Heriot Watt Alumni

7/22/2019 Heriot Watt Alumni

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50s

70s

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1950

Stanley Young- BSc Mechanical EngineeringAfter a short period with United Wire at Granton Edinburgh, I joined the Ferranticompany in 1953 and retired in 1989 as a Chief Engineer in Aircraft Laser Systems. Myassociation with Heriot-Watt during this time involved membership of Convocation,President of the Watt Club and Member of Court.

1974

John (Ian) Macaulay BSc Mechanical EngineeringThis October sees me reaching OAP status; yes I was a very mature student. I havebeen semi retired for 5 years now but doing my bit for education as a P/T DesignTechnology technician. I am thoroughly enjoying the hands on skills of making modelsfor the 'A' Level students in their Graphics Products course. I am still in Wembley, soget in touch if you are passing through London. I have stopped making that vicioushome brewed beer, that I used to make in Edinburgh and that everybody enjoyed.

1975

John Hunter BA Business Organisation

Despite opting for early semi-retirement last year I accepted a Consulting position backin Singapore again for ExxonMobil. I'll be here a couple of years before resuming life inHawaii where I moved to from Texas. Always keen to meet up with former HWU alumniif they are here or just passing though.

Barry Thomson BA Business OrganisationAfter working for LVMH as a director of MotHennessy (UK) Ltd and inFrance withMot & Chandon, I haveset upThe Room Refurbishment Company Ltd a specialist,quality domestic refurbishment company covering Central and SW London. I tried tomeet up with John Hunter when in Houston, Texas in 2005, but his businesscommitments meant that sadly we could not quite hook up.

Alan Prior - BSc Town PlanningI have been appointed Acting Head of the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-WattUniversity until 31 July 2010.

1982

Donald Edwards - BSc StatisticsAfter almost twenty years working for Mars Confectionery, latterly as European SalesDevelopment Director, I now run my own Sales effectiveness consultancy in Berkshire,working for a good mix of large and small, UK and international companies. Outside

work, Im married to Lesley, with a 12 year-old son, Calum, and 10 year-old daughterAlice.


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Donald Edwards

David OConnor BSc Civi l EngineeringI have been working for BP since I graduated and am now based in Alaska. I am a VPworking the Alaska Gas Pipeline Project. I am married to Linda and we have twochildren (Victoria 20 years and Fraser 18 years).

1983

Stuart Dickson - BSc Chemical and Process EngineeringAfter nearly 20 years with GSK, now Global Head of Supply Chain for Novartis Vaccinesand Diagnostics. We are still based in Kent. If anyone wants a get-together from ourclass/year, give me a shout. Most easily found on LinkedIn.

1985

Patrick Andrews PhD Engineering

Have had a varied career since graduating from Heriot-Watt including Senior ResearchFellow at De Montefort University, a few Business Development roles, a bit of WebArchitecture and now Business Development Manager at the University of Strathclydein Glasgow.

1986

Odd Godager BA Bus iness OrganisationFrom May 1st 2009 I joined Sargas AS on a full time basis as CFO. I have beenengaged by Sargas and the companys largest shareholder Fleischer & Co. as aconsultant through my private company Godager Management AS since August 2005.Sargas AS is a technology provider for CO2 capture released when burning fossil fuels

such as coal, gas and oil. Our market focus is coal fired power plants.

1989

Olivier De Montety MSc International Banking and Financial Stud iesHaving graduated in 88 (or 89 as I was late for my dissertation), I always worked in thefinancial services industry in France: futures market broker at Soc Gen, e-brokerage,banking and now small businesses M&A. Not a big corporation man, I created threebusinesses: FIMATEX in 95 which was a retail e-broker, Zebank in 2000, sold to Eggplc in 2002 and Montety, Fral & Cie; an M&A boutique for entrepreneurs. I am still intouch with Guy Kerrell Vaughan from my class and happy to get in touch with others. I

never came back to Edinburgh and always regretted.

Chris Hilton BEng Chemical Engineering*Spent many years at BP Grangemouth in Petrochemicals plants. Many variedOperations and Commercial jobs culminating in Plant Manager of 1/3 of ChemsComplex by 2002. Left Grangemouth in 2004 to join BP Exploration and Production


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90s

division in Azerbaijan. Now Offshore Installation Manager in BP Azerbaijan managingthe rig in the picture which is one of BP biggest facilities anywhere in world. Work fourweeks on, four weeks off so plenty of spare time to enjoy Edinburgh where I still livewith my wife and three children.

