Academy of Distinguished Alumni
Whether in research and development, leadership, or service, ECE alumni are changing the world. To recognize their contributions, ECE has inducted several of our alumni into the department's Academy of Distinguished Alumni.
We have many incredible alumni who are making significant impacts to their fields — either in their career or by giving back to the department," said Department Head Luke Lester. "We want to honor their achievements and inspire our students.
The department has four award categories to recognize different forms of alumni excellence in the each class of academy inductees:
- Career Acheivement Award in recognition of significant contributions to the field over the course of a career.
- Extraordinary Impact Awards in recognition of extraordinary accomplishments that improve people's lives.
- Exemplary Giving Awards for outstanding philanthropic service to ECE.
- Meritorious Service Awards for outstanding volunteer service to ECE.
For more information on how to nominate someone for the Academy of Distinguished Alumni, please look here.
2024 ACADEMY OF DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI INDUCTEES
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
LETITIA (TISH) A. LONG, BSEE 1982
Tish is the Chairman of the Board of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, and currently sits on the boards of T-Mobile, Parsons, COPT and Noblis. She served as the fifth Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and was the first woman to lead a major US intelligence agency. She previously served as the Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence.
Tish earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, a Master of Science in Engineering from The Catholic University of America, and she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Strategic Intelligence by the National Intelligence University.
EXEMPLARY GIVING AWARD
DOYLE C. COUNTS, BSEE 1953
For generous contributions supporting the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
Doyle is currently retired after spending 40 years as a design engineer with Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles. He enjoys continuing to read technical books - the very books that got him excited about electrical engineering - attending train shows, exploring the United States and visiting museums.
He received his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech in 1953.
EXEMPLARY GIVING AWARD
CARL E. MINTON, BSEE 1997
For generous contributions supporting the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
Carl is a software engineer at Arion Systems. He volunteers in numerous capacities for the Virginia Science Olympiad, which puts on team-based STEM competitions for middle and high school students and is a member of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s Mental Health Community Investment Fund grant review committee.
Carl has his bachelor’s and his master’s in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech, and a master's in statistical science from George Mason University.
MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD
RENE J. (RJ) BALANGA, BSEE 1996
RJ serves as the Deputy Director at the Spectrum Policy and Planning Division at NASA Headquarters. He joined NASA in November 2015, and also leads various NASA strategic initiatives focused on spectrum professional education, engagement, and outreach initiatives. His professional experience includes over 28 years of spectrum management knowledge and policy analysis, with 23 years of federal government service.
RJ holds his degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and also served on our very own Advisory Board.
EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT AWARD
LAURA J. BOTTOMLEY, BSEE 198 & MSEE 1985
Laura is the Founding Director of Engineering Education and Senior Advisor to Women and Minority Engineering Program at NC State. She has worked at Texas Instruments and Bell Laboratories and has received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Engineering Mentoring. She was named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and was elected to the YWCA Academy of Women.
Laura received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech. She received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from NC State. She serves on the IEEE Education Society Board of Directors.
EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT AWARD
MAJA M. LEHNUS, BSEE 1984
Maja served 40 years with the Central Intelligence Agency, in numerous capacities. She currently serves on the board of managers of the National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Global Security External Review Committee; the Armed Forces Communications and Electronic Association Intelligence Committee; and the Studies in Intelligence Editorial Board.
She has her bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech, and her master’s in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
2023 ACADEMY OF DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI INDUCTEES
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
SHARON E. HOLT, BSEE 1986
Holt has more than 37 years of experience focused in both industry and board member service. Her industry experience is focused on semiconductors, sub-systems, and embedded technologies. Her operational experience is focused on business unit leadership, P&L ownership, business development, sales, marketing and engineering. Holt is also a former executive of Rambus, Agilent Technologies, and HP. She has served on the Committee of 100 for Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and also served as an ECE board member. Holt is a strong supporter of recruiting and retaining women into the field of electrical engineering and has mentored several throughout her career.
EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT AWARD
CAREY G. BUXTON, Ph.D. ECE
After serving 14 years in the FBI, Buxton has been working for the CIA in the Center for Antennas and Propagation since 2017. It was the attack on September 11, 2001 that led Buxton to pursue a career with the U.S. Government. Buxton attributes her background in electromagnetics and antenna theory, design, and measurement from Virginia Tech to her professional success. Buxton has also served on the University of Kentucky's ECE Advisory Board and wants to encourage the development of students with a focus in areas of electromagnetics to meet the needs of the U.S. Government.
EXEMPLARY GIVING AWARD
AMIT PURI, BSEE 1999, MSEE 2002
KIMBERLY PURI, BSEE 2000, MSEE 2002
For generous contributions to Space@VT and continued support of students, faculty, and other departmental endeavors.
EXEMPLARY GIVING AWARD
W. DOUGLAS DRUMHELLER, BSEE 1964
For generous contributions supporting the College of Engineering, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and ECE faculty with dedicated funds for a future senior faculty fellowship.
MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD
LYNNE HAMILTON-JONES, BSEE 1984, MSEE 1989
As the Senior Program Manager for Criterion’s multiple cybersecurity contracts at the Department of Transportation, Hamilton-Jones understands the importance of industry and hands-on experience in the field of ECE. She was one of the primary creators of the new ECE curriculum when she served on the ECE Advisory Board as chair. She served more than eight years on the board as a member, vice chair, chair and executive committee member.
2022 ACADEMY OF DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI INDUCTEES
MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD
KEN SCHULZ, MSEE 1984
A Program Leader at Lockheed Martin, Schulz was one of the primary creators of the ECE Major Design Experience, when he served on the Industry Advisory Board as a member and chair. He later transitioned to an adjunct faculty role supporting the program.
EXEMPLARY GIVING AWARD
DAN SABLE, Ph.D. 1991
For generous contributions supporting the ECE AMP lab, Space@VT, and the ECE student laboratories.
EXEMPLARY GIVING AWARD
DAN TALBERT, BSEE 1965
For establishing a scholarship for electrical engineering students.
EXEMPLARY GIVING AWARD
SEAN KELLEY, BSEE 1990; MSEE 1994 (Not Pictured)
For establishing the ECE Sean M. Kelley Scholarship for U.S. Armed Forces dependents/Virginia residents.
EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT AWARD
NOEL SCHULZ, BSEE 1988; MSEE 1990
A nationally recognized expert in power systems engineering, she is dedicated to recruiting and retaining women in engineering and to mentoring female engineering faculty. She serves as the Chair in Power Apparatus and Systems in the Washington State University School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT AWARD
GREG BOTTOMLEY, BSEE 1983; MSEE 1988
An expert on sonar and wireless communications, he retired after a career that spanned industry and academia. He worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories and Ericcson, as well as North Carolina State Unviersity. He is Fellow of the IEEE and has served as Editor in Chief for the IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology.
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
DAVID ROOP, BSEE 1976
Roop enjoyed a 43-year career in the electric industry focused on electric transmission and substation operation and management. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine. He received the 2014 Leadership in Power Award for industry-wide leadership for "changing the landscape of utility human performance and safety; reliability driven asset strategy development; novel catastrophe recovery planning; and the renaissance of power engineering research and education."