Fuel for 65 cents per gallon

David Hubbard '71 spent $8,500 and several months to convert a touring bike into a biodiesel dream, which gets 65 cents per gallon. He used skills in engineering, welding, machining and electronics learned at Stout to make the bike conversion.

For the past eight years, David Hubbard ’71 has been running all of his farm equipment—including backhoes, dozers, track hoes and skid loaders—on cooking grease converted into biodiesel fuel. But four years ago, he also began using his home-brewed biodiesel in something a little more fun.

Hubbard purchased a used 1986 BMW touring bike and decided to make it biodiesel, too. He removed the original BMW engine and replaced it with a three-cyclinder Daihatsu diesel engine from a new commercial lawn mower. Hubbard spent two winters adapting the diesel engine to the bike’s frame and putting together a cooling system.

Now he and his wife enjoy riding all over the West Virginia hills—on 65 cents per gallon.

Making the fuel is a weeklong process that involves kitchen grease, potassium hydroxide, methanol and lab equipment. Although his cents-per-gallon cost does not include his labor, he enjoys being able to fill his five-gallon tank for $3.25.

“At 70 miles per hour, I can go 350 miles,” Hubbard said. “Not bad.”

Editors of Popular Mechanics magazine agree. They saluted Hubbard in their July 2007 issue for his eco-friendly touring bike project.

Putting a Stout degree to work

Peter Castrilli ’71 has recently joined Raytheon Corp. as business development executive.

His responsibilities focus on providing Raytheon support services to the U.S. Department of Defense in the Pacific Rim and also in support of mission support services for U.S. military test and training ranges and installations in the United States and its territories and internationally.

“While attending UW-Stout, I was fortunate enough to have studied under several professors who encouraged students to ‘think outside the box’ by going beyond what was in the traditional curriculum and applying it to other ambitions,” Castrilli said. “You can’t get much farther apart from my original career in the contract food service business to being a U.S. government defense contractor.”

He and his wife Peggy have lived in the Washington, D.C., area since 1977, where playing golf, fox hunting on horseback and watching Washington politics takes up the majority of their free time.

All in the family

Jon C. Sandstrom ’07 has joined the family business, HM Graphics in Milwaukee, as its newest account executive. Sandstrom, grandson and namesake of the company’s founder John E. Sandstrom, is the first member of the third generation of HM Graphics family members to become a full-time member of the business.

He will be working directly with two of his uncles to service and handle production management for some of HM Graphics’ largest accounts, including Hewlett Packard, Standard Register and Bader Rutter Advertising.

In addition to joining his family in business, he joins fellow UW-Stout alumni, including aunt Kathy Ann Sandstrom-Kronforst ’84, vice president of marketing, and uncle David Sandstrom ’88, vice president.

Yacht builder’s work also his home

Helping to build some of the world’s most luxurious yachts and going home to a nice house on dry land may be what happens in the life of the typical luxury boat builder, but not Greg Siewert ’84. He’s taken his career home with him, living on a yacht with his wife Barbara on and off for the past three years.

“In all, we’ve put about 6,000 nautical miles under the keel,” Siewert said.

The couple has been from the Caribbean all the way up through the Erie Canal system.

“I think the Erie Canal is a hidden gem and national treasure,” Siewert said. “The locks and canals themselves are a wonder of engineering.”

Lack of space is one of the main problems with living on a yacht, he admits. And he doesn’t plan on living on a yacht forever.

“We’re thinking it’s time to get back on dry land for a while. Our boat is for sale now.”

You go, girl

While growing up in Oshkosh, Alison Jansen Almos ’03 had a female technical education instructor in her graphics class. Although it did not inspire her at the time to become what is now called a technology education teacher, it showed her that she could.

Now Almos is the one proving to young female students that they, too, can become technology education teachers; but not just any technology education teacher—a great one.

Almos, an industrial technology teacher at Sandburg Middle School in Golden Valley, Minn., was named the Minnesota Technology Education Association New Teacher Excellence award winner for 2007. The award is given to an outstanding teacher with fewer than five years of teaching experience.

Almos is in her fourth year of teaching. She enjoys the hands-on aspects of her class and believes the students have an opportunity to grasp concepts in real applications.

Leading the learning curve

Kevin Wilde ’80 was named the 2007 Chief Learning Officer of the Year by Chief Learning Officer magazine.

Wilde leads the training efforts at General Mills and is credited with creating a learning atmosphere across the company. He is responsible for talent management, executive development and the Leadership Institute.

Wilde joined General Mills in 1998 and has since helped the company become recognized for its innovative development work. General Mills has been ranked the sixth best company in the world for developing leaders and also in the top 10 best companies for development three years in a row by Training Magazine.

Wilde credits his success to years of experience and a willingness to change with the times.

“I am still learning,” he said. “I am surrounded by very energized and talented people who are wonderful role models.”

