Spotlight Stories
Jun 26, 2020
A Planned Gift: It’s Just Good Chemistry
Jeffrey Kontoff, E’74, ME’76, knew that landing a full-time job during the deep recession of the mid-1970s would be challenging. As a chemical engineering major at Northeastern, he had held co-ops in his home state of Connecticut—but after earning his bachelor’s degree, the economy tightened and businesses pulled back on hiring. “There weren’t many companies […]
![Diana and David Salmon photo](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_600,h_400/https://coe.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/salmon-600x400-1.jpg)
Jun 26, 2020
Living the American Dream
Growing up in rural New Zealand, David Salmon, ME’65, electrical engineering, seized every technical opportunity, building radios, electric motors, and model planes from scratch. His school-vacation jobs included laboring on wharfs, houses, and barns. He scraped sludge from the feeder of a fertilizer factory and the tanks of a paper mill. He surveyed land for a new road and measured the strength of concrete samples. “I realized I would not be satisfied with any of those jobs as a career,” Salmon says. “I was motivated to continue studying.”
![photo of Loretta and Bob Maddock](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_600,h_402/https://coe.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/bob-maddock-600x400-1.jpg)
Jun 26, 2020
Giving Back and Forward
When it comes to supporting his alma mater, Bob Maddock, E’72, is proud to follow the example set by his father Tom, a 1942 Northeastern graduate who, like his son, earned a chemical engineering degree, achieved professional success, and went on to give back to the university through generous financial support.
Jun 26, 2020
Hard Work Pays Off
No one knows the value of hard work more than David House, ME’69, electrical engineering. Growing up in Muskegon, Michigan, where nearly everyone worked in a factory, House had an early love of science and a dream of becoming an engineer. But because he lacked the financial resources to spend four years at a university, […]
![portrait michele lezama](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_600,h_400/https://coe.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/MicheleLezam600-x400.jpg)
Jun 11, 2020
Her Engineering Degree Was the Launchpad for a Wide-Ranging Career
Michele Lezama, E’88, arrived at Northeastern on a scholarship for Black engineering students and now is President and CEO of the organization that made her education possible.
![student working in lab on monitor](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_600,h_400/https://coe.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/images/spotlights/XuezhuCai600x400.jpg)
Jun 11, 2020
Making Her Mark
Her research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. She also had an internship at Sanofi and is part of the Experiential PhD program.
![photo of Kritika Singh](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1400,h_933/https://coe.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/student-singh-k-3.jpg)
Jun 11, 2020
Distinctive Excellence: Our 2020 Rhodes Scholar
Kritika Singh, E’20, receives Rhodes Scholar, NIH OxCam Scholar, and Harold D. Hodgkinson Achievement Award.
![michael tormey inside train station](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_600,h_400/https://coe.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/news/cee/student-tormey-m1219.jpg)
Jun 11, 2020
On the Road to Success
Michael Tormey, E’20, was one of 10 students nationwide named among the New Faces in Civil Engineering 2020 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. He was also honored with the 2020 Marshall Scholarship. A prestigious award given to only 46 U.S. students, it offers exceptional students an opportunity to pursue post-graduate degrees in England.