Scholarships

Philip M. Blair

Philip Blair served as a San José State University faculty member from 1957 to 1978. The Philip M. Blair Memorial Education Award was established by the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1981.

S. Brooks Walton

S. Brooks Walton was San José State University's very first engineering faculty member, hired in 1946. He was responsible for developing the Engineering Department's first courses in mechanical engineering, and was instrumental in establishing the Mechanical Engineering Department, which he chaired from 1958 to 1961.

The S. Brooks Walton Scholarship Award for ME graduate of the year was established in 1981 to recognize the outstanding graduate-of-the-year in the Mechanical Engineering program. $500 is awarded to an outstanding Mechanical Engineering graduate, as nominated and selected by ME faculty.

The S. Brooks Walton Scholarship Awards were established in 1981 to recognize two deserving and promising students in Mechanical Engineering.

David A. Brown

David Brown is an alumnus of San José State University and among his distinctions is the founding of Quantum Corporation, a disk drive manufacturing company.
The David Brown Fellowship in Mechatronics was established in 1996 to promote the professional development of the recipient in the area of Mechatronics, and to advance the development of the Mechatronics program at San José State University. The recipient of the $2000 award is expected to contribute to mechatronics laboratory development and laboratory instruction during the fellowship year.

Robert A. Dees

Robert Dees’ life embodied the Latin phrase “Mens et Manus” (Minds and Hands). This saying, the MIT motto, is followed by engineers everywhere and urges them to use their education to create and build things in the real world. The breadth and depth of Robert’s professional and personal interests is ample proof of this philosophy in action.

After completing his BSME at San Jose State, Robert had a long and successful career in industry. Starting out as a junior engineer designing, testing and machining parts himself, he progressed to roles of progressively higher responsibility in engineering and engineering management. He worked at both large and small companies, most notably Life Technologies, Ichor and Care Fusion before joining NOVO Engineering in 2017.

It was at NOVO that Robert arguably found his true home-- surrounded by like-minded folks who respected and admired his abilities and enjoyed his sense of humor and adventurous approach to life.

Robert was much more than just an engineer. He was a devoted father and applied his engineering principles and logic to his children’s life and education. He was involved in a wide range of hobbies including motorsports with cars and motorcycles, brewing and guitar playing. As his friends and colleagues will observe, he brought his unique engineering attitude to each of these activities and delighted them with his keen insights and observations.

We hope the recipients of the Robert A. Dees Memorial scholarship will honor Robert’s memory by living with honor and integrity and by putting their education to the best practical use possible for society.

This memorial message was provided by Dr. Rajan Ramaswamy, President and CTO of Novo Engineering.

Francis Huang

Francis Huang was a professor of Mechanical Engineering at San José State University from 1958 to1991, and served as department chair from 1973 to 1981. He is also an alumnus of SJSU, having earned his BS in Production Engineering from SJSU in 1951 followed by earning an MSME in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 1952 and a Professional Mechanical Engineering degree from Columbia University in 1964. Prof. Huang worked as a Design and Production Engineer for the M. W. Kellogg Company from 1952 to 1958 before joining the faculty at SJSU.
The Francis Huang Memorial Scholarship in Engineering was established by his family in 2004, to provide a $500 scholarship for undergraduate or graduate students majoring in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering.

Dr. Monica A. Kapil

Dr. Monica A. Kapil is a ME Department alumna and currently works as a Senior Research & Development Engineer at Gilead Sciences. Kapil
has helped found and fund the Gilead Sciences Scholarship to recognize students in the Society of Latino Engineer or Scientists, the Black Alliance of Scientists & Engineers, and the MESA Engineering Program who have demonstrated strong academic performance, community service, or other outstanding personal accomplishments.

Andrew Lau-Seim

Andrew Lau-Seim is a graduate of the BSME program at SJSU. He has established a scholarship to support ME students who are veterans, funding the Mechanical Engineering Veterans Scholarship.

Donald Myronuk

Donald Myronuk was a faculty member at San José State University from 1969 to 1992. He earned his BS and MA degrees from Queens University and his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois. Among his unique areas of expertise were forensics engineering and accident reconstruction.
The Donald Myronuk Memorial Scholarship Award was established by his family and friends in 2004 to provide $500 in educational support to a deserving and promising student who a junior, senior, or graduate student who is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and is a member of Pi Tau Sigma.

Mark A. Pasquale

Mark Pasquale is an alumnus of San Jose State University earning his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1984. Mark had a successful career at Lockheed Martin initially working as a mechanisms designer before moving into leadership and ultimately becoming a Lockheed Martin Space Senior Executive. Being the first in his family to attend and graduate from College Mark is honored to pay it forward to the next generation of San Jose State Mechanical Engineering Students.

Peter McGrath

Dr. Peter McGrath, a 1965 Mechanical Engineering Graduate of San Jose State University, initiated his nuclear energy research in Germany in 1969. Internationally recognized for his work on nuclear safety and waste storage, he aimed for nuclear energy's prominence in the U.S. McGrath, a distinguished leader, held executive roles at SAIC, contributing significantly to nuclear science and regulation.
The Peter McGrath Memorial Scholarship acknowledges outstanding students in SJSU's Mechanical Engineering Program.