Cornell Engineering Career Conversations

Engineers Build and Maintain the World: Charles Calitri ’81, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Leader

In this episode, Christa Downey speaks with Charles “Chaz” Calitri ‘81, Vice President of Operations at Kyowa Kirin North America. Chaz reflects on his 40-year career in pharmaceutical manufacturing and engineering—from leading Pfizer’s efforts to produce the COVID-19 vaccine to overseeing the construction of Kyowa Kirin’s first U.S. biomanufacturing facility. He shares insights on leadership, mentorship, and the importance of empathy, global experience, and technical depth in engineering. Chaz also discusses the evolving role of AI in pharma, the impact of collaboration in solving complex problems, and his belief that “time is life” when it comes to innovation that improves human health. Resources mentioned in the episode: Simpkins Family COMPASS Program: https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/selander-center-engineering-leadership/simpkins-family-compass-program/ International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering: https://ispe.org/ Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1 Editor: Melissa Bazley

Founding a Renewable Energy and Analytics Company: Matt Richwine ‘08, M.Eng. ‘09

Matt Richwine ‘08, M.Eng. ‘09, co-founder and CEO of Telos Energy, is designing, testing, and analyzing thermal and renewable power generation equipment. Matt discusses his career journey, the unexpected connections that shaped his professional path, and the evolving role of AI in the energy industry. Matt shares memorable stories about mentoring Cornell students, including one that led to his longest-serving employee, and reflects on the value of curiosity, networking, and trying new things. He can be found at: LinkedIn Matt recommends: Utility Dive: https://www.utilitydive.com/ Energy Systems Integration Group: https://www.esig.energy/about/ IEEE: https://www.ieee.org/ CIGRE- www.cigre.org The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1l2QJj8EOK2ywLZ1jQMuAI Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1 Editor: Melissa Bazley

Leading During Periods of Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change: Patrick Nichols ‘97

In this episode, alum Patrick Nichols ‘97, Managing Director at Vista Equity Partners, shares his career journey from computer science student at Cornell to technology executive and investor. He reflects on his early work as a developer, his transition into business leadership, and his experience applying an engineering mindset to private equity, where he helps companies grow by leveraging data, analytics, and operational improvements. Patrick discusses the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence, emphasizing both its transformative potential for business efficiency and the need for responsible leadership to manage its societal effects. Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1 Editor: Melissa Bazley

Building Value Across Industries: Robert Boehringer ‘82

In this episode of Engineering Career Conversations, hosts Christa Downey and Traci Nathans-Kelly speak with Robert Boehringer ’82, Vice President of Process Management Services at Orion Development Group. With more than 30 years of experience, he has helped leaders and professionals improve quality and productivity. In addition to process improvement methodologies and focused automation, he facilitates process mapping—the de facto standard in the industry—and has provided services to more than 40,000 professionals in both the private and public sectors over the past three decades. Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1 Editor: Melissa Bazley

Funding Therapies: Advancing Research for Chronic Pancreatitis with Daniel Morgan ‘23, M.Eng. ‘23

Daniel Morgan is a Research Portfolio Manager for Mission: Cure. This is a patient research organization dedicated to finding therapies for chronic pancreatitis. Daniel shares how his research background helps his team make informed decisions about allocating research dollars to discover life altering therapies for this painful rare disease with no cure. He also discusses how he uses his bachelor’s and master’s of engineering degrees in biological and biomedical engineering to inform his work as a scientist. He can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmorgan23 He recommends: https://mission-cure.org/ Transcript Link: https://tinyurl.com/ECCtranscript1 Editor: Melissa Bazley