The rig Chris Hilton manages.

90s

1991

Syed Anis-ul Qadr - MSc Soil MechanicsRegistered member of Pakistan Engineering Council. Ex-elected President, TeachersAssociation, NED University Karachi. Ex-elected member of Syndicate & Senate NEDUniversity Karachi. Presently working as Director, Centre for Continuing EngineeringEducation (CCEE) -NED Academy, NED University of Engineering & Technology,Karachi Pakistan.

1993

Kirsten Bergen (nee Wiginton) BA Languages (Interpreting and Translating)We're still living near Stuttgart in Germany. I've started teaching Business Englishagain and have picked up my writing after a long break. Book number two is due to bepublished late this year. Jamie Louisa is a fully fledged Kindergarten kid and nowattends an English playgroup once a week to make sure her English doesn't suffer.What are you all up to?

1994

Chris Andrews BSc MathematicsI am still at the University of Canterbury (over nine years) and have today accepted anew position as a Senior Analyst Programmer in the ICTS department. Jackie and Ihave four kids now (Joseph, six; Caitlin, five; Nicholas, three; Callum, one). Wedesperately need a bigger house!

1995

Bahman Tohidi PhD Petroleum Engineering

I am now a Professor and Director for Centre for The Gas Hydrate Research at Heriot-Watt. I am also the founder and Managing Director of Hydrafact Ltd, a Heriot-Watt spin-out company formed in 2006 with expertise in Gas Hydrates and Flow Assurance andPVT Phase Behaviour of Reservoir Fluids.


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00s

1996

Andrew MacLennan MA Business Organisation (1996) and PhD (StrategyImplementation) EBS (2009)I'm still running my own consulting firm (Strategy Execution Ltd), lecturing andwriting. Jane and I now have three children - Callum (six), Duncan (four) and Isla (two).We still live in Edinburgh. I'm always happy to hear from fellow alumni.

Wil Brown BSc Computer ScienceAfter some years in the IT industry, I started up my own Web Design company"Gravitational FX Web Design in 2008. Not a good climate to start a new business in,however, this year has seen the company grow to take on many more clients. Primaryfocus of the company is on Web design and development, however, I also provide SEO,SEM, graphic design, hosting and bespoke developments. The business side is verynew to me and I'm enjoying the challenges of growing a small business in such anunforgiving economy.

1997

Alexander Zorn MBAThis summer I took the opportunity as a visiting professor at the Rhine-Main Universityof applied science to teach students, and enjoyed it very much, especially as I did nothave to pass the exam. All the best.

1998

Val Jacobs (nee Wilson) BEng Mechanical EngineeringGood work-life balance with husband Darren, sons Elliot (four) and Anthony (three).

Having gained nine years in the field of composite stressing, I am now Deputy Head ofStress - Composites for Airbus UK with specific responsibility for A400M wings. Life isgood, though still wish Edinburgh had an Aerospace sector to move back to.

Susan Weissenbeck-Krakhofer MSc Translation and Conference InterpretingI've got two wonderful kids now, Lucas was born September 8th2006, Stella October 7th2008. I've had quite a few exhibitions of my paintings and poems. I miss Edinburgh!

1999

Bir ju Patel - BSc Quality Management

For the last six years I have been the Quality, Environment and Health & SafetyLeader UK operations for GE Transportation. I have now decided to make the plungeand set up my own consultancy company (Patel EHS & Q) and seek clients formyself. Coupled with this have just had a beautiful baby daughter. I would beinterested to get in touch with people from the course based in Galashiels, class of 1999or 2000.

2000

Pam Fleming - BSc Colour ChemistryPam Fleming and Paul Fleming (Mechanical & Offshore Engineering 1999) are pleased

to announce the arrival of Matthew in February 2009, brother for Cameron.

