The 2024 Stevens Awards Gala Honors Six Extraordinary Alumni
From Castle Point to global impact, alumni achievements shine at Manhattan gala
Against the backdrop of the Stevens campus shimmering across the Hudson River, the 2024 Stevens Awards Gala unfolded as a night of inspiration, achievement and profound connections. On Oct. 5, Pier Sixty on Manhattan’s west side became the epicenter of celebration for the Stevens community, as it honored six extraordinary alumni whose accomplishments have left an indelible mark on their fields and the university itself.
The gala, a testament to Stevens’ legacy of innovation and leadership, brought together hundreds of alumni, students, staff and guests in an atmosphere of elegance and camaraderie. Visible from the ballroom’s wall of windows and river terrace, Stevens’ University Center Complex sparkled, its red Stevens sign easily visible. As evening came, the lights of the Stevens campus grew even brighter, and just for this one night the Howe Center stood illuminated, in a soft red light.
“Your achievements make us proud of our own association with Stevens,” said Stevens President Nariman Farvardin. “Through your accomplishments you have shone a bright light on Stevens and the tremendous potential our university has to change lives and shape the future.”
The honorees, each representing different facets of excellence and service, included:
Richard Blahut M.S. ’64, Distinguished Alumni Award – Science and Technology
Brian Nigito ’01, Distinguished Alumni Award – Engineering
Dr. Sandra Cadavid ’02 M.Eng. ’05, International Achievement Award
Tony Massoud ’79, Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. Entrepreneur Award
John Dalton ’60, Lifetime Service Award
Thomas Corcoran ’67 Hon. D.Eng. ’03, Stevens Honor Award
Chris Cimino, PIX 11 New York meteorologist and lifestyle reporter, again served as master of ceremonies, while Stevens student and alumni musical talents were on full display. Adriana Aguirre ’25 performed jazz standards such as “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” The President’s Ensemble singers delivered lively tunes and Ian DiGuilio ’18 performed a show-stopping rendition of “You’ll Be Back,” from the hit musical Hamilton.
The honorees were filled with emotion and deep gratitude for their loved ones, their friends and their years at Stevens.
Richard Blahut, who’s had a 60-year career in information theory, digital communications and military systems and led the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, reflected on the year 1948 (he was 11). In that “miracle year,” Israel became a nation, the Berlin Airlift began, but the most important event, he says, was the announcement of the invention of the transistor at Bell Labs. “This led to 50 years of research that led to what you have in your pocket,” he said, pulling out his iPhone.
He thanked his Stevens professors and, more than 60 years later, still marveled at his theoretical physics classes: “They were deep, they were fundamental, they were transformational, they were hard. Those courses changed my life,” said Blahut, who still has his notebooks from those classes.
Brian Nigito, a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry and a senior technologist at Jane Street, revealed that he, too, has kept his Stevens notebooks. He thanked many people, including his wife, Stephanie; his mother, a Hoboken native who encouraged him to attend Stevens, and his father, who passed away this past summer and who introduced him to the world of computers and engineering. “One of the last things he asked was if we could just go to the garage together and build something,” he said.
Sandra Cadavid, the communications and information system advisor for the U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels traveled from her home in Belgium to receive her award. She overflowed with gratitude: to her mother, who moved her and her family from Colombia when she was a teenager and made tremendous sacrifices for her education; her lifelong friends from the Stevens Technical Enrichment Program (STEP) who turned out for her that evening, including her freshman roommate; her Stevens professors and staff, who pushed her to have “the courage to achieve beyond what I thought I could do for myself.”
Finally, she thanked longtime STEP director Deborah Berkley.
“You have really made an impact on many of us, and your dedication and guidance does not go unnoticed,” Cadavid said. “So, thank you so much for everything you do.”
Tony Massoud, founder and CEO of Soltex Inc., a specialty chemical manufacturer and distributor based in Houston, established the Soltex Pinnacle Scholarship program at Stevens for high-achieving students. As he warmly thanked his family, Massoud also proudly saluted the three Soltex Pinnacle Scholars who attended in his honor. He reflected on his “tremendous education” at Stevens. In addition to quantum mechanics, he learned “…that it doesn’t matter who’s the smartest person in the room. What matters is that you have the right people in the room. If that is the case, there’s no telling what you can accomplish.”
John Dalton, a member of Stevens’ Historical Preservation Committee and a longtime Stevens Alumni Association and Delta Tau Delta fraternity leader and fundraising volunteer, honored his wife of more than 60 years, Ann, whom he pinned on Castle Point. And he remembered others closest to him: his late twin brother Ed Dalton ’60, whose wife, Jane, and son, Chris, attended that evening, and his daughter, Susan, who worked in graduate admissions at Stevens and passed away in 2018; two of her daughters attended.
Thanks to Two General Motors scholarships, two working class kids from Jersey City could attend Stevens, Dalton said. “… We graduated and went on to successful careers, but we never forgot our roots. We gave back,” he said. Ed and John helped launch a class scholarship that inspired other graduating classes to do the same, leading to some 50 Stevens scholarships today, Dalton said.
The evening’s final honoree was Tom Corcoran, who has served for 30 years on the Stevens Board of Trustees, and who has led an extraordinary career, including as COO of GE Aerospace, chair, president and CEO of Allegheny Teledyne and chair of Aerojet Rocketdyne.
Paraphrasing Yankee great Lou Gehrig, Corcoran declared: “I believe I'm the luckiest man alive.” Sharing that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, “Some people say I've had a bad break. I think I've had great luck in my life, starting with the fact that I was able to graduate from Stevens in 1967.”
More great luck followed: meeting his wife, Claudia, of 55 years and being accepted into the renowned GE training program that propelled him in his career.
He also recognized his children and grandchildren, all in attendance.
“I hope they look back someday on this night and say that they thought their grandfather did something useful in his life,” he said. Corcoran ended on a high note, proudly reflecting on Stevens’ rise in prominence over the years and promising to continue to be part of it.
A Night of Reflection and Inspiration
The evening ended with a lively after-party with dancing to a live band. The dance floor was full.
Old friends gathered to reminisce. Sandra Cadavid has a tight group of friends who showed up, forever bonded after enduring STEP’s rigorous summer Bridge program before the start of their freshman year. Today, they have a regular group chat and have traveled Europe with Cadavid as their guide, piling up to 10 of them into her apartment.
“She puts up with a lot!” said Barbara Caramés ’03 M.S. ’08. “We have a lot of great memories.”
Awa M.M. Kah ’25, president of Stevens’ chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, and friends came to network, learn more about the alumni community and “get in the Stevens spirit.” The fellowship — and the view of Stevens from their terrace table — were unbeatable.
The relationship Tony Massoud’s three Soltex Pinnacle Scholars share with Massoud is like family, they said. Massoud gives them professional and life advice, connects them with job opportunities and even advised them on their tuxes for the evening.
“His mentorship has been something amazing,” says Noah Spina ’25. “Without people like Tony, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Reflecting on the evening, Jeremy Roller, Class of 2027, captured its essence: “I felt so honored to be surrounded by so many intelligent and successful Stevens alumni. Hearing the speeches from the awardees and listening to what they have achieved was just surreal. I knew Stevens was a great school, but hearing what some graduates have accomplished after their time here was just amazing!”
See more photos from the gala here.