Martin Gugliotti (B.S. Mechanical Engineering/Materials Engineering, ‘01) was named one of 42 winners of the 2014 Hartford Business Journal 40 Under Forty award. Given annually to Greater Hartford men and women who have achieved a great deal early in their careers and exhibit significant promise for future success, this year’s winners are entrepreneurs, executives, community leaders and up-and-comers. Co-owner and artistic director at Gugliotti Salon and Spa and dean of students at International Institute of Cosmetology, Gugliotti also co-founded Le’Marca, a leader in innovative styling. Since its inception in 2000, Le’Marca has introduced a full haircare line, stylist tools and ECCO, a revolutionary hairdryer using half the power of typical dryers without diminishing performance.
Alumni News
Alumni, Scott B. Lowder
Scott B. Lowder (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’98) joined Middle Atlantic Products, part of the Commercial AV division of Legrand, North America, as a senior product manager. The company manufactures support and protection products to mount integrated AV systems in residential, commercial, broadcast and security applications. In his role, Lowder will lead their growing power category. He earned an MBA from UConn in 2011.
Alumni, Lynwood F. Crary
Lynwood F. Crary (B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, ’89, ’92, ‘04) joined General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) Division as a principal engineer in the propulsion plant group in New London, CT. Prior to joining EB, Crary worked at TI Automotive for fifteen years, most recently as an engineering specialist in advanced technology. He serves as a selectman in the Town of Preston.
Alumni, John T. Sheridan
John T. “Tom” Sheridan (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’73), U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (Ret.), received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 2015von Braun Award for Excellence in Space Program Management at a ceremony in Pasadena, CA. A senior vice president and general manager at Vencore, Inc., Sheridan was recognized for significant contributions and service to his country during his military and civilian careers. He earned an MBA from Bryant University.
Alumni, Gregory R. Bylo
(UTAS. Prior to UTAS, he was head of global R&D for Lenze S.E.) 
Gregory R. Bylo (B.S. Mechanical Engineering & Materials Engineering, ’80) was appointed vice president, Healthcare, at GSI US, an industry group driving open, global standards to help healthcare companies improve the accuracy, speed, and efficiency of the supply chain and care delivery. In this role, he will lead an industry-wide initiative focused on adoption and usage of GS1 standards in healthcare. Prior to joining GS1 US, Bylo was a senior director of global supply chain support services at Integra Life Sciences. He spent more than 15 years at Becton Dickinson leading sales and operations planning and supply chain planning team.gbylo@gs1us.org
Alumni, Sandor Becz
Sandor Becz (Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, ’07) was appointed vice president of engineering at Hydroid, Inc., a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime and a leading manufacturer of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). In this role, he will lead all engineering activities at Hydroid, including research and development, new product development and engineering support. Becz joined Hydroid from United Technologies Aerospace Systems
Alumni, Edward J. Fisher
Edward J. Fisher (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’56) recently published the third edition of his sixth book of fiction, Lands of In-KO-8 Trilogy, through Xlibris Publishing. Prior to becoming writer, Fisher served in the United States Air Force for 21 years and taught at Central Michigan University for 24 years, retiring as a professor emeritus. Kirkus Reviews describes the book as “a sci-fi saga of an alien world, recounting its wars, its near-destruction and its risky restoration.”
Three Generations of Engineering at UConn
When Robert Valley Sr. entered the doors of Castleman in 1946, he did not know that he was starting a legacy. Now – almost 70 years later – three members of the family have walked through those doors and graduated in 1950, 1978 and 1981. And another generation is expected to graduate in May of 2016.
This is one of the Legacy Families that the School of Engineering is trying to find and chronicle – families that return to UConn’s School of Engineering and consider it home. (Contact information below.)
From left to right: Robert Valley Sr., Stephen Mierz, and Matt Mierz
For Robert Sr., engineering seemed natural. He had always wanted to be an engineer. “Early on, I got into ham radios,” he said. “It was fascinating to have a piece of block and a coil and some headphones and tune into your local radio station.” Those days of tinkering were a great time for people with an engineering bent. But today’s devices are too complex, said the Branford resident. “You can’t even take them apart and understand what’s inside. The circuitry is not accessible.”
His son, Robert Valley Jr., chief engineer with Branford-based Analytica, recently acquired by PerkinElmer, felt the same affinity for Engineering. “It just seemed to be the appropriate path,” said the man who started his own business at age 15. Bob Jr. created “Rapid Robert’s Repair Services,” during a summer vacation to fix tape recorders for SoundScriber Corp., then his father’s company. From there, the path was natural. Bob Jr. graduated from UConn with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1978 without even discussing it with his father, the men said.
The legacy does not stop there. Robert Sr.’s daughter Diane met her future husband Stephen Mierz here at UConn. He graduated in 1981 with a Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering degree. Steve caught the engineering bug from his father, who did engineering work, but did not have a degree. His father encouraged Steve to pursue his degree so that he would have more career options.
Taking his father’s advice, he attended Engineering career fairs and met with Sikorsky, where he has worked ever since. He now handles forensic engineering, inspecting brakes, wheels and other parts that have failed, and figures out how each failure occurred. “At the end of the day, to be contributing to something that makes the company more successful, that’s a good feeling,” he said. “Money’s good, but I think you need to have job satisfaction that makes every day interesting and fun.”
Steve’s worn a lot of different hats at Sikorsky, and advises his son and other UConn Engineering students to be adventurous and flexible. “Be open to things at whatever company you go to,” he said. “Don’t decide that you’re going to do just one thing. Be open to possibilities. There is a lot of neat stuff that you can do, especially if you go to a big company.”
His son, Matt Mierz, who’s carrying on the family legacy at UConn, is scheduled to graduate next year with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Matt said he and the elder engineers in his family will occasionally talk about how the field has changed, and how much the UConn Engineering School has expanded. His interest in engineering includes cars and motorcycles. “I went into it because I enjoyed it.”
The UConn School of Engineering is proud of the families making engineering a part of their family tradition. Alumni and students who are the children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents or siblings of School of Engineering graduates are legacies. Please keep in touch with your School and confirm your legacy status with the Director of Engineering Alumni Relations, Heidi Douglas (hdouglas@engineer.uconn.edu). We hope to hear from you.
Alumni, James Kane
James Kane (Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, ’86), associate professor of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, was named professor emeritus at Clarkson University’s 122nd commencement ceremony in May. He was honored for more than 25 years of exemplary service to the university. In addition to his classroom instruction, Kane wrote 42 articles in professional journals and is the author of “Boundary Element Analysis, in Engineering Continuum Mechanics.” He also co-edited two academic books.