Heritage Award

Anton T. Dahbura ’81, ’82 MSE, ’84 PhD is an emerging alumni leader. A native of El Salvador, he earned all three Whiting School of Engineering degrees in Electrical Engineering.

Dahbura has a long tradition of involvement with and support of Johns Hopkins. He played on the Hopkins varsity baseball team and continues to be very active with the team. Under his leadership as chair of the Society of Engineering Alumni (2000-02), SEA grew significantly in regional events, alumni involvement, and fostering alumni interaction with faculty and students. Dahbura now chairs the Computer Science Advisory Board. Recently, he joined the Whiting School’s National Advisory Council.

Recently, Dahbura and his company, Hub Labels, Inc., supported the Whiting School’s Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Project, in which student teams collaborate with companies on specific problems. He also served on the 20th reunion gift committee for the Class of 1981. As part of the Johns Hopkins Initiative, Dahbura established the Jan Minkowski Scholarship Fund in memory of his favorite professor. Dahbura has proven time and again his dedication to his alma mater. He and his wife, Maria, reside in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Heritage Award

Edward Wenk, Jr. ’40, ’50 PhD (’89 Hon.) is considered a foremost authority on submarine engineering technology, as well as a defense technology innovator, author, national scientific adviser, and protector of the nation’s natural resources. After earning two Whiting School of Engineering degrees in Civil Engineering,Wenk entered government service in the U.S. Navy. He designed many of the Navy submarines that are used today, such as the U.S.S. Nautilus (the first nuclear-powered submarine) and the Aluminaut (at the time, the world’s deepest diving sub). His contributions earned him the nickname “father of the deep-diving submarine prototypes.”

In 1959, Congress appointed Wenk as its first science and technology adviser. He formulated the concept of technology assessment and helped create the Congres-sional Office of Technology Assessment. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy selected Wenk as assistant to the science adviser. In addition, Wenk was instrumental in establishing the Office of Science and Technology. He also served presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon as executive secretary of the Federal Council on Research and Technology.
Wenk resides in Seattle. The Whiting School’s annual Carolyn and Edward Wenk Jr. Lecture in Technology and Public Policy began with the 1988 contribution of the alumnus and his wife.

Distinguished Alumnus Award

Lewis W. Bluemle, Jr. ’43 A&S, ’46 MD (’90 Hon.) has made a tremendous impact in the medical community. After majoring in Chemistry and receiving his medical degree from Johns Hopkins, Bluemle eventually became associate dean and director of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He also has served as president of the College of Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University (1969-1974), University of Oregon Health Sciences Center (1974-1977), and Thomas Jefferson University (1977-1990) and as a professor at all three.

Bluemle holds a patent for artificial kidneys and blood pumps and helped pioneer the development of the artificial kidney. Throughout his career, he has had a close affiliation with Johns Hopkins. He is the past chair and a current member of the Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Institute Advisory Council. While chair, he encouraged a relationship between Hopkins and the Falk Medical Trust of Chicago.

Bluemle also serves as senior vice president at the Connelly Foundation, through which he established an endowed scholarship fund for undergraduates in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering. Bluemle and his wife, Dolores, reside in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.