Alumni award winners
A world-renowned biomedical engineer leads the list of Homecoming honorees
Hunter Peckham
P. Hunter Peckham, MS ’68, PhD ’72, enhanced lives and opened up new frontiers of science by pioneering treatments for people with paralysis and spinal chord injuries. The world-renowned researcher, a professor emeritus of biomedical engineering at Case School of Engineering, will be honored for his scientific achievements and contributions to humanity with the Gold Medal award at Homecoming 2025.
The Gold Medal is the highest honor bestowed annually by the Case Alumni Association, the nation’s oldest independent alumni association of science and engineering graduates. Peckham was chosen for the honor by a panel of past CAA presidents, who met March 19 to make selections. He leads an exciting cast of Homecoming award winners.
Samuel Givelber 1923 Award
Norman Diederich ’64, MS ’66, PhD ’70, shares with Case the same esprit de corps he displays in life. An avid cyclist and 50-year member of the U.S. Ski Patrol, the retired electrical engineer has supported Case for decades as a volunteer, scholarship interviewer, and reunion organizer. He will receive the award that honors an alumnus who promotes fellowship and kindness in the Case tradition.
Young Alumni Leadership Award
J.C. Schmidt ’19 is increasingly well known to students and young alumni. He helps award Junior-Senior Scholarships as an interviewer, lends career advice at alumni-student networking events like Case Connects, and represents Swagelok as a recruiter at CWRU career fairs. When it comes to giving back, the systems and control engineer started early.
Meritorious Service Awards
Three people were selected for a Thomas P. Kicher ’59, MS ’62, PhD ’65, Meritorious Service Award, which recognizes outstanding service to the CAA and to Case.
Kathy Harper ’93, MS ’96, PhD, helped shape the Roger E. Susi First Year Experience Lab into one of the most popular labs on Case Quad by showing students the wonders of engineering. She brings the same enthusiasm to volunteer roles, where she helps to showcase Case as a tour guide, speaker, game show contestant, and faculty catalyst.
Wayne Liu, MS ’94, PhD, a founder and entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, strives to show Case students and young alumni the opportunities in high technology. The president of America for Perfect Corp. helps guide visiting cohorts of students in the Bay area, hosts alumni events at his Cupertino home, and mentors students at CES and on campus.
Sean Higgins, MS ’90, has emerged as a stalwart on the Scholarship Committee, helping to award Junior-Senior Scholarships. The cybersecurity pioneer also volunteers his time as a CAA board member, a campus speaker and a student mentor, sometimes flying in from his home in Vancouver, Canada, to do so.
The awards ceremony will take place the evening of Friday, Oct. 10, in Eldred Hall.
Questions? Email Kelly.Hendricks@casealum.org.
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