Board of Directors
Rowan University, through its Board of Trustees, has appointed the following individuals as members of the SJTP Board of Directors:
Mel Baiada, Chair, Founding Partner (Basecamp Ventures - Moorestown, NJ)
Mel has made a number of contributions to the Greater Delaware Valley area to promote technological growth in the community. As an alumnus of Drexel University, Mel has made a generous donation to Drexel University for the establishment of The Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology. He is the recipient of the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group, "Year 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year" Award. In addition, Mel was recognized in 2001 by the New Jersey Technology Council with its "High Tech Hero Award."
Dr. Dianne Dorland, Dean (College of Engineering - Rowan University)
Dianne Dorland is Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ. She received her B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology before joining Union Carbide in South Charleston, West Virginia in 1970. After further industry experience with DuPont and the U.S. Department of Energy, Dorland earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from West Virginia University in 1985. She joined the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 1986, heading the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1990-2000 before joining Rowan University as Dean in 2000.
Dr. Dorland served as 2003 President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and is a Fellow of AIChE. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Rowan University’s South Jersey Technology Park andthe Engineers Club of Philadelphia. A licensed professional engineer, she has worked extensively with industry and government agencies and was named the 2008 Engineer of the Year by the Delaware Valley Engineers Week Council in Philadelphia. Dianne is an active member of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) and serves on the Executive Committee of the Engineering Deans Council (EDC), the ASEE Projects Board, and the EDC Taskforce on diversity.
Dr. Donald J. Farish, Ex-Officio, President (Rowan University)
Rowan University President Donald J. Farish is serving in his eleventh year as chief executive of the fastest-growing higher education institution in the region. 
Since arriving at Rowan, Dr. Farish has led the University on an aggressive improvement plan, transforming a well-regarded regional institution into a world-class university with a national reputation for excellence and innovation.
Phase One of that plan included an overhaul of university infrastructure and the construction of new academic facilities including Science Hall (fall 2003) and Education Hall (fall 2005). It also included the construction of a spectacular 113-unit on-campus townhouse complex to accommodate Rowan’s burgeoning student base (spring 2005). Further, his blueprint for the new millennium includes the construction of all-new athletic facilities, a state-of-the-art high technology park (SJTP), academic buildings and residence halls on 600 acres in neighboring Mantua and Harrison townships, just one mile west of the 85-year old main campus in Glassboro (i.e. Rowan West Campus).
Sam Jones, Jr. Founder/Consultant
Mr. Jones founded S-J Transportation Co., Woodstown, in 1971 and remains a consultant for the firm. Additionally, he is owner and president of S-J Venture Capital Co., Woodstown. In addition to serving on the Technology Park board, he is chairman of the Salem Community College Foundation Board. He also serves on the boards of the businesses Viewpoint, Inc., New York City, and Fogg Enterprises, Carney’s Point. He was director of Woodstown National Bank & TrustCompany (now The Bank); a member of the Salem County Utility Authority for 25 years; and a president of Tri-County Community Action Agency, Bridgeton.
His other business activities have included serving on the boards of MetaCreations, Inc., (now Viewpoint), New York City; Cardinal Technologies, Lancaster, Pa.; Symbus Technology, Inc., Waltham, Mass.; Fulton Financial Corporation, Lancaster, Pa.; Techmar, Inc., Canton, Mass.; and Jevic Transportation, Co., Delran.
George Lecakes , Graduate Student College of Engineering (Rowan University)
George D. Lecakes, Jr. is a graduate student in the Electrical & Computer Engineeringprogram at Rowan University. He obtained his BS in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Rowan in 2007. His research interests include development of virtual reality (VR) modules for applications in advanced scientific visualization. He is a recipient of the 2007 and 2008 NASA Graduate Student Research Program awards and the Rowan University Graduate Student Research Excellence Award in 2008. As part of hisMS thesis work, he is designing and developing VR models of NASA-Stennis Space Center rocket-engine test-stands to support NASA’s efforts in Integrated Systems Health Management.
Lisa Morina
As the Director of Economic Development for Gloucester County, Lisa Morina is responsible for county economic, community and workforce development programs. In this capacity Lisa has oversight of three areas -- Business Development & Tourism; Housing & Community Development and Labor & Workforce Development. The department handles business attraction and retention, county tourism, brownfields redevelopment, community development block grants and downtown revitalization, the county Workforce Investment Board, and job counseling and training through the county One Stop in Thorofare. The department administers over four million dollars in federal and state grant funds.
Prior to joining the county Lisa was Director of Business Services for Cumberland County College where she secured over $3 million in customized training grants which funded 105,730 hours of classroom training for over 6,600 participants.
Lisa is active in a number of many community organizations. She serves on the Board of the United Way of Gloucester County, is a Trustee for Southern NJ Development Council, is an Advisory Board member for the Camden Small Business Development Center and is Vice Chair for the Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce. She is an executive committee member of the Gloucester County Workforce Investment Board, a member the Chamber of Commerce of Southern NJ and also serves on the Gloucester County Emergency Management Council. Lisa was elected by her peers to serve as Vice President of the Economic Development Association of New Jersey. Lisa has a B.A. in Communications from Rowan University and an M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Cabrini College.
Gautam Pillay, Ph.D., Associate Provost for Research and Professor of Chemical Engineering (Rowan University)
With more than 20 years of academic, technical, and managerial experience, he has organized anddirected complex, interdisciplinary research programs with multimillion-dollar budgets to enhance the intellectual and financial capital of a diverse array of institutions.
At Rowan, Dr. Pillay leads the university’s efforts in the development of externally sponsored research, scholarly, and creative activities from federal, state, and local governmental and private-sector corporate and foundation sources. He oversees all research grants and contracts management and all intellectual property and technology transfer activities. He works closely with faculty, staff, students, and administrators to accomplish the objectives of increasing the level of support for these activities and to foster collaborations between faculty in multiple technical disciplines.
Previously, Dr. Pillay was the first Vice President for Research and Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T). He spearheaded development and execution of the university’s research mission, including oversight of all university research centers and institutes, and boosted overall external funding by 45% over three years, from $11.9M to $17.2M. He attracted external funding for multimillion-dollar programs by collaborating with peers throughout the country in creation of joint ventures and authoring proposals for government-funded projects.
Dr. Pillay earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in chemical engineering from New Mexico State University.
Edward Samuels,Undergraduate Student - Rohrer College of Business (Rowan University)
Manning Smith III, treasurer, President (Diversified Technology Group - Indel, Inc. – Rancocas, NJ)
Manning J. Smith III is President of the Diversified Technology Group of Indel, Inc., Rancocas, New Jersey, and has been with the company since 1983. Mr. Smith received his BA from Dartmouth College and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton). He is a Certified Public Accountant.
James Tarangelo, vice chair/secretary, Consultant - Moorestown, NJ
For the past 7 years, Jim has been working as a consultant in mergers and acquisitions and the commercial development of new technology. He led efforts to develop an acquisition strategy and help implement a plan that enabled his client to become an active player in the acquisition field and complete a number of deals. Currently, he is assisting both domestic and overseas companies in their efforts to develop new markets for existing products, evaluate new technology and develop commercialization plans and licensing strategies.
Earlier in his career, Jim worked for ARCO Chemical (now Lyondell) for 25 years in a variety of assignments in strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, commercial and technology development and general management.
Jim is a member of the Board of Directors of SJTP at Rowan, Chemical Engineering Advisory Committee and The American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He holds an MBA from Bernard Baruch College, Master of Science Degree from Polytechnic Institute of New York and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from City College of New York.
