The School of Engineering is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award: Sr. Damien Marie Savino, Ph.D. 2006, in recognition of her passion for understanding and protecting God’s creation and her leadership in connecting the academic disciplines of science and environmental studies with theology and Catholic Teaching, and Joseph L. Carlini, B.M.E. 1984, in recognition of his success as a businessman supporting our national security, and in gratitude for his unceasing generosity and commitment to his alma mater. The award is traditionally presented at Cardinal Weekend, and Sr. Savino will join us on October 21st for the School of Engineering Open House and Alumni Awards Reception. However, due to a family commitment during Cardinal Weekend, faculty and staff gathered on September 27th to present the alumni award to Mr. Carlini.
Joseph L. Carlini is a native of Philadelphia, and earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from The Catholic University of America in 1984. His wife Christine is also an alumna, she graduated two years later with her Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering. Keeping up the family tradition, their daughter Victoria graduated from Catholic University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Carlini had a nearly 19 year career at SAIC before moving in 2016 to McKean Defense Group, a defense contractor specializing in surface ship readiness for the U.S. Navy. Carlini served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of McKean until his retirement in 2021. He continues to serve as board member for a variety of organizations. These include corporate boards for companies including Icon GPHS, Pomerado Technologies, Storage Strategies, Inc., Satellite Services, Inc., and the Lockwood Group, and boards of nonprofit organizations, including the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Foundation, and Malvern Preparatory School among others.
Carlini has been an extremely loyal alumnus of The Catholic University of America, about as involved as it’s possible to be. After serving on the School of Engineering’s development board during Charles Nguyen’s deanship, Carlini became of member of the University’s Board of Trustees in 2010. In 2016 he became the first lay person to chair the Board of Trustees, a position he held from 2016-2021, working with all the Trustees and the University administration to advance the University in the face of a number of challenges, most recently the COVID 19 pandemic. At the same time, he co-chaired the Light the Way Campaign, the largest and most successful fundraising campaign in the University’s history, which surpassed its original $400 million goal last year and is well on its way to the new $500 million goal by the campaign conclusion in Spring 2023. Joe and Christine Carlini have donated the funds for the creation of Carlini Field, home of our mens’ and womens’ soccer and lacrosse teams, and have also donated generously to create impact scholarships to help students afford Catholic University who otherwise would not be able to attend.
Sister Damien Marie Savino earned her Bachelor of Science in Biogeography from McGill University in Montreal, where a course on soils fascinated her with the beauty and complexity of soil and led her to pursue a Master of Science in Soil Science at the University of Connecticut. Her desire to integrate her love of the faith with her love of science led her to The Catholic University of America for a master’s degree in Theology. Her religious community, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, encouraged her to continue studying science and continue at Catholic University, so she proposed an interdisciplinary project in environmental engineering and theology that led to her completing her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering here in 2006.
Her early career was as a scientist for several companies in Connecticut and Oregon, but her doctoral studies led her to an academic career, first at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI, then at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX, where she became the chair of the Environmental Science and Studies Department, and held joint appointments in Environmental Science and Theology/Catholic Studies.
In 2016 she became the founding Dean of Science and Sustainability at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. In that role, she oversees the college’s science departments and sustainability initiatives, including the Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, and Environmental Studies Departments and the Center for Sustainability. She has overseen renovation of the college’s science building, Albertus Hall, and supervised the creation of new majors and academic programs in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Health Sciences, Environmental Studies, and Geospatial Technologies.
She serves on the Board of Directors of the Franciscan Action Network, West Catholic High School in Grand Rapids, and Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in Hastings, MI, and is a board member of the development committee of the Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell, MI and a STEAM Advisory Board Member at Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids. She is a member of the Society of Catholic Scientists, the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, the Academy of Catholic Theology, the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, the Association for Environmental Science and Studies, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and the U.S. Green Building Council.