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Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Eteri Svanidze, Class of 2009

Dr. Eteri Svanidze received her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia, majoring in experimental physics and applied mathematics. Upon completing several summer internships, she chose to pursue her graduate degree from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Concentrating in the area of experimental condensed matter physics, her PhD dissertation was focused on design, synthesis, and characterization of itinerant magnets, composed of non-magnetic elements. Upon completion of her graduate studies, she took a brief visiting researcher position at the Brazilian Center for Research in Physics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Currently, Dr. Svanidze is a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden, Germany. Her work focuses on novel uranium-based heavy fermion systems. Eteri’s passion for synthesis of crystals has been clear from an early age, with the very first batch of copper sulfate crystals grown in the fifth grade!

Read about the amazing discovery she made while at Rice University of a material that is 4 times stronger than steel!

 "Titanium + gold = new gold standard for artificial joints"

Crystal structure of beta titanium-3 gold. (Image courtesy of E. Morosan/Rice University)


Physics Alumni

Fredonia alum welcome inquiries from prospective and current students regarding the department and careers in physics.

Brian Charles

Tim Reid

  • Manufacturing Engineer, Melles Griot Electro Optics, Boulder CO
  • E-mail: treid (at) boulder.mellesgriot.com

Benjamin Luce

  • Clarkson University, Ph.D. in Physics
  • Asst. Professor, Lyndon State Coll. VT
  • Former President, New Mexico Solar Energy Association
  • Former Co-chair, Coalition for Clean and Affordable Energy
  • E-mail: benluce (at) swcp.com

Kenneth Spafford

  • University of Arizona, J.D.
  • Patent Lawyer, United States District Court, Phoenix AZ
  • E-mail: kspaf (at) hotmail.com

Andrew Heymsfield

  • University of Chicago, Ph.D. in Meteorology
  • Head of Physical Meteorology Section, Microscale and Mesoscale Meteorology Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research
  • E-mail: heyms1 (at) ncar.ucar.edu

Gerald Heymsfield

  • University of Oklahoma, Ph.D. in Meteorology
  • Research Meteorologist, Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Branch, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
  • E-mail: heymsfield (at) agnes.gsfc.nasa.gov

Barry Doust

  • Penn State Ph.D. Program in Acoustical Physics (part time)
  • Senior Electroacoustics Engineer and Program manager, materials Syatems Inc., Littleton, MA
  • E-mail: bdoust (at) matsysinc.com

Steven Huels

  • Penn State, MS in Astronomy
  • Senior Laboratory Analyst, Dunkirk Environmental Laboratory
  • E-mail: shuels (at) mailaps.org

Michael Symans

  • U. Buffalo, Ph.D. in Civil Engineering
  • Associate Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • E-mail: symans (at) rpi.edu

Martin Parker

  • U. of Buffalo Electrical Engineering Graduate
  • U. of Rochester MS in Electrical Engineering
  • Director of Engineering, DVC Co., Austin TX
  • E-mail: martin (at) dvcco.com

Jose Martinez

  • Java/Computer programming, Department of Treasury, Bureau of the Public Dept., WV,
    Formerly Lieutenant in US Navy and Physical Scientist in the Naval Oceanographic Office
  • E-mail: martinezjosei (at) yahoo.com

Matt Dorogi

  • Purdue University Ph.D. in Experimental Solid State Physics
  • Product manager, NEXX Systems, Billerica MA
  • E-mail: mattdorogi (at) cs.com

Gary DeLeo, '74

  • Professor and Department Chair at Lehigh University
  • Earned his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and has since had many papers published

Gary Ashton, '74

  • Worked in Optics at 3M and Hewlett Packard
  • Earned his Ph.D. from Colorado State University

Gary Bulgar, '67

  • Exemplary career at Bell Labs/Lucen

Cooperative Engineering Alumni

(who welcome inquiries from prospective and current students regarding the department and careers in engineering)

Brian Miga

  • RIT Microelectronic Engineering Graduate
  • Sr. Yield Enhancement Engineer, Cypress Semiconductor, Bloomington MN
  • E-mail: bjmiga (at) hotmail.com

Martin Parker

  • U. of Buffalo Electrical Engineering Graduate
  • U. of Rochester MS in Electrical Engineering
  • Director of Engineering, DVC Co., Austin TX
  • E-mail: martin (at) dvcco.com

Michael Symons

  • U. of Buffalo Civil Engineering Graduate
  • U. Buffalo Ph.D. in Civil Engineering
  • Associate Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • E-mail: symans (at) rpi.edu

