Paul Dul (B.S. Mechanical Engineering/Materials Engineering, ‘88) joined Apcera, maker of the world’s first operating system for the hybrid cloud, as vice president of Product.  Dul brings more than 20 years of product management and leadership experience.  Previously, he was vice president of Product at Embrane and led the product management team at Andiamo Systems.  Earlier in his career, Dul headed product management for Cisco’s $3 billion Catalyst 5000 product line.  He earned masters’ degrees in engineering and management from MIT.

Vincent S. Pitruzzello Vincent S. Pitruzzello (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’85) joined Okay Industries Inc. as director of operations.  Prior to Okay, he was vice president and general manager at Capewell Components LLC.  Upon graduation from UConn, Pituzzello spent more than 23 years at Stanley Black & Decker.  In 1988, he earned an M.S. in Business (Operations Research) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Richard Fu Richard Fu (M.S., Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, ‘06, ‘12), president at Agrivolution LLC, announced that the company has received a $73,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to work with Connecticut farmers to determine the feasibility of year-round, indoor agricultural production. Fu started the company in 2012 as a graduate student at UConn. Agrivolution will use the funds to explore whether hydroponic and other indoor growing techniques will work in Connecticut.

Mark D. Aramli  (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’97) appeared on the February 3, 2015 episode of the ABC television show “Shark Tank” pitching BedJet, a climate control system for beds. A NASA space suit designer-turned-entrepreneur, Aramli is the inventor and principal engineer of this patent-pending bed heating or cooling system.  Initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign, BedJet debuted at the 2014 Las Vegas World Market trade show.  Aramli earned an MBA in finance from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  

 

Anthony “Tony” DeCarmine, Jr. (B.S. Mechanical Engineering/Materials Engineering, ’92) was named the first chief technology officer at Oxford Performance Materials Inc.(OPM). In this position, DeCarmine is responsible for advancing the company’s process technologies, including OsteoFab, the company’s primary area of innovation for the medical industry, and OXFAB, a proprietary technology for aerospace and industrial customers. He joined OPM in 2003 and has held a number of senior positions, including director of application development and technical director.

 

Craig W. Ashmore (B.S. Mechanical Engineering/Civil Engineering, ‘85) joined Platinum Equity, LLC as a principal responsible for senior level business development activities focused on identifying new acquisition opportunities.  From October 2009 to November 2013, he was Executive Vice President of Planning and Development at Emerson Electric Co., serving as a Member of Emerson’s Office of the Chief Executive. As head of Emerson’s M&A organization, Ashmore evaluated more than 500 potential acquisitions, executing more than 50 buy-side transactions with an aggregate cost of over $6 billion.  At Platinum Equity, he consults with executives at other large, global companies dealing with the same challenges he faced during a 22-year career as an executive and corporate dealmaker at the $25 billion global manufacturing and technology company.  Ashmore holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Glenn T. Selby (M.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’03; B.S. Mechanical Engineering/Materials Science, ’92), P.E., joined Express Group Holdings as vice president of Engineering and Business Process. Prior to joining Express, Selby worked at ALSTOM Power for more than 20 years, most recently serving as director of HRSG (heat recovery steam generator) Research & Development. Selby earned an MBA from The Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

John J. Legato (B.S. Mechanical Engineering/Materials Engineering, ’86), program manager for GE Industrial Solutions in Plainville, CT, was a featured speaker at the 11th Annual Partners in Achievement Breakfast supporting the financial literacy, workforce readiness and entrepreneurship programs of Junior Achievement.  Close to 500 guests were in attendance at the annual event held this year at the Hartford Marriott Downtown.  Touted as one of the region’s premier networking opportunities for local business leaders, it’s a celebration of the accomplishments of students, educators and volunteers participating in JA programs.