Recognitions

B.S. in mechanical engineering, 1984   For over four decades, Mark Rhodes has had a distinguished career in the aerospace and defense industry, making significant contributions to engineering, technology and leadership in advanced aviation programs. 

B.S. in mechanical engineering, 1983 Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, 2023  For more than three decades, Sujit Sinha has been a leader in engineering and technology.  

Ollie James Akel has been a stalwart figure in the global oil and chemical industry, providing years of invaluable expertise and leadership. As a seasoned engineer and executive for 40 years, Akel’s prolific career spanned continents and corporations.

For over 30 years, Rob Beeler has provided strategic and technical leadership for software development organizations. A technological executive and entrepreneur, Beeler is currently chief technology officer and co-founder of Trava Security, a startup in the cybersecurity and cyber insurance space.

Tracy Drain is a flight systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. She is currently the lead flight systems engineer for the Europa Clipper mission, which is slated to launch in 2024 and will study Jupiter’s icy moon of the same name. After completing her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1998, Drain attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she received a master’s degree in the same field. She began working at JPL in 2000 and since then has been involved with a variety of deep space missions.

Until his retirement earlier this year, Richard Simpson was the vice president, global supply chain for GE Gas Power. He has been a part of the General Electric family of businesses since graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1984. During that time, he served in numerous executive and leadership roles with a focus on global supply chain that accelerated his development as an operations leader.

By keeping his head down and focusing on leveraging his executive talents, Gordon S. “Stonie” Glenn spent over 35 years transforming small but promising businesses into highly profitable, publicly traded companies.

In his long career, Steve Polston has served as plant manager, senior vice president, chief operating officer, president and CEO for various nuclear energy and engineering companies. For nearly the last decade, however, he has put all of his leadership ability toward battling homelessness. Polston earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1970 from the University of Kentucky.

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1984

B.S in Mechanical Engineering, 1987 C. Gregory Harper has spent his entire 29-year career in the energy sector. Currently, president of Gas Pipelines and Processing for Enbridge’s natural gas business, Harper brings deep and proven operational, commercial and developmental experience, thanks to an extensive background in the natural gas industry.

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1968 David B. Ratterman is a member of the Construction Service Group at Stites & Harbison, PLLC. A general construction law expert specializing in the fabricated structural steel industry, Ratterman has developed a national legal practice and advanced the study and practice of construction law in the United States. He has also become an internationally recognized writer and speaker on a wide variety of legal and engineering topics.

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1983

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1974 The son of a small-town family physician, Joe Halcomb grew up around medicine. From an early age, he was fascinated by the miracle of life—and the inner workings of the human body. When he came to the University of Kentucky, he looked for ways to put medicine and engineering together. Since one of his goals was to become a physician, he took pre-med courses alongside his engineering courses. This enabled him to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1974 and his M.D. degree in 1978.

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, 1980 Ruth Dyer joined the faculty at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., in 1983. Throughout her tenure, she has built an impressive career as a professor, associate provost and now senior vice provost; but perhaps the most distinguishing aspect of her career is her substantial contributions to helping students and faculty members from underrepresented populations advance their education and careers.

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1982 With a civil engineer for a father and an engineering major for a brother, Steve Macadam didn’t need much persuasion that engineering offered a promising future.  What he did not know at the time he enrolled at the University of Kentucky was that he would parlay his engineering degree into a successful business career.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering 1953 Jim McCurry accomplished a career of 39 years in systems engineering and program management on a diverse assemblage of major engineering programs spanning aircraft, manned space, scientific and defense satellites and computerized command and control systems for the Air Force, Navy, Army and NASA.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering 1987 Whether in competitive sports or the highest levels of international business, Steven Saran has known only success. Born in Denver, Colorado, Mr. Saran came to the University of Kentucky on an athletics scholarship, competing on the swim team during the 1980s. After graduating from UK with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1987, he worked as a technical support engineer for Ensco Environmental Services in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The University of Kentucky has launched thousands of successful careers. But how many of its graduates get to launch astronauts? Ask Dick Lyon and he will tell you that his has been a fairytale career in doing just that.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering 1958 What do Roosevelt (Red) Maynard, Jr. and a Ford F150 pickup truck have in common? Both are versatile, hard working, popular, and known for their longevity.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering 1960  Inventors solve problems, improve productivity and add to the quality of life. Ralph King has found ways to do all that on an even larger scale by helping inventors succeed and encouraging young people to pursue their dreams in an engineering or scientific field.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering 1956 Dr. Wendell Norman’s distinguished engineering career is highlighted by innovation, leadership, management, teaching and a willingness to work extraordinarily hard to reach a worthy goal. All of those qualities led to a level of expertise described by his peers as “invaluable to the nation” during a critical period in defense and space exploration.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering 1966 M.S. Mechanical Engineering 1970 P.h.D Mechanical Engineering 1972 L. Berkley Davis Jr. is at the center of power. Electric power, that is. Dr. Davis is known internationally for innovations leading to the development and worldwide implementation of low-nitrous-oxide-emission gas turbines for electric-power generation.

