The purpose of the College of Engineering Advisory and Advancement Board is to provide support for the Dean and the College to help improve the quality of the academic, research and outreach programs. Members of the board advise the College, advocate for the College and advance the College.
Members
Nick Borman
Retired - Tenaska Energy
Nick Borman enjoyed a long and successful career in the energy sector since graduating from NDSU in 1984 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. Prior to his retirement in 2021, he served as senior vice president and board member for privately-held Tenaska Energy based in Omaha, Nebraska. At Tenaska, Borman held the leadership role for the engineering, construction and environmental compliance functions for its project development and generation businesses. Over the course of his tenure at Tenaska, he was engaged in the development and construction of various new energy facilities including advanced technology power generation, electric transmission, natural gas midstream, energy storage and renewable energy projects. Borman also serves on various advisory boards and philanthropic endeavors.
Kevin Bucholz
President - Moore Engineering
Kevin Bucholz, PE, has served as the president of Moore Engineering, Inc. since 2018. In the more than 35 years he’s worked at Moore, Kevin has played a leading role in the company’s growth and success. He’s a consummate community and company leader, with an innate ability to move people toward common ground that propel projects and initiatives forward. Kevin has a long history of leadership in the City of West Fargo, where he served as city engineer from 1997 to 2016, a time of historic growth for the city. His approach is to do the extra thing that will set Moore apart and give clients an experience that exceeds their expectations. He believes Moore’s success is built on its people – its employee owners – and that the culture of commitment, compassion and continuity he nurtures is his most important contribution as a leader. Kevin earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Dakota State University.
Paul Dlugosch
President and CEO - Natural Intelligence Semiconductor
Paul Dlugosch is the President and CEO of Natural Intelligence Semiconductor, a Boise, ID based fabless semiconductor company dedicated to the development of new and highly innovative semiconductor architectures inspired by processing models derived from the human neocortex. Paul founded Natural Intelligence Semiconductor in 2016. Prior to that he spent nearly 20 years at Micron Technology, holding various leadership positions across several key areas. He also worked at Hewlett Packard for 10 years where he developed a deep expertise in a variety of memory technologies. Paul earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from NDSU in 1989.
Spencer Duin
Retired - Operating Vice President - Eaton Corporation
Spencer Duin worked in the electrical industry for 37 years, retiring from Eaton Corp. in 2000 as an Operating Vice President. Spencer has served on several non-profit boards, including a hospital board in Pennsylvania, Habitat for Humanity and his local church. In addition, he remains connected to NDSU through volunteer service to the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, as well as service on the board for the NDSU Foundation and Alumni Association. Spencer graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from NDSU in 1966. He later attended the Stanford University Executive Program. Spencer served the U.S. Army and spent 18 months in Turkey.
Colleen Emery
Vice President Plant Operations - 3M Healthcare Business Group
Colleen Emery is a Vice President of Plant Operations at 3M in Maplewood, MN. She joined 3M in 1989 and has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing operations, including plant, area, global and lean six sigma leadership roles. Colleen has been an active volunteer in areas of education, theatre/arts, church, and chamber of commerce. She has been a past chair and member of the NDSU Industrial and Engineering Advisory Board. Colleen earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from NDSU and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN.
Bob Gaffaney
President - Comquest Corporation
Robert Gaffaney operates a consulting practice in suburban Chicago specializing in the development of software applications and services. Through this firm, he has worked for the Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratories, as well as IBM, Motorola and others. In recent years, his focus has been developing control system communication software for the Building Technologies subsidiary of Siemens AG. Robert was born and raised in Fargo, where he attended St. Anthony’s Grade School, Shanley High School and NDSU. At NDSU he earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering.
Randy Gerhold
Chief Technology Officer - Bushel
Randy Gerhold is the Chief Technology Officer at Bushel. Prior to joining Bushel in 2020, Randy was a Partner Engineering Leader for Microsoft as well as the Microsoft Fargo R&D Site Leader. Randy has over 25 years of experience in the ERP industry. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2001, he was the Research & Development site leader for the Great Plains Manchester Engineering Center. During his career, Randy has held executive level positions in other ERP-focused companies, managing all aspects of engineering including development, quality assurance and support. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from NDSU and has served as Board Chair for the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation and Fueling our Future. Randy and his wife, Danita have three adult children and currently live in Fargo, ND.
David Goodin
President and CEO - MDU Resources Group
David Goodin is the President and CEO and a Director of MDU Resources Group, Inc. He joined Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. as an electrical engineer in 1983 and moved to the General Office in Bismarck, ND in 1993, where he oversaw the electric system operations. Dave was named Vice President of Operations in 2000, and in 2007 was promoted to President of Cascade Natural Gas Corporation. In 2008, he assumed his responsibilities as President of Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Great Plains Natural Gas Corporation and Intermountain Gas Company. Dave earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from NDSU in 1983. He has an MBA from UND and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard. Dave is a Registered Professional Engineer in North Dakota.