Susan Schall

  • Penn State Industrial Engineering Graduate
  • Penn State Masters and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering
  • E-mail: soschall (at) shentel.net

Kevin Miller

  • Case Western Reserve Civil Engineering Graduate
  • Branch Office Manager, Project Manager, Bergman Associates Engineers, Buffalo NY
  • E-mail: kevinmiller (at) wycol.com

Michael Dudek II

  • Purchased Parts Market Supervisor, Delphi Energy and Chassis Systems, Rochester, NY
  • E-mail: michael.p.dudek (at) delphiauto.com

Heather Humphrey

  • U. of Buffalo Civil Engineering Graduate
  • Environmental Engineer, R&D Engineering INC., Buffalo, NY
  • E-mail: hhumphrey (at) craworld.com

Wanda Perks

  • University at Buffalo Civil Engineering Graduate
  • Assistant Engineer, Glynn Geotechnical Engineering, Lockport, NY
  • E-mail: wperks (at) glynngroup.com

Brian Noel

  • RPI Chemical and Environmental Engineering Graduate
  • Inspection & Repair Services Environmental Lead, GE Power Systems
  • E-mail: brian.noel (at) ps.ge.com

Andrew Hicks

  • Tri-State Electrical Engineering Graduate
  • Director of Operations, Health Care Systems, St. Petersburg, FL
  • E-mail: ahicks719 (at) aol.com

Dave Christian

  • University of Buffalo Electrical Engineering Graduate
  • Director, Design Division, Weapons Simulation Department, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, MD
  • E-mail: christiandc (at) ih.navy.mil

Christopher Gosselin

  • Virginia Tech Industrial and Systems Engineering Graduate
  • Production Program Manager, Tactical Avionics, Lockheed Martin CO., Minnesota
  • E-mail: chris.s.gosselin (at) lmco.com

Earl Kipler

  • Clarkson Engineering & Management Graduate
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Master's Degree in Industrial and Management Engineering
  • Industrial Engineer, Northrop Grumman Corp., Baltimore, MD
  • E-mail: Earl_r_Kiplerjr (at) mail.northgrum.com

Michael McCune

  • Syracuse Mechanical Engineering Graduate
  • RPI Masters in Mechanical Engineering
  • Manager, Fan Drive Gear System Business Center, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft
  • E-mail: Michael.McCune (at) PW.UTC.COM

Joe Callahan

  • RIT Packaging Engineering Graduate
  • E-mail: callax5 (at) aol.com

Jeannie Norsworthy

  • U. of Buffalo Chemical Engineering Graduate
  • Business Analyst, Safety-Kleen Corp.
  • E-mail: JNorsworthy (at) safety-kleen.com

Barry Doust

  • U. of Buffalo Masters in Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Penn State Ph.D. Program (part time)
  • Acoustics Engineer, BAE SYSTEMS - Ocean Systems, Braintree MA
  • E-mail: barry.doust (at) baesystems.com

Reid Irish

  • U. of Arizona Mechanical Engineering Graduate
  • Product Engineer, Cummins Diesel, Jamestown NY
  • E-mail: reid.irish (at) cummins.com

Jason Rothenberger

  • U. of Buffalo Chemical Engineering Graduate
  • Senior Process Engineer, Occidental Chemical Corp., Pottstown, PA
  • E-mail: Jason_M._Rothenberger (at) oxy.com

Tadd Adams

  • U. of Buffalo Industrial Engineering Graduate
  • Network Engineer, Lucent technologies, NJ
  • E-mail: tadd (at) lucent.com

Christopher Sichak

  • U. of Buffalo Civil Engineering Graduate
  • Civil Engineer (bridge design), Goodkind & O'Dea, Inc., Rochester, NY
  • E-mail: csichak (at) goodkindinc.com

James Deak, '88

  • Has worked for IBM and Thomas Watson Research Center
  • Earned his Ph.D. in physics from Purdue University

Stewart Cane, '89

  • Partner at Alden Research Labs, a premier fluid dynamics modeling company
  • Coop Engineer with Tri-State in Aerospace Engineering
  • Earned his Ph.D. in computational fluid dynamics

Joseph Reed, '86

  • Director of Engineering and Production Testing for Architectural Testing of York, Pa.
  • Has worked as a Physics Coop Engineer with Case Western
  • Earned his Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University
  • Owner of over 20 patents

Physics Department Office

  • 150 Houghton Hall State University of New York at Fredonia Fredonia, NY 14063

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