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College of Science and Technology
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Certificate of Honor Awardees

The Certificate of Honor award honors an alumnus from each of Temple’s 17 schools and colleges who is distinguished in his or her field. It is awarded at the annual Founders Celebration in the spring.

2008

Angelo Armenti, Jr., B.S., M.A., CST ’65, Ph.D., CST ’70
Angelo Armenti, Jr. is the president of California University of Pennsylvania, an 8,000-student comprehensive university founded in 1852 that is currently part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.  Since becoming president in 1992, the university has flourished, achieving a 20-fold increase in endowment funds and a tremendous physical transformation of student and administrative facilities.  After earning his B.S. in physics from Villanova University, Dr. Armenti went on to pursue his master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from Temple University.  He spent two years as an assistant physics professor at Temple before embarking upon a 20-year career at Villanova University, serving as chair of the physics department, dean of the University College and director of planning for the university.  He has been awarded the 1978 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and has been a fellow of the American Council on Education.  Dr. Armenti and his wife Barbara have five children. 

2007

Joseph C. Allegra, B.A., CST ’70, M.D.
Joseph C. Allegra is a co-founder of the Network for Medical Communication and Research, which develops formats for communications and educational opportunities for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Dr. Allegra previously served as chairman of the Department of Medicine at the Louisville School of Medicine. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Temple, where he currently serves as regional alumni club leader for his home city of Atlanta, and his M.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Allegra’s wife, Marilyn, is a nurse, and the couple has three children, Katharine, Joseph and Patrick.

2006

Robert Michael Fineman, B.S., CST ’66, M.D., Ph.D.
Robert Michael Fineman is a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, as well as a board certified pediatrician, clinic geneticist and cytogeneticist. He serves as the medical consultant for the Washington State Department of Health Newborn Screening Program and as the chair of the Washington State Institutional Review Board. He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn. Dr. Fineman also serves as Temple’s regional alumni club leader for Washington State. He and his wife, Bonnie, have three grown children and four grandchildren.

2005

Cynthia A. Kuper, B.S., CST ’95, Ph.D., CST ’99
Cynthia A. Kuper is the chief technology officer at Micromem Technologies Inc., as well as a highly regarded expert and independent consultant in the area of emerging technology. Dr. Kuper is an IT fellow and former adjunct professor at Temple, where she received both her B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry. She also completed advanced graduate studies at Rice University, with the late Nobel Laureate Richard Smalley. Dr. Kuper resides in Villanova, Pa. with her husband, Laurent Leveque.

2004

F. Albert Cotton, B.A. ’51, Sc.D. ’63
Frank Albert Cotton was one of the most successful and lauded graduates of the College. He was the pre-eminent figure in the field of inorganic chemistry and the author of Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, the standard text on the subject. Dr. Cotton completed his doctoral studies at Harvard and taught at both Texas A&M University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Cotton published more than 1,600 scholarly papers and received 29 honorary doctorates; he was the recipient of many awards, including the National Medal for Science, the Paracelsus Medal, the Priestley Medal and the Wolf Prize for Chemistry. Prizes were also named in his honor. He was an honorary or foreign member of several national academies, including the Royal Society. He supervised more than 100 doctoral theses and numbered 40 professors among his former students, served on many boards for academic journals and held several honorary and visiting professorships. Dr. Cotton passed away in February 2007.

2003

Frank C. Tait, B.B.A. ’81
Frank Tait is the president of the justice solutions division of Maximus, Inc., which serves the justice and public safety market. He is on the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity, a trustee of the Valley Forge Specialized Educational Services Corporation, and a deacon at Wayne Presbyterian Church. Mr. Tait has also been involved in the leadership of the College of Science and Technology as chairperson of its alumni board.

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