Eight alumni honored for career accomplishments

Turri

William H. Turri '62 is RIT's Outstanding Alumnus for 2002. He received this award and seven other graduates were honored as Distinguished Alumni at a celebration Oct. 12 during Brick City Festival and Reunion 2002.

The Outstanding Alumnus Award is given annually to a person who has excelled in serving the needs of the RIT community. The Distinguished Alumni Awards acknowledge the accomplishments of alumni in their career fields.

Turri, who retired last year as president of Case-Hoyt Corp. after a distinguished career in the Rochester printing industry, received a B.S. in graphic arts from the College of Graphic Arts and Photography. He serves on the RIT President's Roundtable, is a member of the Nathaniel Rochester Society President's Circle and is chairman of the NRS scholarship committee. Turri lives in Rochester.

In 1989, he and his friend Peter C. Browne '64 established the Turri & Browne Scholarship.

RIT's 2002 Distinguished Alumni are:

Bielenberg

Kenneth R. Bielenberg '87(B.S., computer science), B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. Bielenberg, who joined PDI/Dreamworks in 1990, served as the visual effects supervisor for the Oscar-winning animated feature, Shrek. In that position, he provided both creative and technical supervision to the digital artists who brought the big green ogre to the screen. He now is working on Shrek 2. Bielenberg lives in the San Francisco area.

Chebeir

Sam Chebeir '96 (M.S., packaging science), College of Applied Science and Technology. Chebeir founded Plastical Industries Inc. in 1978 with the invention of the disposable automotive seat cover. In 1984, Chebeir acquired Transamerican Plastics Corp. from Pillsbury and expanded the company to become a major West Coast manufacturer of industrial, food and medical packaging. He sold his shares in both corporations in 2000 and serves on the board of the new entity that encompasses both companies. He lives in Corona, Calif.

Pelano

Gerald D. Pelano '69 (B.S., business administration), College of Business. Pelano is co-founder and co-president of Traditional Floorcovering Inc., which provides contracting services to major homebuilders. He also is a founding director and an executive board member of Potomac Bank of Virginia. A resident of Fairfax Station, Va., he is active in community organizations and recently chaired the $6.5-million capital campaign for Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax.

Berlik

Lee E. Berlik '92 (B.S., professional and technical communication), College of Liberal Arts. After graduating from RIT, Berlik went on to earn his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from American University's Washington College of Law in 1995. He is a trial lawyer with Mintz Levin, a 500-attorney firm with offices in Boston, New York City, Washington, New Haven and Reston, Va., where he resides.

Harris

Jeffrey K. Harris '75 (B.S., photographic science), College of Science. Harris is deputy to the executive vice president of Space Systems Co., a $6.8 billion business unit that designs, develops and operates launch systems, ground systems, remote-sensing satellites, communications satellites, ballistic missiles and missile defense systems for military, civil and commercial customers. His previous assignments include president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Operations, president of Lockheed Martin Special Projects, and president of Space Imaging. Before entering the private sector, Harris served in senior leadership positions for the U.S. defense and intelligence communities. He lives in Arnold, Md.

Frasca

Robert O. Frasca '88 (B.S., mechanical engineering), Kate Gleason College of Engineering. Frasca is CEO and president of Affinnova Inc., created to help companies develop new products. An Internet pioneer, he was founder, chairman and CEO of Internet Venture Works; vice president and general manager of Lycos.com; and executive vice president of WiseWire Corp. From 1988 to 1994, he flew S-3B Vikings for the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Forrestal and was on active duty in Desert Storm. He lives in Newton, Mass.

Atkins

W. Scot Atkins '92 and '89 (M.S., career and human resource development, College of Continuing Education, and B.S., business administration, College of Business), is being honored by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Atkins, now senior vice president and human resources officer for CSD in Sioux Falls, S.D., began his career with Sprint-Relay Texas in 1992 and in 1995 became director for the Lubbock Relay Center for the Sprint-CSD partnership. He is involved in many professional and community activities and serves as secretary for the Sioux Falls chapter of Sertoma, working to provide funding for after-school activities for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

For more information about Reunion 2002, visit www.rit.edu/reunion.