“I am having a blast.”

Fighting fires…on land and on metabolism

Wanda Wildenberg fights fires as a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service. As a graduate student in the food science and nutrition program at UW-Stout, Wildenberg is interested in creating the right high-energy diet for individuals in her line of work.

A smokejumper's primary job is to suppress wildfires in remote mountainous terrain of the western United States. Smokejumpers parachute into the danger area of a fire and often are the first firefighters on the scene.

A crew member on a long shift can work off 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day. Therefore, a smokejumper’s physical condition is important.

“Everyone has different metabolism,” Wildenberg said. “We need to feed ourselves for performance.”

Wildenberg is in Missoula, Mont., this summer with her smokejumping crew. In her spare time, she will work on her diet plan, which is her master’s thesis. She plans to receive her master’s degree in May 2009.

Still plays with toys

Technically, he sculpts toys, but Scott Wilkowski ’98 isn’t afraid to say he still has a child-like appreciation for them.

“Most of the work I do is realistic figures, mainly various athletes from all major sports,” Wilkowski said.

Besides sports figures, he’s sculpted musicians.

“The favorite sculptures I’ve made are busts of Henry Rollins and Chuck D of Public Enemy for a magazine cover,” Wilkowski said. “Both Rollins and Chuck D are major influences of mine.”

Right now Wilkowski and his team are working on a figure for comic artist James Kochalka, who also happens to be an instructor at the Center for Cartoon Studies co-founded by Michelle Ollie ’92 (see this issue’s cover story).

“It’s awesome because we’re big fans of his work,” Wilkowski said of Kochalka.

Wilkowski’s favorite part of the toy making process, though, is seeing the final product in stores.

“It can be a real surprise,” Wilkowski said.

Centenarian taught home economics to Diana Ross

Alma Winzer Stahl ’30 celebrated her 100th birthday March 3, 2008. Her family threw her a party March 1.

After Stahl graduated from the Stout Institute, she responded to a need for teachers in Detroit. She was an elementary school teacher in the Detroit public school system from 1930 to 1935, until she started her family.

Stahl and her late husband John T. Stahl had five daughters and one son.

Once her children were in school, Stahl accepted the position of home economics teacher at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. There, she taught many students, including Diana Ross.

Today, Stahl is listed among the honorary members of the Cass Tech Hall of Fame. She enjoys spending time with her six children, 12 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.

Bold and beautiful

You may catch her on cable television’s Home Shopping Network selling her Simply Tracey collection, or you may see her bigger, bolder work in Nordstrom and other high-end specialty stores.

Tracey Mayer ‘82, a designer of men’s and women’s jewelry, travels extensively throughout south Asia in search of inspiration. Unusual or interesting stones, coins and whatever else that may catch her creative eye become signature, conversation-starting pieces.

“My clients are impulsive and selective in what they buy, and they want jewelry to enhance not define who they are,” Mayer said.

Mayer uses high-end 950 silver, which gives her jewelry a brighter, whiter finish; and she works with a host of semi-precious stones, coins and shells. Her pieces also include white and black mother of pearl, hand-carved by artists in the remote mountains of Indonesia—with each piece taking three weeks to complete.

A party to die for

Want more than the usual dull conversation about work, kids and real estate at your next party? David Wachtendonk ’03, who loves a good mystery, has a solution.

His Web site host-a-murder.com helps hosts plan a Murder Mystery Maniacs party, at which guests help solve a murder committed during the event.

Someone at the party is designated the murderer, and everyone else is given a motive, weapon or opportunity (two of the three). Guests question each other to try to solve the case. Hosts can choose from more than 40 scenarios and entertain 10 to 100 guests.

“Our most popular event is our 1920s Speakeasy Scandal. Our most popular corporate event is called ‘Dump the Trump,’” Wachtendonk said.

Wachtendonk said he gets his best scenarios from his customers. His most unusual request to date has been to customize a murder mystery for the vessel MyOctopus, one of the world’s largest private yachts.

21st century resumes

Roderick Sauskojus ’98 is helping job searchers everywhere post their resumes online.

Sauskojus and co-creator Micah Johnson launched GigTide, an online resume builder and hosting application last year.

“GigTide was a collaborative idea that came from my own resume-creating experience,” Sauskojus said. “Not everyone is a designer with the skills to create an engaging online resume.”

Using GigTide, individuals can create and post online resumes and cover letters using templates and resume-writing tips. Once the resumes are created, individuals also can link to online portfolios, slideshows and video.

Sauskojus said GigTide separates itself from the competition because its interface runs smoothly and looks the same on any browser and operating system.

Since the service launched, the site has received tens of thousands of visits from more than 100 countries and received positive feedback from bloggers around the world.

