Alumni Awards

The alumni awards ceremony is a highlight of IST’s annual symposium. The event was held on October 25 at the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub in State College during the college’s 25th anniversary celebration.

Outstanding Alumni Awards

This recognition honors alumni who have demonstrated a record of outstanding accomplishments and made significant contributions leveraging the expertise and knowledge gained through their degrees. IST sweethearts Alison Flanigan ’05 (middle) and Eric Flanigan ’05 (left) fell in love not only with each other but also with national security and keeping our country safe. Their company, Omega Minds LLC, creates scalable solutions for the intelligence community.

“Individually, Alison and Eric epitomize what we recognize as outstanding alumni,” said Dean Andrea Tapia. “Together, they are an exceptional team, representing the College of IST with passion and an innovative spirit.”

Emerging Professional Award

This award honors recent alumni who are earning notable achievements by leveraging their IST knowledge to make a positive impact on the world.

CJ Smulligan ’17 (right) completed an undergraduate internship with Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) and joined them as a network and system security analyst following graduation. He quickly rose through the ranks and now serves as ARL’s director of cybersecurity, overseeing the protection of critical infrastructure and sensitive data from emerging digital threats.

“I have reached a point in my career that I thought would take twenty years to achieve,” Smulligan said. “I credit that in large part to IST, which enabled me to grow technically but, more importantly, taught me how to network and create relationships.”