepreneurs and taught over 125 workshops and seminars on angel investing in 35 states, four Canadian provinces, and nine countries.

Chao Kee Young Ronald (MS 1964, Mechanical Science and Engineering),Vice Chairman & Director of Novel Enterprises Limited

Under Chao’s leadership, Novel Enterprises has helped build well-known brands Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors. Through his private foundation, he has supported major educational initiatives like the Asian Youth Center dormitory project and the Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program. In 2014, he was awarded The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

Karen A. Thole (BS 1982, MS 1984, Mechanical Science and Engineering)

Head, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University

Karen is a leading voice in heat transfer while serving as a role model and advocate for women in STEM. She has founded the Experimental and Computational Convection Laboratory and the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine Laboratory at Penn State. She was honored by the U.S. White House in 2011 as a Champion of Change in Science, Technology, and Engineering for her recruitment efforts in STEM by founding the Engineering Ambassadors Network.