Class Notes
Nadia Bess, B.S. AE ’11
received the Society of Women Engineers’ Distinguished New Engineer Award. The award honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding technical performance, as well as leadership in professional organizations and the community, in the first 10 years of their career. Bess currently serves as the regulatory and finance manager for the Emissions Strategy Program at SoCalGas.
Marc Tkach, M.S. CEE ’99
has been named a 2023 White House Leadership Development Fellow. The highly competitive one-year fellowship brings senior leaders to the center of government to build cross-agency leadership experience. Tkach is leading the development of a national secure data service from the Science and Statistical Policy Office. As a civil/environmental engineer, he has spent the past 15 years in design and implementing large-scale transport and water delivery programs throughout Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Herming Chiueh, M.S. EE ’95; Ph.D. EE ’02
was appointed Taiwan’s deputy minister of digital affairs. He currently serves as an associate professor at the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. He previously worked as a research assistant at the USC Information Sciences Institute.
Nhu Nguyen, B.S. CE ’16
is overseeing the construction of the 116,000-square-foot Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Human-Centered Computation Hall, the new home for the USC School of Advanced Computing. A superintendent for Turner Construction, she has been with the company since 2019.
Will Page, B.S. CS ’04
was selected as a Rising Star by the New York Law Journal (2022) for his work in constitutional litigation. The Rising Star list highlights the region’s most promising lawyers age 40 and younger. Page is a senior staff attorney at the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York City.
Linda Ryles, M.S. ISE ’85
was named California’s 24th Congressional Woman of the Year for 2022. She was recognized for her commitment to service and volunteerism in the Santa Barbara County community. Over the years, she has served as an advocate and as a member of several local social justice organizations.
Cenk Temizel, M.S. ChE ’05
received the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ 2022 Regional Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award for the Middle East and Africa Region. He and his family moved to Saudi Arabia, where he works for Saudi Aramco in Dhahran.