Alumni Notes - The University of Texas at Dallas Untitled Document

Ryland Young PhD’75, Regents Professor and Sadie Hatfield Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biology at Texas A&M University, was named University Distinguished Professor. He is also the founding director of the Center for Phage Technology.

Taylor Thomas MS’75 left a career in analytical instrumentation to attend Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He now serves as a minister in Texas. He is married to Christiann Dykstra and has a grown son, Austin. Thomas earned a degree in biology.

Linh Luong BA’97, MS’99, MBA’03 is a project management program director and a lecturer in the College of Professional Studies at City University of Seattle. She earned degrees in government, management science and business administration.

Featured in the August 2018 Alumni Link. Browse all issues.

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Class Notes	Michael C. Thomas	12/2/2016
Michael Thomas BA'07 has been appointed the new principal for Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet School of Richardson Independent School District, topping off ten years with the district. Beginning as a classroom teacher, Michael served as an instructional specialist before becoming the assistant principal of Aikin Elementary, a position he held for two years. Michael earned his bachelor's in early childhood education.

Class Notes	Bryan P. Neal	11/10/2016
Bryan Neal BA'90, a senior partner with Thompson & Knight LLP, was named a "recommended attorney" for his expertise in labor and employment defense law in The Legal 500 US, 2016. Additionally, he has been named among "The Best Lawyers in America" in litigation-labor and employment law from 2012-2017 by Woodward/White Inc. Bryan earned his bachelor's in government and politics.

Class Notes	Tomoyasu Mani	11/4/2016
Dr. Tomoyasu Mani BS'09 has been awarded the Blavatnik Regional Award in Chemistry, receiving $30,000. Tomoyasu was selected for the award for research he conducted as a Goldhaber Fellow with Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, where he examined electron transport processes for solar energy capture and conversion. He was selected out of 125 nominations, submitted by 24 academic and research institutions in the New York tri-state area. One winner and two finalists were selected in each of the three award categories: life science, physical sciences and engineering, and chemistry. As a student at UT Dallas, Tomoyasu was an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of chemistry professor Dr. Dean Sherry. After earning his bachelors in biochemistry, he went on to pursue his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2013. Today, Tomoyasu is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Connecticut, performing pioneering research in physical chemistry.

Class Notes	Christine K. Roberts	10/21/2016
Christine Roberts BGS'82, an intellectual property law attorney, was named among Los Angeles "Women Leaders in the Law" for the fourth year in a row by The American Lawyer, Martindale Hubbell and other legal resources. Christine earned her degree in interdisciplinary studies, with a focus in pre-med/pre-law disciplines.

Class Notes	Sanderia F. Smith	9/16/2016
Sanderia Faye MA'16 was nominated for a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award - which recognizes the best books in African American literature - for her debut novel, "Mourner's Bench." Faye earned her degree in humanities and aesthetic studies and is a doctoral candidate in the English program at the University of North Texas, with a focus in creative writing.

Class Notes	Mohammad A. Samana	9/16/2016
Ali Samana BA'13 was awarded the 2016 Immigrant Entrepreneur Award by legal counsel Scheef & Stone - an honor recognizing immigrant achievements and contributions to the North Texas area. Born in Pakistan, Ali immigrated to Texas in 1997 and graduated from Frisco High School before joining the U.S. Navy. After earning his bachelor's in political science and government, Ali went on to cofound solar energy company 1 Solar Solution, LLC, in Frisco, Texas.

Class Notes	Ilker Aslan	3/22/2016
Dr. Ilker Aslan BS'03 earned a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland in 2014 while working as a financial analyst in Zurich, Switzerland, at SIX Securities Services. Previously, he obtained his MSc in EU business and law from Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark, in 2006. He earned his bachelors in business administration.

Class Notes	Noemi J. Ayuste	9/16/2016
Noemi Ayuste BS'10 was crowned Ms. Philippine Independence 2016 during the annual Philippine Republic Day gala dinner in Dallas. Noemi earned her degree in business administration.

