College of Engineering to Honor Four Distinguished Alumni

Akron, Ohio, April 3, 2008 — Four graduates of The University of Akron's College of Engineering will be honored at the college's annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Breakfast on Thursday, April 24.

Honorees are Scott Armstrong ('82), assistant vice president and division manager of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC); Louis J. Ciraldo Sr. ('50), retired electrical engineer from The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Louis J. Ciraldo Jr. ('76), president of Summit Construction Co.; and Ming Zhang ('89 and '93), founder of Interactive Engineering Corp.

The event, at the Martin University Center, begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $20 per person and $225 per table.

Scott Armstrong of Stow graduated from The University of Akron with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He is treasurer of the University's Committee for the Future of Civil Engineering and is a member of the Women in Engineering Advisory Council.

He is manager of SAIC's Great Lakes office in Twinsburg, a leading systems, solutions and technical services company employing 44,000 people worldwide. It ranked No. 285 on the 2007 Fortune 500 list with revenues of $8.3 billion.

The firm employs 83 engineering and environmental professionals and support staff from offices in Twinsburg and Dublin on projects with the NASA Glenn Research Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and other commercial customers.

Before joining SAIC, Armstrong spent 18 years with Environmental Design Group (EDG), where he was CEO from 2001 through 2004. Following the merger of EDG with Floyd Browne Associates, he was COO of the Floyd Browne Group from 2005 through 2006.

Akron native Louis J. Ciraldo Sr. of Cuyahoga Falls graduated from North High School in 1944. Following graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving in World War II. After the war, he enrolled at The University of Akron, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering.

He was subsequently hired by Goodyear, working there for 38 years in engineering and construction during the company's greatest expansion period, in which it built 21 domestic and 17 foreign plants. Since his retirement in 1987, Ciraldo has remained active in engineering, working in construction with his sons.

Louis J. Ciraldo Jr. of Silver Lake earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from The University of Akron. Following active duty in Europe with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, he joined Summit Construction Company Inc., which he acquired from his partners in 1998, and became its president.

Summit Construction is a general commercial contracting firm, employing 35 and having estimated annual sales of between $5 million and $10 million. The company, which is managing the $17.2 million mass transit hub project in Akron, built Canal Park Stadium and the Summa Building in downtown Akron and has been involved in the construction of many of the new libraries and schools in the area.

A graduate of the 1999 Leadership Akron Class XV, he was on the committee that reviewed Akron's building codes in 1986, and has been a member of the Silver Lake planning and zoning commission.

In 2006, he was named a distinguished alumnus of Walsh Jesuit High School.

A professional engineer licensed in Ohio and North Carolina, he is on The University of Akron's Civil Engineering Advisory Council and the Committee for the Future of Civil Engineering, and has been a part-time construction technology instructor.

Dr. Ming Zhang of Akron earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in electrical engineering from The University of Akron. He is on the University's Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Council.

Zhang is the founder of Interactive Engineering Corp. (IEC), established in 1995 as a designer and manufacturer of electronic controls. The firm has headquarters in Sharon Township and an assembly plant in China.

IEC has sales of up to $5 million and employs 25. Before founding IEC, Zhang was a research and development engineer at American Business Computers.

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