NEWS & NOTES Alumni Nick Altobelli of Brandon (B.S. ‘89-CE) has been appointed state bridge engineer. He has 22 years of experience with the Mississippi Department of Transportation and is a certified public manager. He most recently served as assistant state bridge engineer and has also held positions as senior design section engineer and MDOT Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation project champion with the bridge division. Ed Blakeslee (B.S. ‘63-EE) was named president of the Mississippi College Board. The Gulfport resident, has served on the board since 2004 when he was appointed by then-Gov. Haley Barbour. Paul Dees of Canton (B.S. ‘01-CE) is the new bridge design section engineer for Districts 1, 5 and 7. He previously worked as a design team engineer. He has more than 10 years of experience with MDOT. The Vicksburg District, Corps of Engineers’ chief of engineering and construction division, Henry A. Dulaney (B.S. ‘85-EE, M.S. ’93-IE), received the 2012 Black Engineer of the Year award for career achievement in government. The award was presented in Philadelphia, Pa., at the Black Engineer of the Year Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Conference that recognizes outstanding accomplishments in industry, education, and government. Dr. Ervin Fox (B.S. ‘89-BE) received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. The Jackson Heart Study researcher and professor of cardiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, was selected for his research into how cardiovascular and vascular structures The mayor of New Orleans announced that retired Lt. Col. Mark Jernigan (B.S. ‘91-CE) has been hired as director of the city’s Department of Public Works. He is a licensed professional engineer and certified project management professional with
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over 20 years of active duty service as an engineer officer in the United States Army. A.K. Rosenhan ( M.S. ’65-ME) has earned the designation of Fellow in the Institution of Fire Engineers, an international organization headquartered in England. He has also been recognized as a 35-year member of the International Association of Arson Investigators and serves on several committees in the organization. Justin Walker (B.S. ‘97-CE) now holds the position of assistant state bridge engineer. A 14-year veteran of MDOT, he previously served as senior design section engineer for Districts 1, 5 and 7. Joey Windham (B.S. ‘03, M.S. ‘10-CE) was selected as chief of the modeling branch of the Modeling, Mapping and Consequences Production Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’ Vicksburg District. He will serve as senior technical reviewer for all hydrologic and hydraulic engineering products produced by the unit. He has been with the district since 2003.
Faculty & Staff Lori Mann Bruce, associate dean for research and graduate studies, was named a W.L. Giles Distinguished Professor, the university’s highest honorary distinction for faculty. During an April ceremony, Only 13 of the university’s 1,096 active faculty members hold this honorary title. Rita Burrell, graduate and distance education manager, was recognized as the National Graduate Education for Minorities Consortium’s Standing Chair of the Year. She has served as standing chair for its university committee since 2007. Burak Eksioglu, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering and co-director of the National Center for Intermodal Transportation, received the 2012 BCoE Research Award. Sandra Eksioglu, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering, and Bill Elmore, associate professor of chemical engineering, were announced as the newest members of the BCoE’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Donna S. Reese, professor and head of the computer science and engineering department, has been named a 2012 Distinguished Alumni by Louisiana Tech University’s college of engineering and science. She is actively involved in national efforts to broaden participation and improve retention of students in the
fields of computing, science, engineering, technology and mathematics. She has been recognized by MSU and national organizations for her work as a teacher, adviser and student mentor. Keisha B. Walters, associate professor of chemical engineering, received the Raymond W. Fahien Award from the American Society for Engineering Education’s Chemical Engineering Division. The award is given annually to recognize early-career faculty who have shown evidence of vision and contribution to education in the field. Byron Williams, assistant professor of computer science, is one of 12 academics included in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s 2012 Top “Under 40” Emerging Scholars list. Nicolas Younan, head of the electrical and computer engineering department and the James Worth Bagley Chair, received the 2012 Bagley College of Engineering Career Achievement Award. In the last year, five newly filled or renewed professorships and endowed chairs were named: Pasquale Cinnella, Bill and Carolyn Cobb Chair in Engineering; Steve Daniewicz, PACCAR Endowed Chair; James Fowler, Billie Ball Endowed Professorship in Engineering; Jason Keith, Earnest W. Davenport Chair in Chemical Engineering; and Robert Moorhead, Billie Ball Endowed Professorship in Engineering.
Students Collierville, Tenn., native Michael Barton, an aerospace engineering graduate, was selected from a nation-wide pool of applicants for a Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Internship with the National Research Council’s Space Studies Board, an independent forum that advises companies and government agencies on space science. Ben Cox of Meadville was named the inaugural recipient of of a fellowship established by Mississippi-based Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions Inc. The Doctoral Fellowship in Construction Materials will annually support a civil engineering doctoral student studying under Isaac Howard, an assistant professor and active pavement researcher. The National Science Foundation selected Meridian-native Jonathan Harper, a computer science graduate, for an annual $30,000 graduate research fellowship,
which he will receive for the next three years. Andrew Odenthal of Stayton, Ore., a senior in civil engineering, was named a New Face of Civil Engineering by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) through its first annual New Faces of Civil Engineering – College Edition program. Chemical engineering students Clint Diamond of Lucedale, John Wright of Pascagoula, and Josh Tucker of Tupelo, were honored by the Mississippi section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers with a $3,000 scholarship to support their education.
Student Teams The Mississippi State Formula team earned a personal-best finish in a collegiate competition at the Michigan International Speedway. It placed 34th in a field of 109 teams, from four continents, in an annual design competition sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers International. A three-day event, the competition tests each team’s design and engineering skills, as well as their businesssavvy and racing prowess. The Space Cowboys rocketry team blasted past the competition in this year’s NASA-sponsored University Student Launch Initiative (USLI). The team finished second overall out of a field of 40 teams. It also earned the Best Science Mission Directorate Payload Award and an honorable mention for their education engagement activities. Mississippi State’s alternative vehicle design team was named year-one winner of EcoCAR 2: Plugging into the Future. In addition to the overall first place finish, the team brings home $13,000 in prize money and five individual category awards: Best Facilities Inspection, Best Final Technical Report, Best Project Initiation Approval Presentation, Best Trade Show Evaluation, and Best Controls Presentation. Team member Rachel Wheeler won the Women in Engineering Award. The university’s Xipiter team finished 10th overall out of 26 student groups that were able to fly during the twoday Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s student challenge in Maryland. The 24-member team also finished sixth in flight and 10th in the journal paper and readiness review presentation.