University of St. Thomas College of Engineering

Join us in celebrating the career of our Budget & Office Manager, Veronica Putzier.

Veronica came to St. Thomas after 30 years as a stay-at-home mom. A friend had told her about an opening at the exact time she was looking for a job.

In her 15 years, Veronica has been the:
- Development Assistant for the St Paul Seminary,
- Faculty Coordinator for the School of Engineering,
- Office and Budget Manager for the School of Engineering

Veronica tells us that the relationships she's made, planning events and sleuthing out solutions that helped make life easier for faculty and staff have been her favorite parts of working for St. Thomas. She shares a few things she won't forget:

"I was very grateful that my husband and I were able to attend the Catechetical Institute offered by the Saint Paul Seminary, while I was employed there. I doubt I would have read or studied the Catechism of the Catholic Church without the Institute. It was a fabulous way to deepen my faith. The instructors were fabulous and so articulate about our faith. https://saintpaulseminary.org/ci/ .

I was also delighted to learn how to use tools in the Fabrication Shop and make a few things as Christmas gifts for my family: Bluetooth speakers for my children one Christmas, a shelf for books for my nightstand, a vertical storage organizer for cookie sheets and large pans in our kitchen, and birds eye maple recipe boxes. I enjoyed meeting the students working in Rapid Proto who made a few things for me – like replacement wheels for my former dishwasher to extend its life and pot lid holders that attach to the interior of cupboard doors to organize the pan cupboards – what a great resource!

I will especially remember all the hardworking, kind, and dedicated people in the School of Engineering, and our magnanimous Dean, Don Weinkauf."

In her retirement, Veronica is excited to have the freedom to travel, do bigger projects around her house, be able to spend more time with her out-of-state grandkids, and pursue her artistic endeavors and embrace some volunteer activities.

We are so grateful for Veronica and all the hard work she has done for the University of St. Thomas! We wish her a happy retirement!

Dr. Manjeet Rege, Director of the Center for Applied AI, joined Fox 9 this last Monday to talk about the AI generated political campaign ad directed against Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan.

In 2023, Minnesota passed a law that made the use of deepfakes in political campaigns within 90 days of an election illegal. Fox9 Political Analyst Blois Olson then asks, "What is a deepfake? How do we define this? This has not been tested in the courts."

Currently, Minnesota law sets the threshold at whether a reasonable person would believe a deepfake as reality.

Dr. Rege used deepfake technology to generate a video of himself, showing us how easy it is to produce content that looks credible. He picks apart the video to show us what signs may point to the technology being used.

Watch the full segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq3PPsD1ttw

Last call for next week's free training!

Our Center for Advanced Manufacturing currently has space available in this summer’s free workshops on CNC machinery. Learn CAM optimization, machining digital twin simulations, see how programming choices affect process cost and run your code on the CNC mills!

Summer 2026 - Four free bootcamps are available from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

June 15-16
June 17-18
August 3-4
August 31-September 1

Register to secure your spot in a free CNC optimization two-day workshop: https://lnkd.in/gjDb-xRG

For more information on this training, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/g7sz74HW

The Guardian recently published an article on President Trump's plan to axe the U.S. Ocean monitoring system. They feature Dr. John Abraham and his research.

Dr. John Abraham, professor of mechanical engineering, co-authored research highlighting the critical role of ocean observation systems in climate monitoring and weather forecasting.

The study found that eliminating key U.S. ocean observations would significantly reduce forecasting accuracy for events such as El Niño, hurricanes, and other extreme weather, increasing both scientific uncertainty and economic risk.

Dr. Abraham also emphasized that the relatively low cost of maintaining these monitoring systems is far outweighed by their value in helping communities prepare for and reduce the impacts of costly climate-related disasters.

Read more:

Scientists warn Trump plan to axe US ocean monitoring system will leave world ‘flying blind’ Experts say dismantling the ocean observation system will ‘severely degrade’ the accuracy of weather predictions

Join us in celebrating the career of Dr. Michael Hennessey, Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

In his 26 years at St. Thomas, Dr. Hennessey has gone from Assistant, to Associate, to Full Professor in our Mechanical Engineering department. He came to St. Thomas as he wanted to be a mechanical engineering professor in the Twin Cities that focused on a balance of teaching and scholarship.

Reflecting on his favorite parts of working in his roles, he tells us:

"Regarding teaching, I always looked forward to certain lectures, such as in Dynamics and interacting with students both inside and outside the classroom. As for professional engagement, I was able to focus on applied mathematical areas of mechanical engineering and write a number of papers, plus on occasion I landed some really interesting consulting projects with local industry (e.g. PAR Systems and Curtiss-Wright)."

On something he will never forget about his time here, he shares, "I have many fond, indelible memories. One concerns my office in O’Shaughnessy Hall that is sort of decorated with many books, wall coverings, and mechanical gadgets that creates a fun, learning environment. Over the years numerous passersby have told me that they really like it, and the office has even appeared in the web newspaper."

Dr. Hennessey adds that traveling to a total of six different foreign countries in support of teaching or service on seven different trips was very adventurous and educational for him. Being a part of and watching the engineering presence grow significantly during his time at St. Thomas has been impressive. Finally, being able to conduct some applied research with students and participate in a number of conferences in his field (e.g. through ASME) has been rewarding.