Efstathios Oikonomou (Stathis Economou) MSc Environmental PollutionControl ManagementAfter graduation I did a PhD thesis in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty ofEngineering, School of Rural and Surveying Engineering and I am now lecturer at the


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Department of Transportation and Hydraulic Works since January of 2009. I gotmarried to Cornelia, Architect, on the 30th June 2007 and I will become a fathersometime in July or August 2009. I always keep the warmest souvenir of Heriot-Watt,Edinburgh and Scotland, as well as my teachers and all international students I metduring my postgraduate studies.

Cormac Walsh BSc Computer ScienceI was married in 2005 to Janine Coyne of New York and we are now living in New Yorkwith our two daughters, Blair (two yrs) and Shannon (five months old). I am working for

Barclays Capital, trading Emerging Markets credit derivatives.

Johanna Rajala - BArch Arch itectureAfter graduating in 2002 I returned to Finland. First worked as a freelance architectdesigning small houses and renovations. Now living in Helsinki and working as a cityplanner for the City of Vantaa in Finland. I had great years in Edinburgh, I never forgetthat. Greetings to everyone!

Johanna Rajala

2001

Philippe Druel MSc Structural EngineeringI now work in Switzerland, in Basel, for a French company named Losinger, part of theBouygues French holding. My job consists of leading the construction of majorbuildings.

Jason Venner MBAI have recently had a book published; Pro Hadoop. The book is a how to guide to usingthe open source Map/Reduce software, Hadoopto solve large scale computing

problems.

2002

Julie Olliero MSc Distributed and Multimedia Information SystemsWe now have a beautiful baby boy called Vincent who was born in June 2008.

Jimmy Brasse BEng Offshore Engineering (Civil Engineering)Awarded the Tom Patten Memorial Award in 2002 by the SUT for outstanding final yearundergraduate. Relocated to Birmingham in 2002. Married Isabelle in August 2003 andour daughter Megane was born in January 2007. Currently a Senior Engineer for the

consultant TGP. My specialities are bridge designs and repairs, temporary worksdesigns and lately car park designs. This spring I became a Chartered Engineer.


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Jimmy and Megane Brasse

Deepak Tripathi PG DIP (2002) & BA Business Administration (2005)I am currently a full-time author/researcher. I have a new book coming out in November2009, Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan. The foreword to the bookis by MIT Professor, John Tirman.

2003

Jeffrey Franch MBAJeffrey Franck of Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA is pleased to announce his marriageto Michele Willman, 25 July 2009. Currently employed as the Compensation andBenefits Manager of Altru Health System. Ms. Willman is currently both employed byand a PhD candidate of the University of North Dakota.

Jeffrey and Michele Franck

Terry Elliott - MBAI am a Managing Consultant for an international technology services companies,specialising in the airline transport segment. Three years ago I began as a volunteerCounsellor with SCORE, a non-profit consultancy affiliated with the US Small BusinessAdministration. I provide advice and support to new company start-ups in a variety ofareas. More than once my clients' questions have taken me back to my EBS notes!

Seiyoun Park MDes DesignI'm working as a freelance illustrator in Korea since 2004. I mainly work for children'sbooks and sometimes journal illustrations.

2004

Hussain Al-Hussaini - MSc Building Services Engineering ManagementI'm currently working in the largest government Hospital (1,000 bed) in Bahrain as asenior general engineer. I've become a grandfather of a lovely girl named Maria in


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September 2008. I would like to say Hi to all my class mates and friends wherever youare.

Vincent Jones - BSc in Construction ManagementI am currently employed as an Assistant Project Manager here in Barbados with TheJADA Group. I got married to Kellyanne in 2007 and we have just had our first child;Aria Kritina on the 30th April.

Baby Aria

Cheong Ho Tsoi MBAI have joined my new firm as a senior engineer in July last year and it is an internationalmutli-discipline engineering consultant firm. Currently, I am in charge of a specialschool for disabled children project and a Christian hospital project. When you meet theless fortune people, you will think deep down how lucky you are to be a healthy person.

Cheong Ho Tsoi

Doran Oancia MBARelocated from Calgary, AB Canada to Denver, Colorado, USA as President, StradEnergy Services USA Ltd.

2005

Carol ine Chatwin BA Textile DesignI would like to mention the birth of my first child Ruby on the 17thJune 2009.

