Notable Alumni

Joe Bussenger '13 grew up in Perkasie, Pennsylvania where at a young age showed passion for motorsports and rockets. By age ten Bussenger was determined to be an aerospace engineer and through the support of his family, he was able to participate in science and industrial fairs to strengthen this passion.

Bussenger attended the Florida Institute of Technology in 2009 after learning about the university through the International Science and Engineering Fair from which Bussenger earned third place for rocket-oriented research.

As a freshman and sophomore, Bussenger interned with Northop Grumman’s rocket system launch program where he supported propulsion testing for the United States’ aging minuteman and peacekeeper assets. During his junior year, Bussenger went on to become an engineering intern at SpaceX in Cape Canaveral and continued his internship while being a full-time student in his junior and senior years.

After graduating with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Bussenger continued to work at SpaceX as one of the first dedicated engineers to recovery and landing operations. Bussenger was the lead engineer for SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 landing and announced to the world “The Falcon Has Landed” during that historic mission.

Over ten years at SpaceX, Bussenger was the primary landing controller for over 100 Falcon 9 landings, oversaw cargo and astronaut recovery, and managed varying groups including recovery and launch control.

Bussenger departed SpaceX as the Director of Recovery Operations in 2022 and joined Relativity Space as a Principal Operations Engineer before becoming the Director of Launch Operations and the Florida Site Director.

Bussenger lives in Viera, FL and in his free time enjoys playing hockey, motorsports, working on cars, and traveling.

Svafa Grönfeldt, Ph.D., is a Professor of the Practice at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a founding member and Faculty Director of MITdesignX, an academic program in the MIT Morningside Academy for Design dedicated to design innovation and entrepreneurship. The program is MIT’s newest innovation accelerator and is designed to support new pioneering ventures created at MIT. She is also a co-founder of The MET fund, a Cambridge-based seed investment fund providing early seed funding to qualified MITdesignX startups. 

Before joining MIT, Dr. Grönfeldt was a member of a team that created and scaled two global life science companies, Actavis and Alvogen, Inc., where she served as Chief Organizational Development Officer and later as Deputy CEO. She is a former president of Reykjavik University, where she also previously taught as an associate professor of business. 

Dr. Grönfeldt serves as a member of the board of directors of three publicly listed companies on the Nasdaq OMX and the Amsterdam Stock Exchange: Össur, Marel, and Icelandair. She has also served on the Florida Tech Board of Trustees since 2017.

Dr. Grönfeldt holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, an M.S. in Technical and Professional Communications from Florida Tech, and a B.A. in Political Science and Mass Media from the University of Iceland. She received the Order of the Falcon Medal of Honor awarded by the President of the Republic of Iceland in 2008, and she was the 2010 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner from Florida Tech’s College of Psychology and Liberal Arts.

Dr. Grönfeldt is co-author of Service Leadership: The Quest for Competitive Advantage with Dr. Judy Strother. Dr. Strother was Svafa’s mentor and thesis advisor during her time at Florida Tech and, according to Svafa, was very influential in shaping her career.

Applying the lens of design to complex problems is a focal point of her work. Driven to understand the dynamic relationship between people and their environment, Dr. Grönfeldt combines her academic, entrepreneurial, and executive careers with a lifelong passion for design to develop ideas and new enterprises through design innovation and the development of design-based entrepreneurship theory and methods.  

Florida Institute of Technology was celebrating its 25th anniversary in 1983 when Jorge Mesquita graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. Mesquita hails from Maputo in Mozambique, once a colony of Portugal, with a coastline stretching over 1500 miles along the Indian Ocean in southern Africa. Maputo is the capital city of Mozambique and is graced with a rich fusion of classical European architectural design and a unique touch of local Mozambique art.  

Jorge’s older siblings were enrolled at Florida Institute of Technology when he came to the States. He landed first at Barry University but transferred to Florida Tech based on the strength of our technology and engineering programs.   

During his junior and senior years, Jorge played soccer and was a member of the American Society of Chemical Engineers. Jorge appreciated the dedication of his professors and their investment in the success of the students.  

After graduation, Jorge was recruited by consumer-packaged goods giant, Procter & Gamble, and moved to Cincinnati. He held various marketing and leadership positions at P&G for 29 years. During his tenure from 1984 to 2013, Jorge’s assignments included Group President of Global Fabric Care, and President, of Global Home Care, the single largest operating division of P&G.  Under his leadership, leading brands such as Tide, Swiffer, Febreze, Mr. Clean, Downy, Dawn, Cascade, and Iams experienced significant growth and achieved category-leading positions. 

