Class Notes

Chuck Ross (Engr ’80, ’83, ’88 CM) recently had the honor of officiating the wedding of his former research student and close friend Garrett Josemans. The wedding of Josemans and his bride Taylor Krause was televised on Season 7 of the popular Netflix show “Love is Blind.” Ross is professor of physics and dean emeritus at Longwood University.

Nia Zalamea-Ducklo (Col ’98 CM) serves as an assistant professor of surgery and director of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) Global Surgery Institute. In 2021 she was appointed assistant dean in the Office of Student Affairs at the UTHSC College of Medicine. She also maintains a global practice and serves as board chair, vice president and general surgeon with the Memphis Mission of Mercy, an NGO founded by her parents that provides medical and surgical care to the poor through annual or biannual trips to the Philippines. She is the mother of two boys, Thomas (5) and Noli (3). Her husband, Matt Ducklo, is founder and gallerist of TOPS Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee.

Capt. Marvin Heinze (Arch ’79 CM) has been selected to serve as first vice chairman of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). The association is an independent, nonprofit, politically nonpartisan organization with 360,000 members from every branch of uniformed service — active duty, National Guard, Reserve, retired, former officers, and surviving spouses. MOAA advocates for a strong national defense, plays an active role in military personnel matters and proposes legislation affecting the career force, the retired community, and veterans of the uniformed services.  It also provides career transition assistance, military benefits counseling, and educational assistance to children of military families through its charities. Heinze is serving a six-year term, from 2020 to 2026.

Rear Adm. Cathal O’Connor (Col ’88 CM) joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as an adjunct research staff member in the Strategy, Forces, and Resources Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center.

IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development centers in the public interest. IDA answers the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions with objective analysis leveraging extraordinary scientific, technical and analytic expertise.

Now retired, O’Connor commanded a warship in San Diego, California, a squadron of warships in Japan, and a strike group of warships, landing craft, helicopters, and jet aircraft, again in San Diego.

O’Connor was commissioned an ensign from the UVA Naval ROTC unit after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English. He rowed lightweight crew and was a member of Chi Psi fraternity.

David Cadaret (Col ’93, Educ ’04 CM) recently joined the faculty of the University of Washington School of Law as an associate teaching professor. Before accepting the appointment, Cadaret taught at the University of Oregon School of Law for 11 years.

Kate Granruth (Col ’21, Law ’24) has joined the law firm of Hollingsworth LLP as a first-year associate. During law school at UVA, Granruth was managing editor of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, a student participant in the Innocence Project Clinic, and won the First Year Legal Research & Writing Best Brief Award.

She was also a participant in the Environmental Law & Community Engagement Clinic, a law clerk at Equal Rights Advocates, a legal research assistant at Southern Environmental Law Center, and an intern at the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center.

Based in Washington, D.C., Hollingsworth LLP is known for work that focuses the courts on sound science, particularly the lack of scientifically reliable causation evidence.

John K. Brown (Grad ’88, ’92 CM) has published Spanning the Gilded Age: James Eads and the Great Steel Bridge, the daring, improbable story of the construction of the St. Louis Bridge. Begun in 1867 and completed in 1874, it was the first structure of any kind—anywhere in the world—built of steel. Its three graceful arches broke world records for their span lengths; its stone foundations were the deepest yet constructed. It also the story of the career of Eads, one of the most influential engineers of the nineteenth century. Eads not only overcame the physical and technical challenges posed by construction of the bridge but employed equally imaginative design skills to finance the project.

Brown taught history, applied ethics and writing in the UVA School of Engineering’s Department of Engineering and Society from 1992 to 2015.

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12518/spanning-gilded-age

Howard M. Turner Jr. (Engr ’97) was hired as senior director of preconstruction and risk management for energy and technical Services at McKinstry, a national construction and energy services company dedicated to innovating waste and climate harm out of the built environment. Turner will lead preconstruction and risk management efforts for energy, sustainability, and decarbonization projects across the U.S., with a focus on existing facilities.

Byron Dickson (Arch ’63 CM) captured top honors in watercolor at the League of Roanoke Artists annual showcase, held at the Jefferson Center in downtown Roanoke, Virginia. His winning entry, “Wind Surfer,” was among the 94 works featured in this year’s event. Acclaimed professional artist Dana Phillips of Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia judged the contest.

Edward Castillo (Col ’18 CM) has joined the Raleigh, North Carolina office of law firm Ogletree Deakins as an associate.

