Wondering what your classmates have been up to? Find out who's been promoted, launched a new project, published a book or started a family. Catch up now or submit an update of your own for the next issue of Class Notes.
1960s
1962
John Roper (Elect ’62) retired from engineering in 1999 and yacht instructing in 2016. He resides in Gibsons, BC, where he rebuilt an 80-year-old house and publishes books, including "Children of War - A Family History" in 2024.
Connect with John
Website: www.tmipublications.com
Email: jeroper@tmipublications.com
1969
Ed Papazian (Elect ’69) says, “We moved to Waterloo three years ago to be closer to family, including our grandkids. It’s great being able to participate in events on campus at Conrad Grebel College.”
Connect with Ed
Email: papazian@uwaterloo.ca
1970s
1970
Veikko Kuronen (Elect ’70) survived a triple bypass operation in March this year and is recovering well. He says, “If you experience chest pains, see your doctor.”
Connect with Veikko
Email: kuronen@golden.net
Robert Weckman (Mech ’70) is retired and alive!
Connect with Robert
Email: robertweckman@rogers.com
1976
Bilton Sam Mark (Civil ’76) reports, “All good, still active in businesses. Great to be a University of Waterloo alum.”
Connect with Bilton
Email: grandfieldvan@hotmail.com
Richard Paterson (Mech ’76) says, “I received the King Charles III Coronation Medal in January for community service as a long time Royal Canadian Legion member, Oshawa Rotary Club member and Oshawa Gilwellian Scout leader. I’m a bagpipe player for Remembrance Day services and played for Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle Scotland in 2015.”
Connect with Richard
Email: rpater@sympatico.ca
1979
Bruce Paley (Mech ’79) reports, “I am still semi-retired in the power industry. Keeps me ‘in the game’ for some brain food. I have contracts with Sargent & Lundy (Chicago) and The World Bank (Washington, D.C.) plus some private companies. I still live in Medina, OH, and am planning to return to Canada ‘soon’.”
Connect with Bruce
Email: bkpaley@roadrunner.com
1980s
1980
Paul Colwell (Civil ’80) says, “Following graduation, I worked for Union Gas (now Enbridge) until retirement in 2019, primarily in project engineering, project management and operations management with my last role as senior manager of the project engineering group. I now live in Wallaceburg, Ontario. I have four children and nine grandchildren.”
Connect with Paul
Email: pcolwell80@outlook.com
1982
Bruce Bird (Civil ’82) reports, “I've enjoyed several successful class reunions over the years, the most memorable being the 35th Anniversary of the ’82 Waterloo Zoo Civil Engineering Grads golf boondoogle tournament in Las Vegas including a tour of the Hoover Doover. Total Covid failure for the 40th reunion at the first Las Vegas Grand Prix but we did pull off a last-minute ditch effort reunion of the good ol’ boys at Shoeless Joe's in Aurora. What a roaring boisterous evening!!”
Connect with Bruce
Email: bruceRbird@gmail.com
1983
Arnim Litte (Elect ’83) says, “I’m retired and into coastal ecology for >15 years, including kaitiakitanga, science communication and climate action. iNaturalist is part of my public face.”
Connect with Arnim
Social: iNaturalist
Email: arnim@actrix.gen.nz
Charles Watson (Chem ’83) reports, “I’m happily retired on Florida's Nature Coast. Enjoying great boating, fishing, cycling and golf. Wendy and I recently celebrated our 40th anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony.”
Connect with Charles
Email: watson4484@brighthouse.com
1986
Chris Omiecinski (SD ’86) says, “Hello SD '86! I’m now based in Thailand, living in Bangkok and working for Duravant.”
Connect with Chris
Social: LinkedIn
Email: caoski@outlook.com
1990s
1991
Tom Rand (Elect ’91) founded ArcTern Ventures in 2012, a climate tech-focussed investment platform based in Toronto, Oslo and San Francisco with assets of a billion dollars deployed across three dozen companies (including utility-scale energy storage champion Hydrostor). He wrote three books on the intersection of climate, cleantech and economics and is currently focussed on accelerating the capacity for natural systems to absorb atmospheric carbon. This year, Tom launched Domaine Heritage, a carbon-negative cidery operation in southern Quebec, and is building it with his new family including his little boy Henri Rupert.