Class Notes	James L. Fisher	9/16/2016
James Fisher MPA'10 was appointed the new city manager for Forney, Texas, after holding the same municipal leadership position in Murphy, Texas, for eight years. James earned his master's in public affairs and has more than 27 years of experience in municipal government.

Class Notes	Paul C. French	8/2/2016
Paul French BS'93 has joined Allegro Development Corporation, a provider of commodity management software, as its new chief marketing officer - building on more than 20 years' experience in sales and executive management. Previously, Paul held several leadership positions including vice president of marketing at cyber defense software company Armor, Inc., and vice president of strategy at Axway Software, among others. He earned his degree in business management.

Class Notes	Joseph J. Pytcher	9/16/2016
Joseph Pytcher BS'12 is the owner Pytcher Homes, a real estate development company he started soon after graduating. Joseph earned his degree in finance.

Class Notes	Grace K. Richards	7/18/2016
Grace (Bielawski) Richards BA'11 is an assistant United States attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., where she prosecutes domestic violence cases. Grace previously clerked for the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals. At UT Dallas, Grace served as student government president in 2010. She earned her bachelor's in political science and went on to attend the University of Virginia Law School, graduating in 2014.

Class Notes	Tawanna S. Williams	7/6/2016
Tawanna Williams MS'14 has been promoted to senior corporal for the Dallas Police Department. Tawanna earned her master's in justice administration and leadership.

Class Notes	Van A. Boyd	7/22/2016
VJ Boyd BS'02 is a writer and producer, known for the TV series "Justified." This summer, he served on a panel at the 2016 Comic-Con International in San Diego: "Inside the Writers' Room: The Pilot: Part One." VJ earned his degree in business administration.

Class Notes	Joe A. Davis	7/15/2016
Joe A. Davis BS'82 has been appointed to the board of directors for energy company Matador Resources. Previously, Joe was the executive vice president of EnLink Midstream, LLC. Prior to this, he served on the executive committee of international law firm Hunton & Williams LLP, where he specialized in energy and utilities law. Joe earned his bachelor's in business and public administration.

Class Notes	Scott A. Eberwein	7/12/2016
Scott Eberwein BS'97 has published a new book titled "Cash Your Investment," intended to inform college students about the tools they need to land their dream jobs after college. Scott earned his degree in economics.

Class Notes	Patricia E. Hill	7/5/2016
Patricia Evridge Hill MA'84, PhD'90, a professor of history at San Jose State University, received the 2016 Meritorious Service Award from the SJSU College of Social Sciences. The award is given to a faculty member who has provided leadership in advancing the interests of faculty. For the past eight years, Patricia has served as the college's history department chair. She earned her master's and doctorate in humanities, the latter concentrated in the history of ideas.

Class Notes	Hill Johnson	9/6/2016
Hill Johnson BS'01 has joined HSSK professional services firm as director of business valuation for the Dallas office. Hill has more than a decade of industry experience and has performed more than 300 business valuations to date across a wide range of specialties. In the new role, he will focus on serving business valuation and litigation consulting clients. Hill graduated with his bachelors in business administration and management.

Class Notes	Manohar R. Kesireddy	7/20/2016
Manohar Kesireddy MSCS'02 was awarded the "CEO with HR Orientation Award" at the 24th World HDR Congress in Mumbai, India. The award recognizes a non-human resources (HR) organization leader who has supported and empowered effective HR strategies and initiatives. Manohar is the CEO of mRoads IT company in Plano, where he leads daily operations, product development and strategy. The computer science alumnus - who holds several patents in technology - founded the company mRoads with former UT Dallas classmates Rahul Kukreti BS'01, MSCS'02 and Prakash Nallagatla MS'98.

Class Notes	Phillip M. McDivitt	9/9/2016
Phil McDivitt MBA'96 has been promoted to president and chief operating officer at Ascend Performance Materials, bringing nearly three decades of industry experience to the role. Prior to joining Ascend, Phil served in various management positions at Celanese Corp., a global technology and specialty materials company. Phil earned his degree in business administration.

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