Jorge left Cincinnati in 2014 for the Big Apple and an even larger multinational corporation, Johnson & Johnson. He served as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Consumer division at J&J until 2019. In this role, Jorge served on J&J’s Executive Committee and led the Consumer Group Operating Committee. He was responsible for accelerating the growth of iconic brands such as Listerine, Neutrogena, Aveeno, and Tylenol. 

Jorge assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Blue Triton Brands in July 2021. From Greek mythology, Triton is a god of the sea, and Jorge upholds the brand’s focus on sustainable resources as the leading provider of fresh water. Blue Triton’s portfolio includes leading brands such as Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills, Arrowhead, and Pure Life.  

Jorge currently serves on the Board of Directors of Mondelēz International and Humana. As a global citizen and transformational leader behind some of the world’s most recognizable brands, Jorge embodies the ideals of the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award and a legacy of excellence making him a worthy recipient of this year’s honor. 

Heflich "Chip" Heflich '73 was attracted to Florida Tech for two reasons: its proximity to the beach and its connection to the space industry. While earning his bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Florida Tech in 1973, Chip worked for NASA at Kennedy Space Center on the Saturn V rocket. Chip especially enjoyed his coursework in solid-state physics, and after graduation, he decided to leave the space industry to pursue a career designing analog integrated circuits for Texas Instruments (TI). Here, his passion for invention and entrepreneurial spirit thrived.

Clanging glory, the New York Stock Exchange bell rang on June 19, 2018, by the chief executive officer of Silicon Valley-based 8×8 Inc. and our next Jerome P. Keuper Award winner, Vikram Verma ’87. The 10 seconds of brassy tolling is an enduring symbol of America’s capital market. This historic day signals 8×8’s move from NASDAQ. It is almost an oxymoron that a simple brass bell is the opening of Wall Street in today’s environment of high-speed technology and competitive economy. In contrast to the sound of the bell clang, 8×8’s focus is on revolutionizing enterprise communications everywhere with groundbreaking unified communications and contact center technology. It is the world’s first communications cloud provider. How does one come to the honor of ringing the bell?

Vikram Verma’s formula for life is simple. The four-step process is (1) take a chance, (2) give your best, and the results will come, (3) be honest with yourself and know your limitations and (4) when you find your calling, go for it and don’t let go. This process derives from his life experience, specifically four defining moments which he eloquently shares in both personal encounters and large audiences alike.

Florida Tech is an integral part of his story and formula. Verma, who earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, says, “Florida Tech taught me the value of hard work, commitment, and focusing on fundamentals. I’ve parlayed that into my company’s motto: ‘Use technology to solve real-world problems cost-effectively. The rest will take care of itself.”

Jim Thomas '74 graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, and his time at Florida Tech had him involved in many student activities. His experiences here, including his technology-based curriculum, presidency of the Student Government Association, and leadership development in his fraternity bolstered an entrepreneurial spirit he describes as “embedded in Panther DNA.” With a keen eye for the next big thing, Jim led a host of fledgling companies across the globe, serving as chief operations officer, chief financial officer, and division president. He steered early-growth companies into successful business operations with value-based cultures. His vision as a business executive helped lead MapQuest through its initial public offering.

In 1996, as a pioneer in the software-as-a-service business model, Jim’s vision and belief in the growth of applications of new technology led him to a field with fascinating potential. Jim, pictured standing in the energy storage R&D lab, is currently the vice president of corporate development at Rivian Automotive. Rivian is a technology company advancing the shift to electric, autonomous, and shared mobility with its electric vehicles incorporating a cloud-based digital architecture, self-driving platform, and advanced battery system in all-electric adventure vehicles. Jim is also a member of the board of directors for Modus Operandi, a high-tech software company providing information-based intelligence solutions, and a founding board member of the Illinois Autonomous Vehicle Association.

“Identifying the next big thing means being alert to the early shifting of mores and being ready to accept change, even if it means letting go of something you have shaped and molded. Managing change may require challenging, embracing or creating new technologies and/or business models that have traditionally been successful and persuading those who think these things will never become obsolete to accept that change,” he said.

For Tim Wakefield '89, Florida Tech was a springboard to his successful baseball career. In 1988, he was drafted in the eighth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Florida Tech as a power-hitting first baseman. The records he set while at Florida Tech still stand.