Connect with Tom
Email: tomrand@tomrand.net
1994
Marcelo Alencar (Elect ’94) is with the graduate program in electrical engineering, Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), as a visiting professor. He just published his new book, “Digital Communications”, by Springer Nature, co-authored with Valdemar C. Rocha Jr. He is now working on two new books, expected to be published in 2025: “Information Theory and Coding”, and “Beatles, Sex, Drugs, Science and Rock ‘n’ Roll”, by River Publishers. Marcelo and Silvana have three children, Thiago, Raphael and Marcella, and three grandchildren, Vicente, Cora and Maria Isabela.
Connect with Marcelo
Social: Plataforma Lattes
Email: sampaio.alencar@gmail.com
David Bourne (Civil ’94) says, “In December 2024, I returned to the Toronto Airport (Toronto Pearson) where my career started 35 years ago in co-op and then for the first 15 years of my career, as the GTAA LIFT (Long-Term Investment in Facilities and Terminals) program lead for the Greenhouse Gas and Priority Projects.
Connect with David
Social: LinkedIn
Email: david.bourne@aecom.com
Amy Charette (nee Alfred) (Mech ’94) is principal consultant at her own firm, Appletree Management Consulting, with a focus on supply chain management consulting and supply chain transformations (process, WMS, ERP). She is based in Toronto with her family. She enjoys volunteering with WiE and is the past president of the ASCM Toronto Chapter. She’s enjoying teaching supply chain management and spending time outdoors.
Connect with Amy
Email: amy@appletreemc.com
1996
Fazila Moosa (Elect ’96) reports, “I moved to California and continue to do privacy and data security consulting work... however, very part-time! I now also focus my energy on breathworks facilitation, teaching yoga and hosting wellness retreats in beautiful Joshua Tree. Zilabreathes.com is my new love!”
Connect with Fazila
Social: Instagram
Email: fmoosa@privatech.com
1997
Tony Savor (Comp ’97) reports, “I've recently started as head of infrastructure at Index Exchange. A programmatic ad tech company, it's among the best kept secrets in Canadian Tech. Looking to grow Index into one of Canada's success stories. We're hiring, come and join us!”
Connect with Tony
Social: LinkedIn
Email: tony_savor@hotmail.com
2000s
2000
Tim Bemmann (Chem ’00) says, “I’m a husband and father. I live in Huntsville. I had a second transplant in 2016/17. I’m working for MBRP. I have a business teaching people how to make money using a digital payment platform instead of debit and credit cards. I enjoy fishing.”
Connect with Tim
Email: mmug72@yahoo.ca
2001
Alex Vye (MSci ’01) is the chief architect of Medavie Blue Cross, named one of Canada’s “Best Places to Work” and recipient of the "2024 Top Insurer Award". Alex has led Medavie's cloud and infrastructure as code journey which has automated the provisioning of Medavie’s enterprise systems, leading to increased agility and optimization of our infrastructure investment.
Connect with Alex
Social: LinkedIn
Email: alexvye@gmail.com
2001
Arthur Lam (SD ’02) started a government and public relations agency www.nexusconsultants.ca with Brett Thalmann. His service focus is high-impact organizations in tech, not-for-profit and charitable sectors. He is also hiring University of Waterloo co-op students to support clients.
Connect with Arthur
Social: LinkedIn
Email: arthur@nexusconsultants.ca
2005
Albert Mansour (Civil ’05) co-founded ConeLabs, an AI powered infrastructure technology. He's passionate about building innovative solutions and advancing civil engineering technologies.
Connect with Albert
Social: LinkedIn
Email: albertmansour@gmail.com
2008
Amit Jethani (Mtron ’08) says, “Mantle is now three years old! We're focused on managing and organizing private assets from Cap Tables to Capital Calls. We recently launched a centralized portal for institutional LPs, pension plans, endowments, family offices and more.
Connect with Amit
Social: LinkedIn
Email: amit@withmantle.com
Mohamed El Beheiry (Elect ’08), since graduating in 2008, has pursued a research and entrepreneurial career in France. He is co-founder and CTO of Avatar Medical, a company dedicated to making medical imaging more accessible and understandable for surgeons, patients and students.
Connect with Mohamed
Social: LinkedIn
Email: mo@avatarmedical.ai
2009
Sarah Vandaiyar (Chem ’09) joined the National Research Council in 2025 as an investment advisor after completing her MBA at Queen's University and Cornell University. She supports early-stage clean tech startups across Canada, helping them accelerate growth through strategic guidance and funding insights.
Connect with Sarah
Social: LinkedIn
Email: sv369@cornell.edu
2010s
2010
Edwin Liou (Mech ’10) has taken on a new role as the commercial sales manager for Carrier Enterprise in Western Canada.
