Entrepreneurs Making an Impact

This issue of Columbia Engineering magazine focuses on engineering and applied science alumni who are entrepreneurs and whose work is making an impact, locally, nationally, and globally. Because of space limitations, we can highlight only a small fraction of our entrepreneurial graduates.

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These men and women, and others like them, exemplify the wide range of entrepreneurial enterprises made possible by a Columbia Engineering education. In these pages you will find businesses that run the gamut from technological products and patented processes to theft-proof clothing design. I am sure you will find this sampling of alumni stories both interesting and inspiring.

Empowering Future Scientists | Alicia Abella MS'93, MPhil'94, PhD'95

Growing up in Queens, New York, first-generation American Alicia Abella never imagined her career path would eventually lead to the White House. Her Cuban-born parents helped pave the way, emphasizing how education was a means to opportunity. Abella remembers how her family cut coupons and relied on hand-me-down clothing to save money for her tuition.

High-Tech Pioneer | Edward Botwinick BS'58, BA'56CC

Veteran technology business leader Edward Botwinick helped pioneer the voice/data communications market long before users and businesses were able to connect over multiple high-speed networks simultaneously.

Making It Easier to Be Green | Gia Machlin BS'87, MBA'91BUS

It may not be an exaggeration to say that Gia Machlin was predestined to attend Columbia Engineering. Her mother is a graduate of the School of General Studies, and her father, Professor Eugene S. Machlin, taught metallurgy at Columbia Engineering for more than 40 years.

Troubleshooting Home Mortgages | Michael Bykhovsky BS'83

Armed with plenty of ambition, a subway map, and 35 cents for his fare, Moscow native Michael Bykhovsky found his way to Columbia Engineering and began an entrepreneurial journey that has taken him from Wall Street to California.

An Organic Evolution | Adnan Durrani BS'81

The stock market crash of 1987 marked Adnan Durrani’s turning point. “I had my head handed to me,” he says. “I got professionally burned by tech stocks and began to realize that, for me, Wall Street’s ethos of immediate gratification was toxic and unfulfilling. I was driven to social capitalism— generating profits while holistically contributing back to society and positively impacting humanity.”

In This Issue