Coleen M. Burke (B.S.M.E., 1990; M.B.A., 1999)

Ms. Burke graduated from Villanova University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree. She received her Master in Business Administration from Villanova in 1999. Her experience includes more than ten years with The Boeing Company at the Rotorcraft Division in Ridley Park. A majority of her time at Boeing was spent in Manufacturing Research and Development, implementing new technologies and improved processes required to design and build complex composite structures for the aerospace industry.

Her professional accomplishments include directing the V-22 Osprey Aircraft's Structural Test and Repair Programs. She was recently promoted to Director, Strategic Planning, Air Force Systems, Integrated Defense Systems, a position that draws on both her successful technical and business experiences.

In 1990, Coleen was a member of Villanova's first “Team Solarcat”, a group of students who designed, constructed and raced a solar-powered car across the country. She was in charge of fabrication of the composite body, as well as logistics coordinator for the team.

Steven J. Christini (B.S.M.E., 1995)

Steve has taken a concept envisioned during his years at Villanova and formed it into a company which is now the world's leading developer of All-Wheel Drive Mountain Bikes and shaft driven AWD Motorcycles.

The story began in the summer of 1994, when Steve went out for a mountain bike ride and came back with an idea. It had rained earlier that day making the conditions a bit slippery. After losing traction on his rear wheel a couple of times, Steve started thinking: why not power both wheels?

After a few sketches and a lot of thinking, it came to him: internal drive shaft to the front wheel. Steve, along with co-inventor Mike Dunn, made this their senior design project.

They developed and built the first prototype on Villanova's Campus and turned a lot of heads, both inside the University and out. Several years, tons of sleepless nights, six patents, and some great stories later, chnologies has bikes all over the US and currently exports to 11 countries.

The company was formed in 1999 and currently has a partnership with Jeep bicycles to manufacture and distribute the AWD technology worldwide. They are also in discussions with six major motorcycle companies in an effort to build a partnership or development collaboration to bring the AWD motorcycle technology into the consumer marketplace.

You can find more information about Christini Technologies, Inc. at http://www.christini.com.

David Quinn (B.S.M.E., 2002)

David Quinn graduated summa cum laude in May 2002 from Villanova University, where he received a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He was active in the ASME Student Section since his freshman year, having also served as Webmaster and vice chair. As a senior, David was its Committee representative from Region III. In addition, he contributed to many honors seminars and was active in VU theater productions, both as a performer and as a technical director.

Most recently, he was a recipient of a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, endowed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Mr. Quinn was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and a Tau Beta Pi Fellowship, but chose the Gates award for its superior funding. Through this scholarship, Mr. Quinn is provided with tuition, room and board, travel expenses and a living stipend for up to three years while pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, England.

David's planned research at Cambridge will be in Micro ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS); specifically, the design of micro-scissors for eye surgery. In this endeavor, he is keenly interested in materials selection, design, and processing. After spending a year with the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, David recently transferred to MIT to pursue his post-graduate studies.