Gail Thompson BEng Chemical EngineeringI am working for Halliburton, based in Norway. Previously working offshore as LoggingGeologist then a Data Engineer, I am now working onshore in Survey Management aswe had a baby girl in 2008! I want to thank Professor X.Ni, Dr Goodwin (Chemical

Engineering Dept.) and my mentor I had whilst in combined studies (A.Bell) for theirsupport throughout my studies. Someone who has a little faith in you really does help!!


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Gail Thompson

Brian Flemming MSc Applied Mathematical SciencesI was awarded Chartered Engineer status in December 2008.

2006

Rabia Muhammad Aslam BBAI did my BBA as distance learning in Kuwait and passed with A grades. The period ofthree years of my BBA was amazing. I loved the notes provided by Heriot-Watt ithelped me a lot. After I completed with BBA I was offered a job for an accountant. I amhappy with the job and using my skills and knowledge which I gained during my studies.I always recommend Heriot-Watt University to my fellow members or my colleagues.Now my further plan is to do MBA from Heriot-Watt. I wish all the best for each andevery person, attached to Heriot-Watt; Great Success and Great Future ahead.

Rabia Muhammad Aslam

Angus McNab BA Combined StudiesSince graduating from Heriot-Watt I have been living and working in Edinburgh initiallyin IT Recruitment but now have had a change of career and work as the BusinessDevelopment Manager (Scotland) for The Kit Team, PUMA's Licensee for PRO

Teamsports (UK & Ireland). I am also heavily involved with Scotland Rugby Leagueand am currently Head Coach of Scotland A and Assistant Coach to the full professionalteam with whom I travelled to Australia in October/November 2008 for the RugbyLeague World Cup.


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Christo Xavier Dcosta (very centre of picture)

2008

Carsten Schrder Nielsen- MBAI enjoy working in the field of Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions in a global companybased in Copenhagen. Here I am utilising a wide range of my MBA skills from

Edinburgh Business School.

Zaki-ud-Din Khan - MBAAfter graduating I came back to Pakistan, got married and working very well to promotebusiness activities in Pakistan. I am working with many organisations as aConsultant/Chief Consultant/Marketing Head. I would be happy to share my views withother members. The MBA from Heriot-Watt has changed my life. I am proud to be amember of The Watt Club.

Huda Al Hussein MBAI work at Edison International as a Facilities Coordinator. As well as my MBA I took my

Bachelor of Accounting from Cairo University in 2004.

Huda Al Hussein


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Obituaries

Cyrille GuiatCyrille was a lecturer in Languages and Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt. During his17 years at the University, Cyrille forged links with many colleagues across the differentSchools and is fondly remembered by those who worked with him as well asgenerations of students. Colleagues and friends of Cyrilles planted a Rowan tree tocelebrate his memory. The tree is located in the Universitys Millenium garden.

Duncan MurrayDuncan graduated with an MA(Hons) in International Business & Languages in 2008.He was also a key member of the Sports Executive where he held the position ofPresident of the Snow Sports Club. The club held him in such high regard that they setup the Duncan Murray Achievement Award while he was still at the University. He alsowon Sports Personality of the Year at the Sports Union Awards in 2006 and was amember of the Blues Committee. In his personal time he cycled from Lands End toJohn o Groats and also completed the Plymouth to Dakar Rally. Olwyn Fennessey,Sports Union Administrator said of Duncan: He was witty, personable and intelligent.He was a huge personality at our events but was also very professional in his

undertakings.

Duncan Murray (far left)

Dr John Snowdon

The University is saddened to learn of the death of Dr John Snowdon, senior lecturer inPhysics. John died suddenly at home on Sunday 12 July 2009, leaving behind his wifeKirsteen and three children: Kate, Michael and Alice, to whom we offer our deepestsympathy.

John won the Watt Club medal for Physics in 1986 and was awarded a PhD in Physics

from Heriot-Watt in 1990. He was appointed Lecturer in Physics at the University in1990, and became Senior Lecturer in 2002 until his departure from the University in2008.

John was a much loved and popular lecturer who will be greatly missed by friends andcolleagues.

Information for Connections has been submitted by alumni. The Development &Alumni Office makes every effort to reconfirm accuracy prior to publication, but

this is not possible in every case. We apologise for any out-of-date informationand ask that alumni please provide an update when their circumstances change.

To pass on updates, please email: [email protected] title Connections

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Heriot Watt Alumni