Connect with Edwin
Social: LinkedIn
Email: liouedwin@gmail.com
2013
Robert Thompson (Chem ’13) is now an intellectual property lawyer and patent and trademark agent-in-training with Moffat & Co. / Macera & Jarzyna LLP, following a career as a process engineer in the municipal wastewater sector.
Connect with Robert
Social: LinkedIn
Email: rethompson@outlook.com
2014
Vimal Intwala (Mech ’14) was recently promoted to senior vice president at AlixPartners. He is responsible for developing and delivering AI-enabled transformations for consumer and retail clients.
Connect with Vimal
Social: LinkedIn
Email: vintwala.mba2022@ivey.ca
Rehana Rajwani (Mgmt ’14) was recognized in the 2025 Peak's Emerging Leaders list for her contributions to the industry in the space of learning and development for agile methodology and organizational leadership.
Connect with Rehana
Social: LinkedIn
Email: rehana.rajwani@gmail.com
Hossein Ordouei (Chem ’14) says, “I am glad to share that my book ‘Measurement of the Sustainability Performance of Chemical Manufacturing Processes’ is now available from Cambridge Scholars Publishing — enjoy 40% off the paperback price with code AUTHOR40 at Cambridge Scholars.
Connect with Hossein
Email: mh.ordouei@gmail.com
Eric Zillinger (Elect ’14) joined Microsoft where he is working on training dolphins using cutting-edge AI technology.
Connect with Eric
Email: ezillinger@gmail.com
2015
Rodrigo Araujo (Comp ’15) started a new role in 2025 at IBM as an AI technical advocate in the Office of the CTO. He focuses on model training and helping developers and clients apply cutting-edge AI technologies to real-world challenges.
Connect with Rodrigo
Social: LinkedIn
Email: sineco@gmail.com
Suchintan Singh (SD ’15) quit his job three years ago to start his own company, Skyvern, with an old co-worker from California. In the past two years, they've gone through multiple ideas, went through Y Combinator, and recently raised a seed round valued at $20 million. This summer, they were accepted to dy/dx, a fast-paced business leadership course at Stanford University. They have managed to do all this while both welcoming new family members in their lives — Suchintan had a baby girl born in July 2023, and his cofounder, Shu, had a baby boy born in September 2024.
Connect with Suchintan
Email: suchintan@skyvern.ca
2016
Andrew Mostofizadeh (Civil ’16) is building luxury custom homes across Toronto while also managing a growing medical aesthetics clinic. Andrew says, “I’m blending engineering, business and design to create elevated living and wellness experiences. Let's connect!”
Connect with Andrew
Social: LinkedIn
Email: andrew.mostofizadeh@gmail.com
2019
Nana Bediako (MSci ’19) says, “As of 2024, I am serving as the controller at Sofina Foods Inc., a leading company in the food manufacturing industry. In this role, I oversee all financial operations, including financial reporting and strategic planning. I work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure financial accuracy and efficiency, contributing to the company’s overall financial health and long-term growth.”
Connect with Nana
Social: LinkedIn
Email: bediakonana@gmail.com
Rhea Philip (Mgmt ’19) says, “I graduated with an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in May 2025 and will be relocating to Dallas for a full-time position. Let me know if you’re in the city!”
Connect with Rhea
Social: LinkedIn
Email: rheaphil@hotmail.com
2020s
2020
Jodi Szimanski (BET ’20) reports, “In February, I ran for provincial office in Kitchener-Conestoga for the NDP. Although I wasn't successful this time, I plan to run again in the next provincial election. I continue to volunteer my time with Wilmot Civic Action Network (WilmotCAN), a group that supports the Fight For Farmland (a 770-acre land assembly of Class 1 farmland in Wilmot Township) — one of the many reasons I decided to run for office.”
Connect with Jodi
Social: LinkedIn
Email:jodi.szimanski@uwaterloo.ca
2021
Anh Le (MSci ’22) is an applied scientist at Uber focused on data science and machine learning. She previously developed algorithmic insights and fraud detection models as a data scientist at Lyft, leading cross-functional projects.
Connect with Anh
Social: LinkedIn
Email: anh.le.uw@gmail.com
Jordan Lin (Mech ’22) will join the fully funded Schwarzman Scholars Master's of Global Affairs program in China for one year. He's the first Waterloo alum to be accepted into the program and will explore how innovative policy and financing can accelerate climate solutions.
Connect with Jordan
Social: LinkedIn
Email: jordan.lin@uwaterloo.ca
2023
Jay Patel (Civil ’23) says, “From civil engineering to consulting at Targus Management Consulting, Waterloo helped me build critical thinking, adaptability and leadership skills that now guide my work solving complex business challenges across diverse industries.”
