Swanson School of Engineering announces Distinguished Alumni Award recipients for 2019

PITTSBURGH (January 8, 2019) … Recognizing their impact in industry and government, the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering announced its 2019 Distinguished Alumni honorees. The recipients, who represent the School’s six departments and the Swanson School overall, will be honored at the 55th annual Distinguished Alumni Banquet on March 28, 2019 at 5:30 pm in the Connolly Ballroom of Alumni Hall.

The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to Swanson School alumni who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement in their respective fields of engineering. For more information on the Distinguished Alumni Banquet or this year’s honorees please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs at engralum@pitt.edu.

“For more than 170 years, Pitt’s engineering graduates have contributed greatly to engineering disciplines, as well as to the betterment of everyday life,” noted James R. Martin II, U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering. “I look forward to welcoming these seven outstanding engineers back to campus this spring and celebrate their outstanding accomplishments.”

This year’s honorees include:

Swanson School Distinguished Alumnus: David Toth, BSEE ’78, President and CEO, retired – NetRatings, Inc.

Bioengineering: Thomas Gilbert, PhD BioE ’06, Chief Science Officer – ACell, Inc.

Chemical & Petroleum Engineering: Hanwant B. Singh, MS ‘70, PhD ChE ’72, Director, Atmospheric Science – NASA

Civil & Environmental Engineering: Ruthann L. Omer, BSCE ’83, President, retired – Gateway Engineers, Inc.

Electrical & Computer Engineering: Robert Van Naarden, BSEE ’69, Chief Executive Officer – Delta Thermo Energy

Industrial Engineering: Kevin Braun, BSIE ’90, Vice President, Industrial Coatings, Americas – PPG Industries, Inc.

Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science: Kevin McAllister, BSME ’86, President and CEO – Boeing Commercial Airplanes


About David Toth
Mr. Toth, the Swanson School’s Distinguished Alumnus, has held several senior executive roles throughout his career. He co-founded NetRatings, Inc. in 1997 and served as President & CEO, leading the company to its position as the foremost provider of Internet audience information and analysis. Mr. Toth formed strategic partnerships with Nielsen Media Research and ACNielsen; together, the three companies developed Nielsen//NetRatings service, the leading global Internet Audience Measurement service with deployments in 29 countries throughout the world.  

Prior to forming NetRatings, Mr. Toth was Vice President at Hitachi Computer Products where he led the Network Products Group and was responsible for the development, sales and marketing of numerous hardware and software products. Other former affiliations include Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Interlink Computer Sciences and PPG Industries.

Mr. Toth is currently a member of the Board of Directors at HiveIO, LeadCrunch.AI, and GutCheckIt.com. He was formerly a Director at NexTag (acquired by Providence Equity Partners), TubeMogul (acquired by Adobe) and Edgewater Networks (acquired by Ribbon Communications).

In 2003, Mr. Toth was recognized as the Swanson School Distinguished Alumnus for the Department of Electrical Engineering, having graduated from Pitt with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1978. 

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