2004

Joseph F. Boston
EN '59
Alumni Achievement Award

Joseph F. Boston received the Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of his wide-ranging accomplishments in computer-aided chemical engineering and the role he played in the development and success of Aspen Technology, Inc.

In 1959, Boston received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Washington University. He began his career with Union Carbide Corporation at a time when computers were just beginning to be used for technical applications in the chemical process industries. Subsequently, he worked for Monsanto and Bechtel.

After receiving his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Tulane University in 1970, Boston served as assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and as associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Toledo. In 1977, he joined the Advanced System for Processing Engineering (ASPEN) Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as associate project manager. The ASPEN Project's charter was to develop the next-generation software system for computer-aided process engineering.

When the ASPEN Project was completed in 1981, Boston helped found Aspen Technology, Inc. to commercialize ASPEN software.

Boston is author or co-author of over 60 technical articles and conference presentations as well as two patents.

Joseph C. Moquin
EN '49
Alumni Achievement Award

Joseph C. Moquin received the Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of his 30 years of service to Teledyne Brown and his leadership in bringing his company's engineering and manufacturing expertise to our country's defense and space program.

After serving three years in the U.S. Army in World War II, Moquin enrolled in Washington University; in 1949 he received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering. Three years later, he joined the Army's Ordnance Management Engineering Program at Rock Island Arsenal.

Moquin served the Army Ballistic Missile Agency as chief of management services for two years and spent one year at the Army Ordnance Missile Command as chief management engineer. As chief civilian in the control office, he helped plan, program, budget, and schedule monitoring and control management studies of the Army's missile program.

In 1959, Moquin joined Brown Engineering (later Teledyne Brown). He served the company for 30 years, first as vice president, then president, and finally president, chairman, and CEO.

In the early 1960s, Moquin selected a new location for Teledyne Brown on a 3,000-acre site adjacent to the University of Alabama-Huntsville. He also helped establish Cummings Research Park, which became the second largest in the United States.

In 1982, Joseph received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Alabama-Huntsville. After retirement, he served one year as interim president of the University of Alabama-Huntsville, and later as interim general manager of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. He also serves on the board of the University of Alabama-Huntsville Foundation, Cummings Research Park, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, and Intergraph.

David J. Rossetti
EN '74
Alumni Achievement Award

In recognition of his pioneering work in computer architecture and software development for Geographic Information Systems and Internet Operating Systems, and his extensive community service, David J. Rossetti received a School of Engineering and Applied Science Alumni Achievement Award.

Rossetti grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and entered Washington University as part of the fifth Langsdorf Fellowship group. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics and computer science in 1974 and went on to Stanford University to earn a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1977. He studied workload characterization and fault tolerance of computing systems to complete Ph.D. course work and research before he left to join a Silicon Valley startup company. This began a 29-year career of contributions in computer systems, databases, and software products spanning mainframes, servers, end-user systems, and networks.

At startup Amdahl Corporation, Rossetti architected performance evaluation components for the first Amdahl mainframe. At the IBM San Jose Research Lab, he demonstrated that relational databases could perform at least as well as hierarchical databases.

Rossetti is currently vice president of strategic software technology at Cisco Systems. During his nine years at Cisco, he has led the engineering of many Cisco products, including major parts of Cisco's Internetwork Operating System, Internet routing, quality of service, multicast, security, Web caching, and server load balancing. The team's leadership has been recognized in journals such as Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal.

Rossetti is married to Jan Avent, a professor of speech-language pathology specializing in the treatment of aphasia. They are committed to protecting the environment through the Yosemite Fund and also support the Computer History Museum, and directly support high-potential students at Washington University and elsewhere. His most significant recent achievement, he states, is staying married through building a collection of about 9,000 mechanical puzzles, one of the largest in the United States.

Anthony Thompson
SI '99
Alumni Achievement Award

Anthony (Tony) Thompson was recognized for his achievement in construction and project management, his advocacy of minority and female-owned businesses, and the leadership and service he gives to St. Louis.

Thompson gave up a promising career as a jazz pianist to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in architectural engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental design from the University of Kansas in 1983. Tony later received a Master of Business Administration degree from Webster University in 1998 and a Master of Science degree in construction management from Washington University in 1999.

As a construction engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Thompson prepared detailed estimates, reviewed submittals, negotiated contracts, and inspected contractors' work in support of Lock and Dam No. 26 in Alton, Illinois. While serving as a mechanical engineer at Monsanto, he monitored fieldwork and coordinated design for major process projects. As a project engineer for Anheuser-Busch, he managed in-house designers on a variety of construction projects.

In 1994, Thompson struck out on his own, becoming president and CEO of his own company, Kwame Building Group, Inc. Kwame provides services such as budgeting, scheduling, cost control, construction and project management, contract and claims administration, estimating, project planning, and value engineering. Thompson was Kwame's sole employee at its outset, but now, with headquarters in Clayton, Missouri, and offices in Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, the firm numbers 80 employees.

A staunch advocate of minority businesses and community involvement, Thompson serves on the boards of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the Regional Chamber and Growth Association, FOCUS St. Louis, United Way of Greater St. Louis, the American Lung Association, Annie Malone Children's Home, Black Leadership Roundtable, and William L. Clay Scholarship and Research Fund. In 2001, Thompson was named one of the St. Louis Business Journal's "40 under 40."

Allen R. Atkins
Dean's Award

The School of Engineering and Applied Science is grateful to Allen Atkins for the pivotal role he has played in starting and continuing the Boeing/Washington University Graduate Engineering Education and Research Partnership.

Before he joined the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Atkins held several positions at the U.S. Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). During his tenure at DARPA, Atkins helped develop advanced aerospace programs; he also led the development and proof of concept demonstration (TACIT BLUE) that provided the second generation low observables technology for the B-2 bomber. He also initiated the focus in Uninhabited Air Vehicles (UAVs); one of these, the Predator, in service today around the world.

His experience with UAVs started with the Air Force in 1973. As a new hire out of college, he was asked to be project manager for a small, "stealthy" UAV. The success of this program convinced the DoD and DARPA to launch the HAVE BLUE manned Stealth Demonstrator. Atkins's technical leadership helped create a new generation of technology and allowed the development and manufacture of the F-117 Stealth Fighter.

Prior to McDonnell Douglas' merger with The Boeing Company, Atkins was vice president of the Product Application Technology group and vice president and general manager of McDonnell Douglas Technologies, Inc.

Robert L. Mullenger
EN '89
Young Alumni Award

Robert L. Mullenger was recognized of advancements he has brought to the technical workplace, particularly methodologies he has developed for Internet-based procurement and collaboration processes.

Mullenger graduated from Washington University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. He began his career with ExxonMobil at Houston's Baytown Refinery, where he spent a decade in a variety of technical, financial, logistics, and operations roles.

In the fall of 1999, Mullenger joined an Internet company, founded by two of his ExxonMobil colleagues, as a product manager and moved to Silicon Valley. While there, he led the release of the first Web-based equipment marketplace for the petrochemical industry in June 2000.

Over the subsequent three years as the technology sector consolidated, he worked as a product manager for firms providing supply-chain management solutions in the automotive, aerospace, and healthcare sector. Mullenger filed two patents for methodology related to Web-based procurement and collaboration processes. Currently, he is a senior product marketing manager for San Jose-based Neoforma, Inc., a leading provider of supply-chain management solutions to the health care industry.

Robert met his wife, Rhonda Radcliff, a chemical engineer, at ExxonMobil. Together, they have visited all seven continents and over 30 countries.