Jennifer Gora
Senior Project Manager, Aviation - RS&H
Jennifer Gora is a Senior Project Manager, Aviation, at RS&H in Minneapolis. Her career has focused on transportation, in particular aviation, design and construction in various roles. She has worked on projects for general aviation, reliever and commercial airports at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, Louisville International Airport and St. Paul Downtown Airport. Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s in environmental engineering from NDSU. She is a Professional Engineer registered in MN, IN, and KY. She has also been active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on local boards and Society level committees.
Joel Honeyman
Vice President of Global Innovation - Doosan Bobcat
Joel Honeyman is the Vice President of Global Innovation for Doosan Bobcat Inc. In his innovation role, he is responsible for driving a culture of innovation in order to research, pilot, and apply new technologies that can create new products, processes and businesses. Joel joined Bobcat Company in 1997 in the marketing and training group and has worked with customers and dealers in various staff positions as a National Accounts Manager, Regional Sales Manager and Vice President of North American Sales. He graduated from NDSU with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree agricultural and applied economics.
Jennifer Hopkins
Managing Partner - Crescendo Capital Partners
Jennifer Hopkins has over 20 years of management experience in the electronics industry. Her leadership experience includes all functional areas (marketing, manufacturing, development and sales) as well as general and executive management. Throughout a 22 year career with Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies, she had led operations and strategy development for a wide range of products including semiconductors, computer hardware, and test equipment. Prior to co-founding Crescendo, she was Vice President of Agilent's Global Solutions Organization with 4 divisions and over $500MM in sales. She has an MS from Stanford University and BS in Industrial Engineering from North Dakota State University.
Jon Horn
Retired - Principal - Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
Jon Horn retired in 2021 as a Principal of Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., a national planning and design consultant. Jon graduated from NDSU in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, and spent his entire career in the consulting industry, the past 19 years with Kimley-Horn, where he was a part of the start-up of a large multi-disciplinary office in the Twin Cities. His practice included serving state and local government clients on a wide variety of project types, with a primary focus on transportation engineering. Jon also provided leadership for Kimley-Horn’s expansion across the Midwest, supporting the firm’s growth in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Minnesota and has been actively involved in the American Public Works Association, the City Engineers Association of Minnesota, and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
Dan Johnson
President and CEO - Mortenson
Dan Johnson is the President and CEO of Mortenson. He joined Mortenson in 1986 and has served many roles including estimating, operations, business development and senior leadership. Dan is active on several Boards including Fastenal, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and the ACE Mentor Program. He is also a member of the Construction Industry Roundtable (CIRT) and the Construction Industry Ethics and Compliance Initiative (CIECI). Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering from NDSU.
Dennis Johnson
Chairman and CEO - TMI Systems Corporation
Dennis Johnson joined TMI Systems Corporation, located in Dickinson, ND, in 1974 as Plant Industrial Engineer. He became President in January 1982. Since January 1982 he has served continuously as either President, Chief Executive Officer, or Board Chair. He is currently a member of Bank of North Dakota's advisory board and a member of the board of directors of MDU Resources Group, Inc. Dennis is a former director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. He served from July 2000 through October 2015 as President of the Dickinson City Commission and was twice named Outstanding Elected Official of the Year by the North Dakota League of Cities. Dennis earned a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering from NDSU in 1971. He earned a master's degree in industrial engineering from NDSU in 1974.
Adrian Kallis
Advanced Engineering Manager - John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group
Adrian Kallis is the Advanced Engineering Manager at John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group. As a supporting business within John Deere, the Intelligent Solutions Group develops reliable and rugged electronic components and systems, that function under the most extreme conditions. Adrian joined the company in 1990 and has held various positions including Software Design Engineer, Design Engineering Manager, Manager of Project Management and Manager of Business & Information Systems. Adrian has been in his current role as Manager of Advanced Engineering since 2013. Adrian is the recipient of five patent awards, and was responsible for leading the development team designing the first John Deere electronic engine controllers. Adrian received his bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from NDSU in 1988.
David M. King
Senior Vice President of Operations at SAIC
David M. King currently serves as a Senior Vice President of Operations in the Civilian Markets Customer Group within SAIC, a $6.5B Federal Engineering and IT services firm. He has over 35 years of professional experience, the past 20 with SAIC, in major program management, complex business operations, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, business development and marketing. In his current position he is responsible for the successful delivery of a $5B portfolio of complex, broad-based engineering and IT services contracts supporting multiple Federal agencies, both domestically and abroad. King is a former Naval Officer, concluding his service as an Engineering Duty Officer following tours as a Surface Warfare Officer in the Cruiser/Destroyer fleet. He holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science from the Naval Post Graduate School as well as a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from NDSU.
