Recent Alumni

Phillip Baranowski and Curtis Daniels

Class Year: 2006 and 2009

Phil Baranowski ‘06 and Curtis Daniels ‘09, Tri-State University civil engineering graduates who are employed by Granite Construction, Inc., have been given major assignments working on the Folsom Dam for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  They are working on a multi-year project to construct a new auxiliary spillway to increase the capacity of the existing dam which is located in Northern California near Sacramento.  The project, with a price-tag of $125,000,000, is expected to last approximately 4 years.  Phil Baranowski serves as the project scheduler, and is also involved in various other engineering tasks.  Curtis Daniels is tasked with overseeing the concrete batch plant, coordinating miscellaneous metals on the job, and tracking project costs and production.

This is indeed a real honor for Phil, Curtis, and our department.  Only a handful of civil engineers in the United States have this type of experience with large dam projects.  Well done and good luck!

---

 

Jacob Kapitan

Class Year: 2004

Graduate School: University of Texas, Austin—graduated in May, 2006, with a master's degree in civil engineering (structures)

Employer: Walter P. Moore, engineering firm in Houston, Texas—started in May, 2006 to Fall 2010.

Currently working on his MBA at Michigan State University in Lansing, MI.

Accomplishments at Trine: Top civil engineering graduate in 2004 with a GPA of 3.97; captain of varsity football team; Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity; NAIA Academic All-American in football; NAIA Honorable Mention All Conference in football; Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society; Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society; President's List for 6 semesters

Success in Graduate School: Jake's faculty advisor at the University of Texas, Austin, was quoted as saying that Jake was probably the best graduate student he has ever had in his long career at UT, Austin—very high praise indeed!

---

Ben Groeneweg

Class Year: 2007

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) named Trine University graduate Ben Groeneweg a New Face of Civil Engineering for 2009, an award ASCE presents to only 10 civil engineers each year. The program recognizes young talent under the age of 30 by highlighting their contributions and impact on society.

Groeneweg is an engineer for Fort Wayne City Utilities, where he monitors sewer and water operations for Fort Wayne, Ind.

---

Jason Stechschulte

Class Year: 2003

Jason was presented the Distinguished Service Young Alumnus Award at 2009 Homecoming. Stechschulte works for Marathon Oil Co. in Findlay, Ohio, where he directs the maintenance of the company’s United States pipeline.