Alumni Stories
Where Are BEAM Alumni Now?
What are they doing? What do they have to say about their time in BEAM? Explore our BEAM alumni stories below to find out.
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Alumnus follows entrepreneurial spirit to address pandemic challenges in hospitals , redirectFor Jeffrey Morelli, it all started with a desire to help others, which grew to a passion for health care and creating innovative technology to improve the overall quality of life. Then, when a global pandemic hit, he knew this was his moment to rise to the challenge.
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'It’s science and creativity': Alumnus Victor Stewart is half-NASA engineer, half-YouTube chef , redirectWhat do delicious food, mechanical design engineering, and corporate advertisements have in common? Virginia Tech alumnus Victor Stewart.
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Chasing solutions in renewable energy, engineering alumnus teams with former research mentor , redirectTogether, alumnus Yeh-Hung Lai and BEAM faculty David Dillard produced novel solutions for hydrogen fuel cell technology, and allowed this collaboration to grow into a robust program for student experiential learning, empowering engineering students as next-generation industry leaders.
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Finish up to start-up: Biomedical engineering alumna applies degree as vice president of local company , redirectSince 2018, Hyler has been chief scientist officer and vice president at CytoRecovery, a start-up co-founded by Rafael Davalos, the L. Preston Wade professor in biomedical engineering and mechanics, and Leo Harris, alumnus of Virginia Tech.
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Didier Lefebvre"I studied engineering science and mechanics when joining Virginia Tech in the 1980s. Thirty years later, I'm a senior scientist in the biotechnology industry responsible for creating engineering solutions to drug delivery and personalized medicine."
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Daniel Surinach“The ability to conduct high-level research at an undergraduate level really complimented the analytical concepts that were covered in class, and granted students the opportunity to apply themselves in areas of novel research."
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Mike Fisher"I‘m a product development leader for medical devices. My BEAM education experience provided the engineering finesse to approach complex problems, reduce them to manageable terms, and use data to justify design and testing decisions."
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Alexandra Hyler“My Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences provided me with diverse opportunities and experiences, including a Fulbright year to Denmark, serving fellow graduate students, and investigating cancer progression.”
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Patrick Thayer"The networks I have developed at Virginia Tech have also continued through ongoing collaborations. The availability of resources from both Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have allowed me opportunities to learn additional topics beyond the bioengineering degree program that I use every day."
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Michele Waters"Virginia Tech is an amazing place. There are organizations here that are incredibly supportive to help you pursue your goals. The opportunities are out there."
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Nora Hlavac“It became very apparent to me when I started graduate school that mentorship was going to be really important during my time here. That came at the research level under my PI, Dr. VandeVord, but also just in the general atmosphere that was created at Virginia Tech and within my department.”
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Taylor Kerr"With my ESM degree, I've been able to explore my interests in the biomedical engineering field by working in Dr. Vincent Wang's Orthopedic Mechanobiology Lab as well as work full time as a systems design engineer for some of the world's top fighter aircraft."