Alumni Association Directors

2007 - 2008

Josh Asplen, a New Mexico Tech senior majoring in biology/pre-medicine, is 2007/2008 president of the Student Association. He is also the Hall Director of West, Presidents, and Driscoll for Residential Life, chair of the Res Life 49ers and Spring Fling committee, and an active participant in the Student Activities Board. He enjoys fencing, snowboarding, chess, and movies.

Ray L. Bellande attended Tech in 1961-62 before graduating from Mississippi State University with a B.S. in petroleum geology in 1965. Now living in Ocean Springs, Miss., Ray spend 25 years as an exploration-production geologist and independent oil operator before assuming a more relaxed posture making high-fire stone ware, and writing books and a column on local history.

Louise Chamberlin (B.S. Basic Sci. ’67, Master of Science Teaching ’72) now serves as director of auxiliary services at New Mexico Tech. One of her current projects is construction of a new children’s center on campus.

Currently vice president with Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, Tom Dillon (B.S. Ceramic Engr. ’75, B.S. Metallurgical Engr. ’76) is working on large proposals and programs for the federal government, including flood control projects for New Orleans, world-wide military construction and sustainment operations. His home in Sandy, Utah is his eighteenth since leaving Tech, he said, spread over seven states and two foreign countries.

Graduate Student Association President Earl Eiland (B.S. Biology ’75, MS Comp.Sci. ’07) is working on his Ph.D. in Computer Science at New Mexico Tech. He is working for General Electric in New York and conducting research on intrusion detection for computer security.

After working for 25 years in Colorado, Linda Gonzales (B.S. Math ’65) and her late husband Leo retired to Socorro in 1987. Linda has taught beginning computers in the Community College, and continues teaching beginning computer classes for Literacy of Socorro. She is also president of the Socorro Chapter, American Association of University Women, and active in women’s health issues.

Los Alamos/Santa Fe Alumni Chapter President Charles Goodman is a member of the Class of ’74, with bachelor’s degrees in mining and petroleum engineering. Head of Kokopelli Santa Fe Real Estate & Property Management, the largest property management firm in northern New Mexico, he also has a financial consulting practice at Morgan Stanley. Charlie is a partner in Denver-based Three Forks Resources, LLC, an oil and gas entity operated by president and CEO Scotty Smith (B.S., Petroleum, ’73).

A 20-year resident of Carlsbad, Calif., Geza Keller (B.S. Math ’76) is president and CEO of his company, Infinite Optics, Inc. He is also involved in the Victor Saracini Endowment at New Mexico Tech.

Dr. Navid Mojtabai (B.S. ’82, M.S. ’84, Mining Engr.) has spent the past 17 years teaching at New Mexico Tech. He currently serves as chair of the Mineral Engineering Department.

Paul Shoemaker (B.S. Physics ’71) also holds a master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He served in a number of positions in state government in Texas and New Mexico before joining Sandia National Laboratories in 1981. He currently serves as deputy chief operating officer of Sandia’s Nuclear Weapons Strategic Management Unit. In addition to promoting strategies and operational planning at Sandia, Paul has served as process consultant and facilitator on a number of assignments for the U.S. Department of Energy, and has designed and conducted planning processes for academic institutions, including Stanford University, the University of New Mexico and New Mexico Tech.

Edie Steinhoff (B.S., Gen. Studies, ’07) has served as graphic designer at New Mexico Tech for the past seven years. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a master’s degree in marketing.

A Houston resident, Brett Wendt (B.S. PE ’92), Brett Wendt is a petrophysicist for ConocoPhillips in the Gulf of Mexico and Latin America.