Chris Frey (Engr ’85) completed service as assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development (ORD) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 30. In this presidentially nominated and U.S. Senate confirmed role, he also served as the agency’s science advisor and as co-chair of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Environment. He previously served ORD as deputy assistant administrator for science policy. To advance the EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment, Frey provided strategic direction for research and science translation that addressed priority needs of internal and external EPA partners on climate change, environmental justice and contaminants of immediate and emerging concern, among other areas.

Frey returned to North Carolina State University Oct. 1, where he joined the College of Engineering’s leadership team in a new role as associate dean for research and infrastructure. He is also continuing in his previous role as the Glenn E. and Phyllis J. Futrell distinguished university professor of environmental engineering in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. He returns after a leave between 2021 and 2024 for his service at the EPA.

Since joining N.C. State’s faculty in 1994, Frey has established a research portfolio focused on measurement and modeling of human exposure to air pollution and vehicle emissions, as well as applications of probabilistic and sensitivity analysis methods to emissions estimation, technology assessment, and risk assessment.

Dr. Christopher Mitchell (Col ’04 CM), was recently promoted to Colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Mitchell is an active duty emergency physician and combat veteran with four tours in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. He is the program director for the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Cavazos, Texas.

Fang Guo (Grad ’16, ’17) has been promoted to principal at Cornerstone Research, a leading provider of economic and financial consulting and expert testimony. Guo consults on antitrust and competition, consumer fraud and product liability, intellectual property, and statistical sampling matters, primarily in the life sciences and health care industries. In these contexts, she has analyzed class certification, liability, market definition, market power, and damages, among other issues. She also assesses alleged anticompetitive delays of generic entry, estimates the competitive effects of vertical mergers, and evaluates alleged price fixing and pass-through along the supply chain.

David Tarleton (Col ’93) was hired as the chair of the Department of Film and Media Arts at Syracuse University. He also teaches film directing in its nationally ranked film program. Previously, he served as the director of graduate programs in film at Columbia College Chicago. He has thirty years experience in the film and television industries as a producer, director and editor. He produced and directed the feature film, Hunter, and produced and directed the television series, Dark Secrets. He was executive producer and director for the streaming series, Dorkumentary, and worked with The Muppets for Disney. He and his wife, Adria Dawn, received an Emmy nomination in 2023 for Identity, their film project about transgender youth. Recently, he has been making Kids Matter, a series of socially relevant films for kids. After graduating from UVA, he studied film at New York University and received his M.F.A from the University of Southern California.

Laura B. Truesdale (Col ’08 CM) of Moore & Van Allen PLLC was named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list. The 500 X list, now in its second year of publishing, recognizes future leaders in law and those who, according to Lawdragon, “have eyes turned toward the future and an undiminished belief in the opportunity to make an impact.” Truesdale’s practice focuses on advising clients – such as real estate developers, lenders and financial institutions, contractors, and buyers/sellers of contaminated properties – on the environmental aspects of a wide range of real-estate-related matters.

Thomas C. Grant (Col ’92) has been named to the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of commercial litigation. Grant is a partner at Freed Grant LLC, where he focuses his practice on complex business litigation, commercial real estate, probate, appellate, and insurance defense matters.

Dr. Erika Werner (Col ’98, Engr ’99, Res ’08 CM) was appointed president of the faculty practice at Tufts Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine, where she is also the chair of obstetrics and gynecology and Louis E. Phaneuf Teaching and Research Professor.

Dr. Werner lives in Barrington, Rhode Island with her husband W. Frazier Bell (Educ ’98) and their two daughters.

Jessica Somers (Com ’04) has joined Aledade, the nation’s largest network of independent primary care, as chief financial officer. Somers joins Aledade from Evolent, a publicly traded company that specializes in improving health outcomes. At Evolent, Somers led the development and execution of strategic growth investments, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic partnerships.

Lauren Nguyen (Com ’15 CM) has been named controller and vice president of finance at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. Nguyen oversees the organization’s finance and accounting functions, including accounts payable, grant reporting, audit and tax filings, and financial reporting, ensuring the Aquarium’s financial excellence and integrity. She also plays a crucial role in developing the aquarium’s economic strategy and sustainability planning.

Nguyen is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with previous experience at EY (formerly Ernst & Young) and 50CAN, an education advocacy nonprofit.