Award Winners

In celebration of our centenary, the School of Engineering honored 12 illustrious individuals whose work and service have made a tremendous impact on furthering the profession of engineering and the School of Engineering and Santa Clara University.

William J. Adams: As a graduate of the Class of 1937, Bill Adams was awarded SCU's Nobili Medal, given to the male graduate judged outstanding in academic performance, personal character, school activities, and constructive contribution to the University by the faculty and the provost. This mark of ability and character at such an early age was just a harbinger of things to come as Bill mixed a successful career as Chief Engineer of FMC's Central Engineering Laboratory in San Jose with a lifelong commitment of service to his community, to the School of Engineering, and to the University. Along the way he garnered numerous other awards including the School of Engineering's Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award, induction into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame, and honorary membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers—an award that recognizes a lifetime of service to engineering. He holds 12 U.S. and 15 foreign patents. He and his wife Marijane also created a scholarship fund to help SCU mechanical engineering students with financial need and to fund research fellowships. For his lifetime of contribution, Bill Adams was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

William N. Carrico: Bill Carrico is an electrical engineering alumnus from the Class of '72 who began his career working at Fairchild Semiconductor and Zilog. During his career, he co-founded seven networking companies in Silicon Valley. The first, Bridge Communications, went public in the mid-1980s and was later acquired by 3Com Corporation, at which time Bill became president of 3Com. Several ventures later, Bill co-founded Packet Design in 2000 where he serves as chairman. Bill has served in an advisory capacity on numerous boards in the Valley and is widely known and respected for his keen business insight and innovation. For his achievements as a leader in entrepreneurship, Bill Carrico was selected as  a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

William S. Carter: Bill Carter is an alumnus of the School of Engineering, having earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering here at SCU where he was selected for membership in three national honor societies: Tau Beta Pi (engineering), Eta Kappa Nu (electrical engineering), and Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit). This 30-year veteran of the tech industry began his career at Zilog where he designed and managed the design of NMOS microprocessors and peripherals. He later joined Xilinx, where he helped pioneer the development on the first Field Programmable Gate Arrays, a market that Xilinx invented and continues to dominate. Today he is Xilinx Fellow, the highest position a person can earn on a technical level. A Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award recipient, Bill also serves on the School of Engineering's Industry Advisory Board and currently is a member of SCU's Board of Fellows, and member of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society Advisory Board. Bill has authored and co-authored several technical papers, holds 10 U.S. patents, and recently traveled to India with SCU faculty. In recognition of his many contributions to the profession of engineering and to his alma mater, Bill Carter was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

Michael L. Hackworth: Our Valley, our institution, our profession, our lives, and our aspirations are enriched through Mike Hackworth's many contributions. As a high tech leader and a respected senior executive, Mike's experience in semiconductors with industry leaders such as Motorola, Fairchild and Philips Semiconductor led to his founding Cirrus Logic where as CEO he grew the company to more than $1 billion in annual revenue in just ten years. His support of the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose encourages the next generation of engineers, and his commitment to advancing teaching, learning, and scholarship in applied ethics and his support of women in engineering through an endowment created with his wife, Joan, makes Mike Hackworth a cherished recipient of the School of Engineering Centennial Award.

Jack D. Kuehler: An alumnus holding a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, a master's in electrical engineering, and an honorary doctorate of engineering science, Jack worked his way up from the position of associate engineer at IBM's San Jose Research Laboratory in 1958 to become president of the international giant in 1989. In industry and here at SCU, Jack was revered for his leadership, intelligence, warmth, and mentoring. Over the years, Jack was named a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, IEEE Fellow, Santa Clara University Trustee, and School of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. He was a dogged promoter of innovation and creativity in the technical arena as a means for ensuring national security and technological competitiveness for the United States. As such, he and his wife, Carmen, created a research fund allowing promising SCU engineering undergraduates to join faculty in summer research. For his many contributions to the field of engineering and for leading by example, Jack D. Kuehler was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

Jeffrey A. Miller: Jeff Miller is an electrical engineering alumnus who also received his MBA from Santa Clara. He put his education to good use at Intel, Adaptec, Cadence Design Systems, and Documentum where he served as CEO. Under Jeff's leadership, Documentum became one of the fastest growing technology companies in the country. Presently, Jeff is president and CEO of JAMM Ventures, a consulting and venture capital firm. But it is his work as co-managing director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society, chair of the CSTS Advisory Board, and involvement with the Center's Global Social Benefit Incubator that make him a century stand-out. With his guidance and support, the University has grown tremendously in its ability to promote the use of science and technology to benefit underserved communities worldwide, and collaboration between the Center and the School of Engineering has blossomed, affording our students and faculty unparalleled opportunities. For his leadership in global engagement and social justice, Jeff Miller was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

