FALL 2020 LAWRENCE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE LTU vs Covid-19 Nursing students on the front lines New provost: LTU ’poised for greatness’ Alumni news from around the world | Donor Honor Roll | and more Fall 2020 Volume XL, Number 1 Published by Lawrence Technological University, Office of Marketing and Public Affairs, 21000 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075-1058; 248.204.2200 or 800.225.5588, ext. 4 LAWRENCE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE Fax 248.204.2318 [email protected] • • • Virinder K. Moudgil President TABLE OF CONTENTS Editor: Bruce J. Annett, Jr. ([email protected]) Managing Editor: Matt Roush ([email protected]) Design: NetWorks Design, Inc. Writers: Bruce J. Annett, Jr., Kathy Blake, Pam Houghton, Robin Leclerc, Kristine L. Persinger, Matt Roush, Adam Stavros, Julie Vulaj, and others Editorial Support: Pam Houghton, 2 10 19 Robin Leclerc, Sofia Lulgjuraj, De’Sha LTU nursing students on the front The class of 2020– How last academic On Campus– The academic year went McCurdy, Brandé Oliver, Kristine L. lines– Students in the University’s year’s seniors coped with the Spring on, even though online. Awards, honors, Persinger, Renee Tambeau, Julie Vulaj recently established nursing program without a Commencement recognitions, research grants, and more. Photography: Gary Duncan, Tyquan got more education more quickly than Jackson, Justin Munter, Eric Pope, they expected, working in a deadly Matt Roush, Glenn Triest, and others pandemic © 2020, Lawrence Technological 13 University. All rights reserved. Bylined articles reflect the author’s views and Business to change for good– That not necessarily either the opinions ’new normal’ you’ve heard about? LTU or the policies of the University. 5 faculty make a few predictions Comments about the magazine, Math faculty helps forecast COVID– articles, or letters may be sent to the 34 editor. Send address changes to the Two professors in LTU’s Department of postal, fax, or email addresses listed Mathematics and Computer Science join Alumni News– An engineering alumna above. the fight by helping officials forecast sails with the Coast Guard, LTU alumnus Notice of non-discriminatory the spread behind the new Ford Bronco, awards policy: Lawrence Technological and honors University adheres and conforms to all federal, state, and local civil rights regulations, statutes, and ordinances. No person, student, faculty, or staff 14 member will knowingly be discrimi- nated against relative to the above 7 Instant education—just add inter- Pandemic meets robotics in 40 statutes. Lawrence Tech is an Equal net—Behind the scenes student’s hand sanitizer dispenser– Alumni Notes– Career news, awards, Opportunity Employer. of LTU’s quick pivot to Finding a bit of creativity in a global and more, from LTU and DIT alumni near • • • 7 online instruction crisis and far LTU alumni produce PPE for front- liners– How LTU-trained designers helped keep first responders and health- care workers safer 42 Friends We’ll Miss • • • On the cover: Masking up and prac- ticing social distancing became part 15 of LTU’s everyday routine as classes— Meet Tarek Sobh– An accomplished 46 like this one in the Architecture scientist and educator is named LTU’s 2019 Donor Honor Roll Building, being taught by Dean Karl chief academic officer. Plus, the lasting Daubmann—resumed for the Fall 2020 semester in August. Cover photo legacy of Maria Vaz. Back Cover– LTU scores high (and by Tyquan Jackson. rising!) in two well-respected college ranking lists The Lawrence Tech community and our programs have continued forward and even excelled in this new normal. FROM THE PRESIDENT Virinder K. Moudgil y nearly any measure, 2020 has been a year without precedent. The COVID-19 pandemic forced numerous changes in Lawrence Tech operations, and upended the plans of our students, graduates, faculty, and staff, just as it did with you and your family and colleagues. )URPWKHFODVVURRPDQGODEVWRWKHSOD\LQJÀHOGVIURPGRUPVWRIRRGVHUYLFHVZHOLNHPDQ\ RWKHUVKDYHKDGWRTXLFNO\GHYHORSQHZZD\VWRFRPSOHWHHVVHQWLDOWDVNV 7KDQNVWRRXUGHFDGHROG/7X=RQHSURJUDPZHZHUHDEOHWRFRQYHUWWRDOORQOLQHFODVVHVLQ 0DUFKPRUHVHDPOHVVO\WKDQRWKHULQVWLWXWLRQV7KHSURJUDPSURYLGHVDOOXQGHUJUDGXDWHVZLWK Bhigh-end personal computers, each loaded with profession-appropriate software. This allowed VWXGHQWVWRNHHSXSZLWKWKHLUVWXGLHVIURPKRPH,WZDVQRWHDV\EXWZLWKORWVRIKDUGZRUNE\ The Student and Campus Impact Fund provides faculty and staff, students made it through the spring and summer terms. assistance to our students As the fall semester begins and this magazine goes to press, we cautiously aim to offer as many and LTU community as we face-to-face classes as possible, augmented with online and hybrid classes. Our ability to do this adapt and navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. hinges greatly on how well our campus community adheres to health and safety procedures and KRZWKHSDQGHPLFFRQWLQXHVWRHYROYH0RVWRIRXUDWKOHWLFDQGH[WUDFXUULFXODUSURJUDPVUHPDLQ To donate, visit: on hold. ltu.edu/giving/impact or Lawrence Tech’s Class of 2020 has been impacted in a myriad of ways. We anticipate that the call the Office of University Advancement at: VNLOOVDQGOHDGHUVKLSWKH\OHDUQHGGXULQJWKHLU\HDUVDW/78LVKHOSLQJWRJXLGHWKHPWKURXJKWKHVH 248.204.2300. GLIÀFXOWWLPHV8QIRUWXQDWHO\WKHSODQQHG0D\FRPPHQFHPHQWDQGJUDGXDWLRQFHOHEUDWLRQV KDGWREHSRVWSRQHG2XUJUDGXDWHVKDYHEHHQLQYLWHGWRUHWXUQIRU/78·V1RYYLUWXDO FHUHPRQ\7KLVLVDKXJHEUHDNLQWUDGLWLRQEXWLWLVQROHVVLPSRUWDQWWRFRPPHPRUDWHRXU lawrencetechu JUDGXDWHV·DFKLHYHPHQWDQGVXFFHVV 7KLVLVVXHFRQWDLQVVWRULHVDERXWKRZWKH/DZUHQFH7HFKFRPPXQLW\DQGRXUSURJUDPVKDYH LawrenceTechU FRQWLQXHGIRUZDUGDQGHYHQH[FHOOHGLQWKLVQHZQRUPDO:HDOVRZHOFRPHWKUHHUHPDUNDEOH QHZWUXVWHHVDQGWKUHHNH\DGPLQLVWUDWRUV'U7DUHN6REKRXUFKLHIDFDGHPLFRIÀFHU'U*UHJ lawrencetech &DVFLRQHOHDGLQJGHYHORSPHQWDQGDOXPQLUHODWLRQVDQG'U&DU\Q5HHG+HQGRQGLUHFWRURI GLYHUVLW\HTXLW\DQGLQFOXVLRQ Lawrence Tech Alumni ,DPSURIRXQGO\JUDWHIXOIRUWKHVXSSRUW\RXKDYHSURYLGHGRYHUWKHSDVW\HDU6WXGHQWVQHHG \RXUFRQWLQXHGDVVLVWDQFHPRUHWKDQHYHUDVWKH\FRSHZLWKGLVUXSWLRQVDQGQHZZD\VRIDFKLHY- lawrencetechu ing their goals. Our safety and the safety of those around us depend on each of us doing our part. )RUWXQDWHO\UHVSRQVLELOLW\H[HPSODU\OHDGHUVKLSSUREOHPVROYLQJLQWKHUHDOZRUOGDQGEXLOGLQJ DEULJKWHUIXWXUHDUHZKDWGLVWLQJXLVK/78:RUNLQJWRJHWKHUPD\LWEHHYHUVR Virinder K. Moudgil For the latest about Lawrence Tech, visit President and CEO www.ltu.edu/news L AWRENCE TECH MAGAZINE | FALL 2020 1 Lawrence Tech vs. COVID-19 Like most educational institu- of this edition of Lawrence Tech deals with all tions, Lawrence Technological the ways LTU responded, from instant online University had to pivot quickly education to having students battling at the onset of the coronavirus a deadly disease to providing guidance to pandemic on a number of students, faculty, staff, parents, and friends fronts, from student instruction about the future of higher education and the to staffing. The opening section overall economy. ON THE FRONT LINES OF A PANDEMIC–AS A STUDENT ome Lawrence Technological University LTU NURSES-TO-BE FIGHT nursing students were on the IURQWOLQHVRIÀJKWLQJWKHFRUR- COVID-19 AT AREA HOSPITALS navirus pandemic this spring, even before their graduation. Kaitlyn Smith, BSN’21, is a Grand Blanc native and the “practice” part of “theory and practice” when it comes to Holly High School graduate who came to LTU in 2016 to study nursing—would be cancelled for the semester and replaced with Sbiomedical engineering, but switched to the University’s nursing online-only instruction. program a year later. “It was devastating,” she said. “Clinical is where you get a lot Like all LTU students, Smith learned during spring break of experience, and get an idea of what you’d like to do in March that her in-person classes—and her clinical classes, for a living.” A social media graphic congrat- ulates Kaitlyn Smith for her athletic accom- plishments at LTU. Now she’s saving lives. Kaitlyn Smith during her play- ing days at LTU. 2 L AWRENCE TECH MAGAZINE | FALL 2020 So Smith applied for an internship with LTU’s nursing pro- gram partner, Ascension, and wound up working in patient care at Ascension Macomb-Oakland in Warren. “I assess patients, help them with whatever they need,” she said. “I was on a COVID rehab unit. What we see in COVID patients is a lot of clotting in their bodies, so a lot of them have had amputations. They’re on this rehab unit to try to get their bodies readjusted to everyday life, and get them up and moving again.” The work is grueling, Smith said: “It’s hard to breathe with the PPE [personal protection equipment,] and you get bruises on your face from the N95 (mask), and you have to take off the LTU nursing student Natalia Abro, PPE after seeing one patient and put on new PPE—there is just in full PPE... and in a less restric- no sitting down. It’s just mentally and physically exhausting.” tive mask… and immersed in her And while some patients face grim prognoses even if they studies. UHFRYHUWKHUHDUHRWKHUVWKDWRIIHUKRSH´0\ÀUVWGD\RQWKH COVID unit was like nothing I’d ever seen before, but on the YHU\ÀUVWGD\,JRWWRVHHP\ÀUVWSDWLHQWZKRKDGEHHQRQD ventilator for two weeks and battling for a month, go home. Just to see her dance into the arms of her loved ones told me that I had chosen the right profession. Just seeing those patients gives you a lot of hope.” And Smith has no doubts about choosing LTU for her nursing education, either. “I played basketball for four years at Lawrence Tech,” she said. “I like LTU because it gives you a chance to build close relationships with students