He quickly discovered his bat wasn’t good enough for the major leagues, so he became a knuckleball pitcher. A drastic makeover to master the trick pitch ensued, and his knuckleball instantly proved successful, leading the Pittsburgh minor leagues in wins, innings, pitches, and complete games. This success catapulted him into the major leagues in 1992. His season was so good, he nearly led the Pirates into a World Series appearance. Everyone expected his next year to be his best yet; instead, he was devastated when he lost control of his pitches and ultimately returned to the minor leagues.

The following season, he was released. But Panthers don’t give up that easily . . . Determined to return to the glory of the major leagues, Tim tapped into his Panther Pride and the valuable lessons learned early in his athletic career by Coach Les Hall, Florida Tech’s legendary baseball coach. As luck would have it, the Boston Red Sox saw potential in Wakefield, and knuckleball coaching combined with dedication revived his baseball career. For the next seventeen years, he provided the Boston Red Sox with the right pitch at the right time. With 430 starts and 3,006 innings pitched, Tim is now the franchise leader in stats. And as any baseball fan knows, he was part of the team that broke the “Curse of the Bambino” and helped lead the Boston Red Sox to the World Series Championship in 2004. He was a World Series Champion again in 2007.

Off the field, Wakefield helped his community and those less fortunate, embodying the spirit of the Roberto Clemente Award he received in 2010. In Brevard County, it is well known that he played a major role in saving the Space Coast Early Intervention Center by holding an annual golf tournament that continues to this day. For his fellow ballers, he spent time on the field in the off-season with Panther Baseball. His contributions—along with others—made the Andy Seminick-Les Hall Lighted Field on campus a reality.

He continued to lend his time to Florida Tech through his work on the board of trustees. Tim’s actions and service perpetuate his philosophy that it is our responsibility to include and help everyone.

Wakefield passed away in October 2023 from brain cancer. He was 57 years of age.

Sunita Williams '95 grew up with the dream to be a veterinarian. Inspired by her neuroscientist father and x-ray technician mother, she enjoyed studying the sketches of brains displayed in her house. However, her life took a different path after her older brother entered the U.S. Naval Academy. Following his lead, she graduated in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in physical science.

Sunita was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy in 1987. She graduated from the Navy’s test pilot school in 1993 and returned as an instructor in 1995. After receiving her master of science degree in engineering management from Florida Tech in 1995, NASA selected her to be an astronaut in 1998.

Captain Williams has accrued an impressive amount of spacewalk time: she spent 50 hours and 40 minutes outside of the International Space Station (ISS); and in completing two missions to the ISS, she has spent over eleven total months orbiting Earth. Back on the ground, Captain Williams has continued her career in the space industry as a member of NASA’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability, a group of veteran astronauts who work with privately held companies to develop spacecraft. Her contributions have helped to build the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Dragon. She is among four veteran astronauts chosen by NASA to fly the first commercial space vehicles.

“Space exploration makes us think outside the box; it makes us stretch our imaginations even further. Technology is nothing without imagination, and spaceflight imagination in the next generation is going to go really far,” she said.

Captain Williams is the recipient of the Navy Achievement Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal. In 2007, she became the first non-Indian citizen to receive the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratiba Award, given by the World Gujarati Society in India. Captain Williams received the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award from Florida Tech in 2015.

Ann Dunwoody '87, a fourth-generation Army soldier, grew up understanding what it meant to serve her country. As America’s first female four-star general and former commanding general of the U.S.

Army Materiel Command, she truly learned that leaders never stop learning, refining, growing, and adapting.

General Dunwoody earned her master of science in logistics management from Florida Tech in 1987. After that, she built upon her talent as a logistician, innovator, and empathetic leader to rise through the ranks. In her brilliant military career, she went from leading 100 soldiers to her final assignment leading over 69,000 employees in a $60 billion enterprise.

General Dunwoody, captured here by Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade, saluting during her retirement ceremony in 2012.

In addition to her military honors, Ann was recognized with the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the NCAA’s highest honor, and was the recipient of the 2007 Military Order of the World Wars Distinguished Service Award. General Dunwoody received the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award from Florida Tech in 2014 and was named to Florida Tech’s Board of Trustees in 2016.

General Dunwoody shares her guiding principles and inspiring story in her memoir, A Higher Standard, published in 2015.  “Meeting the standard will always suffice if you want to be average or just get by. Exceeding the standard and living to a higher standard can lead to success and the achievement of your dreams,”  she said.

Road trips and automobiles are part of Rob Phebus '74. His father did not like to fly, and his mother did not like boats, so family life revolved around the car. Ford vehicles were the transport of choice—the two occasions his family did not drive a Ford are exceptions that left less than favorable impressions.

