CSE 50-Year Reunion
Class of 1975: Join us on campus this May!
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Huntington Bank Stadium
2009 University Avenue SE, Minneapolis
U of M East Bank
Registration is now closed. To inquire about the availability of late registration, please email [email protected].
Members of the Class of 1975 will join other alumni who graduated more than 50 years ago to catch up with classmates, reconnect with faculty, and look ahead at new initiatives, innovative research, and the students of today as they become the leaders of tomorrow.
During the festivities, 1975 class members will be inducted into the College of Science and Engineering Golden Medallion Society and will receive commemorative medallions.
All events are complimentary for you and a guest, but require pre-registration.
NOTE: If you have questions, please email [email protected] or call Katie Sobolewski at 612-624-6694.
Event Schedule and Session Descriptions
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2025
9:30 a.m. Check-in/Light refreshments
10:15 a.m. Welcome and Opening Keynote
"Bridging Generations: CSE Then & Now"
11:15 a.m. Department-Hosted Research Showcase Sessions
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science—"Electrifying Wastewater Treatment and Fertilizer Production"
Kelsey Stoerzinger, Associate Professor
Electrochemistry offers new strategies for chemical processing, driven by modest voltages rather than high temperatures or pressures typical of conventional strategies. Stoerzinger will discuss her research efforts developing catalysts that facilitate these reactions in an efficient and selective manner, focusing on the example of waste nitrate mitigation and on-site fertilizer production. This strategy can enable distributed water treatment and resource (nitrogen) recovery as fertilizer for areas of Minnesota and beyond with high nitrate levels in watersheds and industrial waste streams.
Department of Chemistry—"The Promise and Peril of a Maverick Element, Fluorine: Impact on Human Health and the Environment"
Will Pomerantz, Merck Professor of Chemistry, McKnight Land-Grant Professor, McKnight Presidential Fellow
Fluorine sits near the top right of the period table that you may remember encountering while sitting in Smith 100 during a chemistry lecture. This unique element forms strong bonds with carbon, leading to compounds widely used in medicine, agrochemicals, clothing, and more. However, this bond strength also results in persistent environmental pollutants known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or "forever chemicals," raising health and ecological concerns. This talk will explore Pomerantz’s research on detecting PFAS in the environment, developing degradation methods, and designing safer alternatives. Additionally, he will discuss leveraging fluorine's properties to enhance medical imaging and discover new treatments for liver disease and childhood cancer, underscoring the importance of the organo-fluorine bond and its promise for impacting society, while highlighting new areas for innovation when dealing with forever chemicals.
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering—"Next-generation Traffic Management: Impacts of Increased Vehicle Autonomy on Traffic Flow"
Raphael Stern, Assistant Professor
Autonomous vehicles promise to fundamentally change the way we think about transportation, yet it is unclear how this new technology will influence how traffic behaves and evolves. We will explore how autonomous vehicles will impact traffic flow and how they can possibly be used to control traffic and reduce congestion.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering—"Making Access to Hospital Rounds a Right, Not a Privilege, with Q-rounds"
John Sartori, Associate Professor
Preventable medical errors are a leading cause of death in hospitalized patients, with the single greatest risk for their occurrence being breakdowns in communication. Family members of hospitalized patients recognize the importance of advocating for their loved one by being present for rounds, but without any ability to plan for timing, families are often held hostage at the bedside of a patient for hours each day or simply miss the opportunity to join rounds due to other responsibilities. Q-rounds is a virtual rounding queue software that provides real-time updates to patients, their families, nurses, and other medical staff of when to expect the doctors for rounds and gives families who cannot be there in person an opportunity to RSVP to join remotely. By providing Time Transparency to all stakeholders in the care for hospitalized patients and making interdisciplinary patient- and family-centered rounds an achievable standard of care, Q-rounds improves hospital efficiency, patient and provider satisfaction, and patient outcomes.
Department of Mechanical Engineering—"Keeping Cool (and Warm) in Space: Engineering Materials for Extreme Temperatures"
Ognjen Ilic, Benjamin Mayhugh Assistant Professor
When we think of space, we often imagine a freezing void—but did you know spacecraft can actually overheat? In this presentation, we will explore the fascinating engineering challenge of heat management beyond Earth’s atmosphere, where objects can swing between scorching hot and freezing cold depending on whether they are in sunlight or shadow. Ilic’s team is working on cutting-edge materials that can selectively absorb or reflect different types of light to create natural “thermostats” for spacecraft and space habitats. Hear about the design, nanofabrication, and testing of these materials on high-altitude balloon missions and future orbital experiments. From computer simulations to real-world testing, our students are helping to solve one of the most critical challenges for our future in space.
12:15 p.m. Lunch
During this time, we will present medallions to members of classes prior to 1975 who have not previously been inducted into the Golden Medallion Society, as well as members of the Class of 1975 unable to attend Thursday's brunch.
1:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions
"The Physics of Solar Flares"
Lindsay Glesener, Associate Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy
Explore mysteries of the Sun, its remarkable capabilities for accelerating particles, and tools for measuring high-energy radiation.
"Biomedical Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles"
Beth Stadler, CSE Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, CSE Distinguished Professor, Erwin A. Kelen Professor in Electrical Engineering; Graduate faculty, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Micromagnetics and Information Technologies (MINT)
Magnetic nanoparticles can be used as barcodes on biological materials such as tissues, saliva, blood and others and are versatile enough for use on samples as small as cells and as large as entire organs. This barcoding is helpful for diagnosis and research of diseases, like cancer, and enables sample tracking throughout storage and transportation. These nanoparticles can also lead to efficient re-warming of cryopreserved biospecimens to enable more efficient use of donations. This talk will include demonstrations to help explain these applications.
2:45 p.m. Closing Keynote
"Important Trends in AI: How Did We Get Here, What Can We Do Now, and How Can We Shape AI’s Future?"
Jeff Dean, Chief Scientist, Google Research and Google DeepMind; Computer Science ‘90
Hear about recent advances in the capabilities of modern AI models and the progression of techniques that have been developed to bring about these capabilities. Dean will also discuss potential areas that may be radically shaped by these developments in AI, and how collaboration between AI researchers and practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders can maximize the upsides of AI and minimize its downsides.
3:30-4:30 p.m. Dessert Reception
Mingle and reminisce over dessert and coffee.
THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2025
11 a.m. Class of 1975 Brunch and Commencement Procession
During this brunch, first-time reunion attendees from the Class of 1975 will be inducted into the College of Science and Engineering Golden Medallion Society. Following brunch, class members will suit up in caps and gowns (provided by CSE) and will lead the 1 p.m. CSE undergraduate commencement procession into 3M Arena at Mariucci. The procession and opening remarks will end at approximately 2:30 p.m., though you are invited to stay for the ceremony in its entirety, if you wish.