John L. Ocampo: John Ocampo is an electrical engineering alumnus. In 1985, he co-founded Sirenza Microdevices, a supplier of radio frequency semiconductors and related components for the commercial communications, consumer and aerospace, defense and homeland security equipment markets. While leading Sirenza through a successful IPO and eventual sale to RF Micro Devices, John served at various times in a number of key roles, including President and CEO, CTO and Chairman. He is now co-founder and president of Gaas Labs, a private equity fund providing financial support and operational expertise to companies in the communications, semiconductor, and related industries. He is renowned for his entrepreneurial, operational and technological expertise as well as his generosity. John is a champion of the School of Engineering's Center for Nanostructures, by funding it to promote interdisciplinary research and education through partnerships with other universities, industry, and government, while positioning Santa Clara University as a national center of innovation in nanostructures research. For his support of the Center for Nanostructures and for his contributions to the semiconductor and communications industries, John Ocampo was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

Eugene A. Ravizza: Gene Ravizza is an electrical engineering alumnus from the Class of '50. In 1954 Gene co-founded Cupertino Electric, a company that has grown into one of the top 10 electrical contracting firms in the country. Innovative problem-solvers, the company has "powered the creation of Silicon Valley" through projects such as the first semiconductor chip fabrication plant to an ultra-energy-efficient data center, to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Gene has generously supported the School of Engineering's successful Solar Decathlon entries in 2007 and 2009 and has also created a scholarship fund for undergraduate engineers. He received the School of Engineering Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award in 1997. For his commitment to integrity while designing and executing cutting-edge electrical systems and for his ongoing support of his alma mater, Eugene Ravizza was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

Dragoslav D. Siljak: While Drago Siljak is not an alumnus of the School of Engineering, as professor of electrical engineering he has been part of the family here for the past 47 years. Drago is a world-renowned controls scientist who developed new methods for control design of space vehicles which were later applied to stability analysis and control design of the Saturn V rocket that propelled men to the moon. He has applied his research in the theory and application of complex large-scale dynamic systems to a variety of areas as diverse as electric power systems, large space structures, population biology, the arms race and the competitive equilibrium in mathematical economics. His presence at Santa Clara has drawn scholars from around the world to our campus, bringing distinction to our engineering program. In 2010 Drago received the Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award for his achievements in control theory—the highest recognition of professional achievement for U.S. control systems engineers. He is also a Life Fellow of the IEEE. For career contributions to the advancement of controls theory and for the excellence and distinction he has brought to Santa Clara University for nearly half a century, Dragoslav Siljak was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

George L. Sullivan: George Sullivan was the founding professor of the engineering program at Santa Clara in 1912 and he served as the School's first dean of engineering from 1919-1955. Known as the Iron Chancellor, Sullivan set the bar high for academic and character development at Santa Clara, in a manner that continues to serve the School well to this day. He also led by example, serving his external community as well as the University. For a number of years, he held the dual role of Dean of the College of Engineering and City Engineer for Santa Clara, overseeing federal government Works Progress Administration work and paving the streets and installing the City Sewage Treatment Plant for the City of Santa Clara. He was also a consultant on the construction of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, and held a consultant's post in 1953 with the Department of the Interior for conversion of sea water to fresh water. He was inducted posthumously into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame in 1994. Without the strong foundation he built and the commitment to excellence he personified, the School of Engineering would not be what it is today.

William E. Terry: Bill Terry is an electrical engineering alumnus from the Class of '55. Prior to his retirement in 1993, Bill was Executive Vice President of the Measurement Systems Sector and a Director of the Hewlett-Packard Company, having worked his way through various positions since joining the company in 1957 as a sales engineer. Bill has taken a number of leadership roles within Silicon Valley, serving as Chairman of the American Electronics Association, Santa Clara County Manufacturing Group, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation. He has also served as as advisory board member for the School of Engineering, and as a member of the Board of Regents and Board of Trustees for Santa Clara University. He is a recipient of the School of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Award. Bill and his wife, Janice, have been active proponents of excellence in Jesuit teaching, having established a professorship supporting the advancement of the academic quality and educational mission of SCU as a Jesuit and Catholic University, and a scholarship fund for undergraduate minority students pursuing a degree in engineering. For his contributions to engineering in Silicon Valley and to excellence in engineering education at Santa Clara University, Bill Terry was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.

Maynard G. Webb: Maynard Webb is a fierce proponent of entrepreneurialism. Currently the Chairman of the Board of LiveOps and former COO of eBay, Maynard believes in helping those who help themselves, "pulling themselves up by the bootstraps," as he likes to say. As the founder of Webb Investment Network, he provides investments and expertise to entrepreneurs creating start-ups in the areas of Internet and mobile technology and cloud computing, providing seed investments and access to a network of affiliated executives who provide on-demand advice. He has also been a great supporter of our Solar Decathlon and of the School of Engineering, offering not only his time as a guest speaker and advisory board member, but also through funding from the Webb Family Charitable Foundation which "strives to empower people to make a difference in the world no matter what their own circumstances are." Grants from the foundation have supported engineering student projects such as solar-powered irrigation for Walden West Science Camp here in our own backyard and has supported engineering transfer students from local community colleges. In recognition of his efforts to support "engineering with a mission" at Santa Clara University, Maynard Webb is a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient.