SDSU's Distinguished Alumni Award honors alumni who have made significant contributions to San Diego State University, the San Diego community or California, nationally or internationally, and is presented to one distinguished alumnus/alumna from each college annually.

We are proud to again honor the College of Engineering's Distinguished Monty Award Winners!

2009 Awardee | Michael R. Niggli ('74)

Michael R. Niggli (’74 Electrical Engineering) is widely acclaimed in the power engineering field as a leader and expert in the electric and gas industries. As Chief Operating Officer at San Diego Gas & Electric, he develops and implements energy policies that will ensure continuous and adequate power for San Diego and the surrounding region well into the future.

2005 Awardee | Joe Kiani ('84 & '88)

Joe E. Kiani (’84 B.S. and ’88 M.S. Electrical Engineering) is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Masimo Corporation, a publicly held (since 2007) global medical technology company.  Under Mr. Kiani’s leadership, Masimo has grown from a “garage start up” to an international medical technology innovator and device manufacturer. A board member of Saba, the Orange County section of March of Dimes, and the Medical Device Manufacturer’s Association (MDMA), Mr. Kiani is also an inventor on over 50 patents related to signal processing, sensors, and patient monitoring.

2004 Awardee | Peggy L. Johnson ('83)

Margaret “Peggy” L. Johnson (’85 Electrical Engineering) is executive vice president of business development at Microsoft. Johnson is responsible for driving strategic partnerships and transactions to accelerate growth for Microsoft and its customers. Johnson works with external partners around the world, ranging from start-ups to large-scale enterprises, to identify areas of collaboration, drive innovation and unlock shared value. In this capacity, she also manages Microsoft’s relationship with the venture capital community and oversees strategic investments through the company’s corporate venture fund, M12.