Bross and Mavity Named Outstanding Alumni

Jeffrey M. Bross and William G. Mavity received College of Engineering Outstanding Alumni Awards at Honors Day on May 4, 2007.

Bross, who earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1969, is President of Duffield Associates, Inc., a geoscience consulting firm headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.  Mavity, who completed a bachelor’s in engineering administration in mechanical engineering in 1972, is President, CEO, and Director of Paracor Medical.

An adjunct instructor in UD’s Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, the author of numerous technical articles and papers, and a featured national speaker on environmental and construction issues, Bross was named the 2006 Engineer of the Year in the State of Delaware.  He is a registered Professional Engineer in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska.

When Bross joined Duffield 25 years ago as Vice President, the firm employed five people.  He became President in 1996, when the firm's founder, James Duffield, became Chairman of the Board.  The company now has more than 110 employees in three offices.  Under Bross’s leadership, the firm has expanded its services from geotechnical engineering to include environmental services, water resources, coastal/waterfront engineering, geographic information systems, construction services, and structural engineering.

In addition to his work for Duffield and UD, Bross has played leadership roles in dozens of professional and non-profit organizations over the past three decades.  He led Delaware’s transition team for agriculture and environment and is an appointed member of the Livable Delaware, Infill and Redevelopment Subcommittee.  He has chaired the American Council of Engineering Companies and the Associated General Contractors’ Construction Liaison Committee, and he has served on state and county task forces and advisory councils, as well as UD’s Engineering Outreach Advisory Council.

“It's great to see Jeff win these honors," said CEE Department Chair Michael Chajes.  "He is a valuable asset to our Senior Design program who has given back much to the university and made significant contributions to the field over the past three decades.”

After graduating from UD, Mavity served for 21 years in the cardiac surgery subsidiary of the 3M Company, including as head of its European Health Care manufacturing.  During that period, he also pursued graduate studies in business administration and was an officer in the U. S. Army Reserve Corps of Engineers from 1973 to 1983.

Since leaving 3M, Mavity has been a key player in the successful formation and leadership of numerous medical technology organizations.  As a Director of the medical device company InnerDyne, he led the spin-off of Biosurface Engineering Technologies (BioSET), a company developing performance-enhancing materials for medical devices.  He served as BioSET’s Chairman, CEO, and Director before assuming those positions for another biomaterials company, Cohesion Technologies.

In March 2003, he assumed the roles of President, CEO, and Director for Paracor Medical, a company focused on developing device-based treatments for patients suffering from heart failure.  Over the years, he has served on the Michigan Technology Council and the Boards of Directors of ten companies, currently chairing the Board of BioSET.  He also serves on UD’s College of Engineering Advisory Council.

In 2006, Mavity was selected as a Distinguished Career Alumnus by the UD Department of Mechanical Engineering.  At the department’s annual business and technology conference, he spoke on “Strategic Planning:  Managing Business Success,” a topic on which he is well versed.  “In launching Paracor,” he said, “We had to achieve profitability with less than a 10 percent market share.”  Mavity succeeded in the face of high risk and stiff competition.

“Bill is a very successful person,” says fellow ME alum Jim Hutchison (BME 1979).  “He’s very modest, but he launched a start-up that did exactly what he set out to do, and now he’s doing it again.  His topic at our conference was strategic planning, but I think his personal story is what’s really interesting.”

A self-professed mediocre student while at UD, Mavity found success after graduating by having a firm strategy and carrying it out.

by Diane Kukich