Roger Lenertz
Executive Vice President - Black & Veatch
Roger P. Lenertz is an Executive Vice President in Black & Veatch’s power business. He is responsible for all aspects of the Power Generation Services and Renewable Energy profit and loss (P&L) centers, including business strategies, business development, sales, project execution, technology leadership, client management, business operations, industry technology leadership and P&L results. These two business P&Ls have hundreds of ongoing projects employing over 1,000 full time engineers. Lenertz has extensive experience in the power industry on domestic and international projects and he has led the design and implementation of the Six Sigma program in Black & Veatch's business operations.
Gavin McCollam
Sr. Vice President and COO - Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Gavin McCollam, PE, has worked for Basin Electric Power Cooperative over 30 years and has held various leadership positions, culminating in his current role as Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In this capacity, Gavin and his team are responsible for the Generation, Transmission, Engineering/Construction, Marketing, and Environmental functions. Basin Electric owns and operates a diverse generating fleet of over 5,000MW, and owns and maintains over 2,500 miles of high voltage transmission across a nine state region. Gavin has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University, a Master of Science Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of North Dakota.
Bill Plombon
Vice President of Engineering, CRHF - Medtronic
Bill Plombon is a Vice President of Engineering at Medtronic and is responsible for leading an R&D engineering team of over 230 engineers. Bill started at Medtronic in 1989 and helped develop one of Medtronic’s first commercialized implantable defibrillators. Over the last 29 years, he’s played an increasingly larger role in product development of Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators, Implantable Pacemakers, Implantable Cardiac Monitors and Instrument Systems. Named a Medtronic Technical Fellow Bill has been recognized with several of Medtronic’s highest technical leadership awards. Prior to Medtronic he worked at Rosemount Aero Space and Honeywell Defense Systems. He graduated from NDSU in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering.
Jerry Specht
Senior Director, Product Management – Wabtec Corporation
Jerry Specht is a Senior Director, Product Management for Wabtec Corporation. Jerry was born in Bismarck, ND and raised in Center, ND. He graduated from NDSU in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Upon graduation, he worked at Hutchinson Technologies as a Controls Engineer. Later in 1999, he was hired at BNSF Railway Company as a Corporate Management Trainee. Jerry has held various positions at BNSF including Signal Supervisor, General Construction Supervisor, Manager of Special Projects, General Signal Supervisor, Assistant Division Engineer, Manager of Signals and Director of Signal Engineering. In 2021, Jerry moved to Wabtec Corporation as a Senior Director, Product Management. He also serves as the Functional Group Vice President and Membership Committee Chair for the Communication, Signals, and Information Technology Functional Group within the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA).
Paul Steffes
CEO and Chairman of the Board - Steffes, LLC
Paul Steffes is CEO and Chairman of the Board at Steffes, LLC. Paul earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from NDSU in 1973 and founded the company in Dickinson, ND that same year. Steffes has grown from 2 employees then to about 400 today. His dedication to a strong company culture, quality work and entrepreneurial spirit has propelled him to lead Steffes to be one of the largest and most diverse manufacturing companies in the region. Steffes, LLC. strives to reinvent itself every 5 years and their vision is “To inspire and empower people to create innovative products solutions that revolutionize the industry.”
Emmy Vareberg
Vice President - Vareberg Engineering
Emmy L. Vareberg, PE, is the Vice President of Vareberg Engineering, Ltd., a consulting engineering firm based in Fargo. She has served in this position since joining the company in 1999. In this role, she provides the financial management, business operations and development and personnel management for the company. Prior to working at Vareberg, Emmy was employed at a consulting engineering firm as an industrial engineer. She graduated from NDSU in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management. After graduation, she spent several years working for Iowa Health Systems as a management engineer performing quality analysis, process improvement and space studies. Emmy has served on the Industrial & Manufacturing Advisory Board for over 20 years and is also a member of the FM Engineers Club.
Warren Walhaug
Retired - Director - Hess Corporation
Warren Walhaug retired from Shell Oil in 2013 and from Hess Corporation in 2017, with broad engineering and leadership positions in domestic and international assignments. Warren earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from NDSU and his MBA from Tulane University (New Orleans) and Institute for Management Development (Switzerland). He has over 41 years of experience in the petroleum industry and major consulting engineering companies. He is presently enjoying ranching in ND, grandchildren in AL, skiing in Montana and global sailing competitions.
Tim Welch
President - Welch Engineering
Tim Welch is the President of Welch Engineering. He specializes in consulting civil engineering with experience in planning, design, construction, project management and contract administration. His experience encompasses many fields of design with his primary focus in land development projects. Tim’s diverse construction background includes general construction experience in the single family area and commercial and retail area, working as a Construction General Manager on projects throughout the country. In addition, he brings his effective experience in local and state government. Currently, Tim is serving his fifth term as city councilman for the city of North Richland Hills.