Connect with Jay
Social: LinkedIn
Email: jayu_p23@hotmail.com
IN MEMORIAM
The Faculty of Engineering expresses deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the following graduates who have passed away:
- Greg Andonian (SD ’73, ’78)
- Mark Ankenman (Arch ’77)
- Juraj Babjak (Chem ’79, ’82)
- Russ Baird (Mech ’69)
- Philip Baker (Civil ’80)
- Philip Boll (Elect ’93)
- Frank Boote (Elect ’68)
- Ed Broeders (Mech ’76)
- John Bryson (Civil ’76)
- Dick Carpani (MSci ’79)
- Charles Chadwick (Mech ’70)
- Moira Courtenay (Chem ’84)
- Ron Crabtree (Elect ’76)
- Douglas Cullen (Civil ’66)
- Ian Cunningham (Elect ’70)
- John Daskewich (Mech ’68)
- Andrew De Souza (Chem ’77)
- Graham Dunsmore (Chem ’74)
- Dan Ewing (Mech ’90)
- Jack Fitzmaurice (Mech ’75)
- Peter Forristal (Chem ’75)
- Jenny Francis (Arch ’02)
- Neil Freiter (SD ’79, MSci ’84)
- Don Goldsworthy (Civil ’71)
- Rod Gordon (Elect ’63)
- Michael Goss (Chem ’64, ’65, ’69)
- Terry Gregg (Civil ’70)
- Frank Grigel (Civil ’67)
- Richard Hamilton (Mech ’63)
- Larry Hamlin (Civil ’94, ’96)
- Orville Heideman (Mech ’65)
- Philip Hewitson (Civil ’81)
- Marrius Hoefman (Civil ’71)
- Henry Hogg (Mech ’67)
- Doug Hopkins (Chem ’62)
- Lawrence Hoy (Mech ’70)
- Mauno Immonen (Elect ’65)
- Jim Ironside (Mech ’69)
- Bill Johns (Mech ’73, Civil ’82)
- Lloyd Johnston (Mech ’78)
- Leslie Jones (Civil ’95)
- Ivan Kent (Mech ’63)
- Asif Khan (Nano ’12, Elect & Comp ’16)
- Brian Kloth (Civil ’04)
- Rudi Kroeker (Elect ’78)
- David Lee (Mech ’68, ’71)
- Aaron Leger (Mech ’22)
- Dan MacDonald (Civil ’65)
- Neil MacKay (Elect ’67, ’68)
- Mark Mackey (Mech ’22)
- Peter MacLennan (Civil ’74, ’78)
- David McClary (Elect ’70)
- Ross McCuaig (Mech ’74)
- John Medley (Mech ’74, ’79)
- Jennifer Muller (Civil ’97)
- Lynn Murray (Mech ’72, MSci ’79)
- Peter Ng (Comp ’90)
- Bill Obee (Civil ’69)
- Brian Pearce (SD ’81)
- Harry Pentesco (Mech ’72)
- James Petrosky (Geo ’12)
- Ben Plumb (Civil ’10, ’17)
- Ronald Portelli (Mech ’72)
- Fred Preis (Mech ’71)
- David Reid (Mech ’67)
- Barbara Reid-Raw (MSci ’91)
- George Rhodey (Chem ’68, ’70)
- Ronald Robinson (Civil ’71)
- Paul Roussel (Civil ’64, ’65)
- George Rowbottom (Mech ’74)
- Arnold Ruppert (Elect ’63)
- Tony Schneyderberg (Civil ’75, ’86)
- Herbert Sievert (MSci ’71)
- Theodor Simon (Civil ’68)
- John Sinclair (Elect ’73)
- Roman Slocki (Elect ’64)
- Charles Somodi (Mech ’67)
- Larry Stevens (Eng Physics ’64)
- Dennis Stier (Mech ’72)
- Jim Storm (Mech ’69, Elect ’72)
- Tom Sun (SD ’15)
- Daniel Theophilus (Elect ’70, ’74)
- Geoff Tigg (Mech ’75)
- Gregory Tomaszewski (Arch ’75)
- Amer Usmani (BET ’08)
- Nitya Varma (Civil ’64, SD ’70)
- Fred Williams (Elect ’70)
- Brad Wilson (Civil ’15)
- Tom Wolff (Elect ’85)
- Nino Zaino (Mech ’75)
- Mitchell Zamojc (Civil ’74)
- Norris Zucchet (Civil ’75)