Spotlight Stories

121 Items found
trees on campus

May 12, 2021

Contributing to a Plant-Based and Climate-Friendly World

Jane Patterson and Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, who are parents of Northeastern student Orlando Cossia Castiglioni, E’23, mechanical engineering, have combined their professions in design and business with their passion for animal welfare and an animal-free food supply. Their recent gift to the College of Engineering will help establish two co-op positions in the Sherman Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship Education focused on plant-based and climate-friendly food systems.

artwork illustration of diverse people

May 12, 2021

A Pledge of Support

While 2020 was a challenging year, it did result in some positive impacts. Among these was an increased awareness of systemic racial inequalities in the U.S., which led many businesses and private individuals to commit to supporting social change.

John Nelson and his two grandchildren

May 12, 2021

A Legacy that Lives On

The College of Engineering was sad to learn of the recent passing of alumnus John R. Nelson. He will be remembered for his scientific achievements during a nearly 40-year career and also his commitment to philanthropy, including a recently endowed engineering scholarship fund at Northeastern. John grew up on Fairview Street in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston. One of nine children and the son of a Boston Police Department patrolman, he loved building and fixing things and was destined for an engineering career―but funds for college were limited. At the time, Northeastern’s coop program offered the perfect means for John to finance his education. He graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and then earned an MBA in 1978 from Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business.

Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

photo of solomon mensah and eno ebong

May 04, 2021

It Started with a Mentor

After earning his bachelor’s degree at City College of New York, Solomon Mensah, PhD’19, bioengineering, chose to further his education at Northeastern for its entrepreneurial atmosphere, and to study under his undergraduate mentor who joined Northeastern, Associate Professor Eno Ebong, chemical engineering and bioengineering. Mensah’s graduate research, supervised by Ebong, examined inter-cellular interactions in cancer […]

Bioengineering

elisa livingston portrait

May 04, 2021

Coming Full Circle

“Originally, I’m from Colombia, and I immigrated with my mom to the U.S. when I was eight,” says Elisa Livingston, E’14, civil engineering. Livingston’s mother worked multiple jobs so that Elisa could have the best educational opportunities. “My mom, she sacrificed so much.” Northeastern offered the career-focused engineering programs that Livingston was looking for—especially with […]

Civil & Environmental Engineering

student on co-op in lab

Apr 21, 2021

Combining Energy and Leadership Programs to Make an Impact

AbdurRehman Rashid, ME’20, energy systems, and certificate in engineering leadership, knew early on that he wanted to make the world a better place through engineering. Growing up in Pakistan, at 18 he moved to Medford, Massachusetts, to attend Tufts University for his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, which he completed in 2016. After working for […]

Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

alumnus working at his job in front of double monitors

Mar 09, 2021

Broad Experience Made the Difference

Aravind Uthaman, MS’19, civil engineering, was crawling on his hands and knees for more than 300 feet into a water conduit tunnel. It was certainly not a position he expected to be in when graduated in 2019 with a master’s degree in structural engineering. But then again, Northeastern students pride themselves on being able to […]

Civil & Environmental Engineering

student sitting at table smiling

Mar 02, 2021

The ‘Triple Husky’ Experience

Sarah Brown is a true Northeastern success story: a ‘triple Husky’ who earned her bachelor’s in electrical engineering, E’11, master’s in electrical and computer engineering, ME’14, and a doctorate in electrical engineering, PhD’16. After completing her doctorate, she was awarded the University of California at Berkeley Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship and served as a postdoctoral research […]

Electrical & Computer Engineering