It seemed only natural then that Rob would attend a college that was a twenty-hour road trip from his home in Maryland. After earning a bachelor’s degree in management science from Florida Tech in 1974, Rob went on to complete his master’s at Notre Dame. His passion for Ford was reignited, joining the Ford Motor Company immediately after graduation.

A self-described finance guy, Rob started in truck product development, having the opportunity to work on new market entries like the first Ranger compact pickup and the first Explorer mid-size sport utility vehicle. Other assignments exposed Rob to all aspects of Ford’s operations and ultimately took him to Venezuela, Brazil, Taiwan, and South Africa. During these international assignments, he and his family embarked on many local road trips, discovering new cultures and meeting new people.

In 2008, after thirty-two years of service with Ford, he retired as chief financial officer of Ford’s Subsidiary in South Africa. Even before his return to Florida, Rob has been actively engaged with Florida Tech. He served three terms on the board of Florida Tech’s Alumni Association from 1995 to 2003, including two years as president. In 2011, he became a member of the Florida Institute of Technology Board of Trustees, and today he serves as chairman of the board.

In 2013, Phebus was honored with the presentation of the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award.

When it comes to their work with Florida Tech, Rob and his wife Deborah are most proud of the creation of the Phebus Family Scholarship, which was established in 2000. “My successes in graduate school and my business career were directly attributable to the high-caliber education and experiences I had at Florida Tech. You weren’t a number; professors were deeply supportive to assure your academic and professional success. We wanted to ensure that students who work hard can have the same opportunities early in their journey through life,” he said. Rob and Deborah regularly meet with the student recipients of their scholarship fund and look forward to learning about their passions, both in school and in life.

Tom Folliard '91 earned his bachelor of science in business administration/management in 1989. It was his hustle on and off the basketball court that he was known for. After graduating from Florida Tech, Tom worked as an auto broker and caught the attention of some business executives looking to diversify their retail business. These executives were in the beginning stages of creating CarMax, which began as a test concept by the corporate parent of Circuit City. Folliard joined CarMax in 1993 as the company’s very first buyer. CarMax spun off from Circuit City in 2002 during restructuring, and its business boomed.

Since then, CarMax Inc. has grown to be the largest used vehicle retailer.

Tom rose through the ranks and became the chief executive officer in 2006, building an exceptional management team and positioning the company for remarkable growth. CarMax has been recognized for fourteen consecutive years as one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For® and is a member of the Fortune 500 and the S&P 500. Folliard retired in 2016, but he continues to serve the company as non-executive chairman of the board.

“The basics I’ve learned on the court apply off the court as well—if you take care of your associates, they’ll take care of your customers, and the rest will take care of itself,” he said.

As a Panther Basketball standout, Tom was inducted into the Florida Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and honored with the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012. He has returned as a visiting lecturer to the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business and has served on the Florida Tech Board of Trustees since 2014.

Tom met his wife, Mary, at Florida Tech, where she also played basketball. Mary earned her degree in aerospace engineering, pioneering STEM women before it became the well-known hashtag used today to further women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. To commemorate the Folliard’s foundation at the university, they purchased the retired scoreboard from the campus gym and had it installed in their home.

Dale Dettmer, '71 a partner in the law firm of Krasny and Dettmer, Melbourne, Florida is the first recipient of the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award. His practice is concentrated in the areas of business law, real estate, and estate planning. He is board-certified in taxation by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education and is “AV” rated by Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating for legal ability and ethics.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana in 1967; a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida in 1971; and a Juris Doctorate with honors from the University of Florida in 1973. He is a member of the University of Florida Law Review.

Mr. Dettmer is a member of the Florida Bar and the Brevard County Bar Associations. He is admitted to practice in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, and the United States Tax Court. He is also a member of the Tax Section and the Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar.

Mr. Dettmer is past Chairman and a member of the Board of Trustees of Florida Institute of Technology; a member of the Board of Trustees of Health First Health Plans; past member of the Board of Trustees of Health First, Inc.; past chairman and a member of the Board of Directors of Health First Foundation, Inc., past Chairman and Director Emeritus of the Community Foundation for Brevard, Inc., and past member of the Board of Directors of the Central Florida Kidney Centers, Inc.

Mr. Dettmer was a founding shareholder and later Chairman of the Board of The Bank Brevard, Inc. when it merged with and into BankFIRST. He served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of BankFIRST and a member of the board of directors of The BANKshares, Inc., a bank holding company, which subsequently merged with and into Seacoast National Bank.

Mr. Dettmer has practiced law in Melbourne, Florida since 1974. He is married to Pamela Joan Dettmer and has three children. He enjoys cycling, traveling, and reading.