Established in 2002
The Academy of Science and Engineering was established by Dean James P. Riehl to publicly recognize distinguished alumni and special friends of Swenson College who have distinguished themselves through commitment and leadership in their chosen profession. It is the highest honor bestowed by the Swenson College of Science and Engineering. We have more than 15,000 alumni and each year a handful are nominated by their departments for induction into the Academy of Science and Engineering. Since its inception, 81 members have been inducted into the Academy.
In 2022 Dean Wendy Reed established the Inspiring Scientists and Engineers as part of the Academy of Science and Engineering. This award to recognize alumni who are early in their careers and making significant contributions in STEM fields.
2023 Inductees
On Friday, October 6, 2023, two new members were inducted into the Academy and two engineers were presented with the Inspiring Engineer Award.
Jingsu Pu, MS
Academy Member
Jingsu Pu earned his Master of Science in Applied and Computational Mathematics from
UMD in 1998. He also holds a Master’s in Actuarial Science from the University of Iowa and finished his Bachelor of Science in Applied Math at Beijing Technology University. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. Jingsu is the global head of insurance strategy and solutions. In this capacity, he is responsible for insurance investment strategy and solutions development for MetLife Investment Management (MIM)’s insurance clients globally.
Most recently, Jingsu held additional roles as board member and manager in charge for MetLife Investment Asia Limited and head of institutional group for Asia ex-Japan based in Hong Kong. Prior to re-joining MetLife in 2020, Jingsu worked as the group Chief Investment Officer for a large insurance group in Beijing, China overseeing the company’s asset allocation, investment management and asset liability management activities globally and across asset classes. Jingsu also held the position as the Chairman of the Board for TongYang Life insurance company in Korea. Jingsu worked nine years at MetLife and held various positions including portfolio manager for US portfolios, head of international portfolio strategies and head of portfolio management in Asia. Jingsu was instrumental in helping to grow MetLife’s insurance asset management business across the globe, particularly in the US and Asia. Jingsu was at Swiss Re for seven years, where he held positions as the lead risk manager for capital market insurance solutions for Swiss Re Asset Management and Vice President and actuary for Swiss Re Life & Health North America.
Dr. Theodore M. Stokich
Academy Member
Theodore M. Stokich earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1969. He went on to earn his Masters in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin- Madison in 1970 and continued on to receive his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry, Viscoelasticity, Rheology in 1988. He became a naval officer (US Navy Intelligence), retiring as a Captain from the Naval Reserve. His distinguished Naval career benefited from both his math and science backgrounds gained from his experience at UMD. Theodore worked as a scientist at the DOW Chemical Company from which he also retired. He credits his foundation at UMD as the enabling factor in his successes. His experience as a scientist, gave him the tools to measure flow properties in viscoelastic material to be vital, but non-existent at the time and much of his graduate student experience was devoted to building instruments to determine the optical and physical anisotropy in polymers. And to that, developing and programming algorithms to run them and process data. Theodore continues to serve as a consultant to the Materials Science program at UMD.
2023 Inspiring Engineer Recipients
Maryann Hoff, MS - Inspiring Engineer
Maryann Hoff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with minors in Chemistry and Applied Mathematics in 2004 and a Master of Environmental Health and Safety degree in 2006, both from The University of Minnesota at Duluth. She also holds Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Associate in Risk Management (ARM) certifications.
Maryann joined MEMIC in 2022 as Vice President of Loss Control & Safety Services and is responsible for leadership of all Loss Control related activities for MEMIC.
Prior to joining MEMIC Maryann worked at Safety National Casualty Corporation where she served as Senior Risk Control Manager before being promoted to Managing Director of Client Engagement. Her insurance career includes risk management consulting with national insurance carriers and workers’ compensation specialty companies for over 17 years.
Active in the industry, Maryann serves on the Board of Directors for the Insurance Society of Philadelphia and is involved with the American Society of Safety Professionals and Women in Safety Excellence. She champions exposure to our industry and the professional development of the next generation.
Joshua Schults, BSME - Inspiring Engineer
Josh Schultz grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin before attending the University of Minnesota Duluth, graduating with a BSME in 2005. Josh started his career in the design of fire suppression systems before taking an opportunity in the Oil & Gas industry with a Duluth based consulting company, Lake Superior Consulting in the fall of 2006. Starting out as a field engineer supporting pipeline construction developing relationships across the industry leading to his current position as the Director of Engineering with Precision Engineering Solutions, LLC, a MasTec Company beginning in the winter of 2018.
Josh continues to reside in Superior, WI with his wife Nicole (UMD graduate) and his four children ages 16 through 10. Josh enjoys spending time with his family, attending children’s sporting events, community activities and he donates as many hours as possible to the local hockey association. Josh supports UMD athletics with season tickets to the UMD Bulldog hockey games where he enjoys spending his Friday and Saturday evenings cheering on his favorite team with his family.