Serious about monkey business

Mick Hager


Steve Tyink

Mick Hager BS ’82, MS ’83, Steve Tyink '82 and fellow writer Sandy Wight created an easy to read, fun book on serious business topics. “Monkey Business: 7 Laws of the Jungle for Becoming the Best of the Bunch” is written as a fictional, but true-to-life story featuring monkeys as the main characters.

The book explains “exactly what happens in lousy organizations and how they drive the passion right out of people, along with quality service,” Hager said.

On the positive side, readers also will learn how “to create a world-class service culture that truly engages employees and creates an incredible experience for the customer,” Hager said.

Hager teaches at Fox Valley Technical College and is president and founder of Mick Hager and Co. LLC, a professional speaking firm in Green Bay. Tyink founded Attach, an experience design company, and currently is vice president for business innovation at Miron Construction.

Boy meets girl, makes touchdown

Alumni Eric and Amy Moe were married July 14, 2007 on the 50-yard line of UW-Stout’s football field. Their reception was held at the Memorial Student Center.(Photo courtesy of V Imagery + Design)

When the wedding guests of Eric ’03 and Amy ’98 Moe arrived to the site of the couple’s ceremony, they arrived to the 50-yard line of the Don and Nona Williams Stadium at UW-Stout.

As the couple’s names and wedding information scrolled across the scoreboard, the pastor gave a sermon that reflected ideals of teamwork, commitment and responsibility—all things that are involved with athletics—and applied it to a marriage.

Were the guests surprised? Not at all. The wedding invitations (a.k.a. football tickets) prepared the guests for the unusual wedding location and theme.

“I threw out there the idea of getting married on the football field halfheartedly just to see what she’d say. It just seemed right seeing as how much time I had spent as a football player and coach,” Eric Moe said. “She surprised me by saying, ‘Yeah, that’d be cool.’”

“I always wanted an outdoor wedding,” Amy Moe said.

A pan design even Martha Stewart approves

Buy a Bundt pan from the Martha Stewart Collection, and you’re likely supporting the work of Shawn Krcma ‘03 who works for Nordic Ware in Minneapolis.

Krcma is an industrial designer who has designed a lot of cookware, including a Christmas tree pan, a sea shell candy mold, several Bundt pan variations and a Santa pan.

“It would be hard to pick one as my favorite, but the Martha Stewart Kugelhopf is one of them,” Krcma said.

This pan was featured on the Martha Stewart Show. “She sent a film crew to Nordic Ware here in Minneapolis to film several of the operations involved in producing the pan for her.”

So how did the opportunity come about? “Nordic Ware was approached by Macy’s and Martha Stewart to create an updated version of the Kugelhopf pan, which is a German style of cake pan,” said Krcma.

“I would say having my work highlighted on the Martha Stewart Show is probably the highlight (of my career) so far.”

Up to the challenge

Best friends Craig Anderson and Mark Anderson graduated from UW-Stout in 1989 with applied math degrees. The two have worked together at various companies, including two ventures that they co-founded, since graduation. Currently, they work for Teledyne Scientific Co.—one of the companies that comprises Team Oshkosh, the creator of the unmanned ground vehicle TerraMax. Craig Anderson and Mark Anderson worked on the planning for the vehicle and engineered its autonomous software.

The TerraMax may look like a monster-size Tonka truck, but it may one day save the lives of military troops.

The TerraMax is an unmanned ground vehicle built by Team Oshkosh. Team members and best friends Craig Anderson ’89 and Mark Anderson ’89 were the software architects behind the “brains” of this smart vehicle, which can navigate and drive entirely on its own with no human driver and no remote control.

“My son thinks his dad builds transformers for work,” Craig Anderson said. “How cool is that?”

The two UW-Stout graduates and the rest of Team Oshkosh built the TerraMax to compete in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency sponsors competitions like the Urban Challenge to encourage the research and development of robotic technology and machine intelligence to keep troops off the battlefield and out of harm’s way. The military plans for one-third of its fleet of operational ground combat vehicles to use unmanned technology by 2015.

The software that Craig Anderson and Mark Anderson engineered for the competition allowed the TerraMax to demonstrate human-like driving behaviors, including merging into moving traffic, obeying traffic laws, passing, queuing, parking, observing intersection precedence rules and even replanning in the event of a road blockage.

“It was not uncommon to work upwards of 90 hours per week testing and fine tuning the TerraMax behaviors in preparation for the qualifying events,” Craig Anderson said.

The team’s 14 months of effort paid off when DARPA Director Tony Tether announced that the TerraMax made the cut primarily because of its “A++” qualifying run involving merging into live traffic.

“The team placed in the top 11 along with Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon University and Virginia Tech,” Mark Anderson said.

During the Urban Challenge qualifying rounds, the Discovery Science Channel profiled several Urban Challenge teams, including Team Oshkosh, for a five-part series titled “Robocars” that ran earlier this year.