While Dr. Hennessey will remain in his office on campus to continue writing his forthcoming book, he details some of his other plans for retirement:

"Generally, I’m looking forward to being able to increase my participation level in various activities that are important to me. Significant “goofing off” like golfing, sailing, hiking, fishing, and going to the cabin by Grand Marais, MN is part of the plan. Additionally, there are some languishing maintenance and repair projects that I’d like to get to. For intellectual stimulation, reading both technical and lay press works are of interest as well. And, along the way, I’ll certainly be hanging out with the family (including our springer spaniel), doing a modest amount of travel, and getting more sleep!"

We are thankful to Dr. Michael Hennessey for the scholarship, connections, relationships, and joy that he has brought to the University of St. Thomas. We are happy to have him on campus and wishing him the best in this next chapter of life.

Dr. Manjeet Rege, director of the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence, provided insight on the growing sophistication of AI-generated deepfakes in political communications.

In this CBS News article, Dr. Rege explained that AI-generated content has become increasingly difficult to distinguish from authentic media, even for experts. He shared practical techniques for identifying manipulated images and videos, underscoring the importance of digital literacy as AI tools become more advanced.

Read more:

Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan slams ad for using "AI deepfake" Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor and current U.S. Senate candidate, is slamming an attack ad against her for "using an AI deepfake."

Civil Engineering Professor, Dr. Ali Ling, joins Minnesota Public Radio to discuss the mining ban reversal in the Boundary Waters.

The ban on mining has been in place for 3 years. With the reversal, mines can apply for a permit to operate in the state of Minnesota. Currently, the permitting process incudes considerations of engineering, policies, and protections to ensure if a mine is built there will not be environmental impact.

Dr. Ling provides explains the permitting process and its effect on the water supply:

"The water that comes out of mining processes typically has a lot of metals, salts, minerals, and materials that can potentially be problematic. This includes minerals that can cause acid. We have technologies that can make dirty water clean. In fact, in Minnesota, part of the permitting process would involve a rule that requires treatment of water that goes to [for example] wild rice growing waters to be quite clean.

The outcome of that is that in order for any mine to get permitted to operate in Northern Minnesota, they have to have a plan and the full engineering specs and design to treat any water that comes out of there to be drinking water quality."

Listen to Dr. Ling on NPR: https://vimeo.com/1198871013/4ef14273a3?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Join us in celebrating the career of Dr. Greg Mowry, Professor of Computer and Electrical Engineering.

In his 23 years spent with St. Thomas, Dr. Mowry has gone from Assistant to Associate to Full Professor, and was a founding director of the MSEE, the Research Microgrid, and the Renewable Energy and Alternatives Laboratory (REAL).

Dr. Mowry first came to St. Thomas after a phone call from Dr. Jeff Jalkio in the Physics department. He offered him the opportunity to teach electromagnetic fields, dynamics, to the first graduating class of EEs during the 2003 – 2004 academic year.

What kept him at St. Thomas was the unique opportunity we offer professors to have ownership of their intellectual property, as well as the love of teaching, discovery and learning. He shares with us how important it is to teach students not just about engineering, but how to think for themselves.

Mowry tells us about what he will never forget about his time at St. Thomas:

"I hope I have passed on to them the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior along with the privilege of living in the United States where thanks to the Constitution, we have the freedom to worship and pursue happiness. During my service in the Navy and while teaching at UST I have affirmed and firmly stood on these principles. As a teacher, you realize that you are making a positive difference when students invite you to their weddings, family gatherings, for bike rides, and other important events separate from UST."

While Dr. Mowry is retiring from his teaching position at St. Thomas, he is not planning on slowing down. Rather, he is returning to industry to assume a technical leadership role in a high-tech company.

"22 years ago, in Moldova, I began deploying humanitarian microgrids around the world in villages and hospitals. To date I have deployed 15 microgrids around the world. During those early years I identified 5 things that needed breakthroughs for microgrids to realize their full potential. To that end I envisioned and started the MSEE power program and the UST research microgrid. In addition, I laid out a 10-year plan to solve the noted microgrid problems. To my surprise and delight, my grad and undergrad researchers demonstrated laboratory solutions to all identified problems by 2015. Several of us subsequently started Syncris (SYNCRIS.com) to commercialize these discoveries so that humanitarian microgrids could be cost-effective (aka economical), robust, and scalable. SYNCRIS is very close to realizing this dream."

Dr. Mowry's career to date and future:
 25 years corporate R&D
 23 years academia
 As many more years as the good Lord grants him for realizing his microgrid dreams/goals

ful for the many years of hard work, research, connection, and meaning that Dr. Greg Mowry has given to the University of St. Thomas. We wish him well on his next adventure!

Mechanical Engineering Professor, Dr. John Abraham, joins Fox 9 to discuss President Trump's executive order that gives government early access to new AI models being built.

President Trump requests a 30-day review for new models before they can be released to the public. "We know the government is looking at security concerns and some concerns about the content these AI models have as they interact with their users."

Dr. Abraham notes how the Trump administration has been hands-on in their approach to AI regulation, and this executive order marks a shift. He attributes this change to the new Mythos model, produced by Anthropic. "When they produced Mythos, they found that it had a very high security risk. It was able to identify an exploit security and software risks in companies that had not been found before."

After these security risks were found out, Mythos decided not to release this model to the public. Dr. Abraham thinks this was an eye-opening moment for the government.

Watch the rest of Dr. Abraham's segment here:

This Sunday! Join us at Grand Old Day from 9am to 4pm.