P.h.D Mechanical Engineering Dean, The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science Five competitive research centers have been awarded to UCLA in the last two years. Dean Vijay K. Dhir is making his mark – again. Dr. Dhir is an internationally recognized leader in engineering education and research.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering 1966 Competitors have found it difficult to keep up with Billy Harper.  Whether growing his construction business or driving race cars on the hot rod circuit, Mr. Harper has moved quickly, decisively – and successfully.

Merl Baker, a native of Cadiz, Kentucky, received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1945. He was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, editor of the Kentucky Engineer, president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers student chapter, managing editor of The Kentuckian, and held leadership roles with the Student Government Association. After spending one year in the U.S. Navy during WWII, he pursued a Master of Science degree and a Ph.D.

William Claude Hopkins was a native of Pikeville, Kentucky and a graduate of Pikeville High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1967. During this time, he was a member of Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma and Lances honor societies. He then pursued graduate studies at North Carolina State University where in 1972 he earned a Master of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering.

James Wadhams Stuckert is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. After graduating from St. Xavier High School in 1955, he enrolled at the University of Kentucky where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1960.

Born at Kings Creek in Letcher County, Kentucky, James B. Day graduated from Whitesburg High School in 1957. He began his collegiate career at Pikeville College, Pikeville, Kentucky but later transferred to the University of Kentucky where he received the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree in 1961. He would later earn the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from UK in 1969.

Lawrenceburg, Kentucky native and Anderson County High School graduate Elaine Duncan earned the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1974. She was an officer in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a member of the Society of Women Engineers and Pi Tau Sigma honor society. In 1984 she earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota while working full time at 3M Corporation.

A native of London, Kentucky, Herman A. Harrison graduated valedictorian of his senior class at London High School. He enrolled at Sue Bennett College and later transferred to the University of Kentucky where in 1955 he received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Born in central Kentucky, C. Michael Garver graduated from Ashland High School in 1955. He received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1960. While in college, Mr. Garver was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

Born February 14, 1874, J. Irvine Lyle was raised on the family farm in Fayette County, Kentucky. In 1896, he received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering 1902, from the Kentucky State University, now the University of Kentucky. While at the University he was a member of the varsity football team, Sigma Chi social fraternity and Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society.

Joseph G. Teague was born in Providence, Kentucky. He received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1956, and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1958 from the University of Kentucky. He later continued his education by taking graduate engineering and business courses from the University of Washington, University of New Mexico, and Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Dr. Louis A. Povinelli received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Detroit. He then pursued graduate studies at the University of Kentucky earning a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1956. After earning a Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1959, he was selected as a FIAT-Fulbright postdoctoral fellow at the Polytechnic Institute of Turin, Italy.

A native of Fallsburg near Louisa in Lawrence County, Kentucky, Paul E. Patton graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1959. After graduation he began his professional career in the mining industry in Floyd County .

Thomas A. Auxier was born in Auxier, Floyd County, Kentucky. He received his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering in 1958 and Master of Science in mechanical engineering in 1962 from the University of Kentucky. From 1965 to 1981, Mr. Auxier held positions with Belcan Corporation and General Electric Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1981, he accepted a position with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company.

Born in Eagle Cliff, Georgia, Robert M. Drake, Jr., graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering in 1942 and immediately joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. He received his Master of Science (1946) and Doctor of Philosophy (1950) from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Drake resigned from the AAF in 1947 and joined the faculty of the College of Engineering at UC-Berkeley.

Ralph Anderson called himself an engineer and a farmer. Born and raised in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, he began his formal education in engineering at the University of Cincinnati after serving approximately two and one-half years as a B-29 flight engineer in the U.S. Air Force. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from UK in 1950, working during his two years at UK in the Engineering Machine Shop. He spent the next seven years at General Motors and General Electric Company as a test engineer, and at Kett Corporation in analytical analysis and design.

Miss Margaret Ingels came to the University of Kentucky from Paris, Kentucky, hoping to pursue a degree in architecture. Fortunately for the engineering profession, there was no degree program in architecture at UK at that time and Dean F. Paul Anderson persuaded her to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering as “the next best thing.” She was the first female engineering graduate from this institution when she received her Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in 1916.

Ohio native Ervin J. Nutter enrolled in the undergraduate program in mechanical engineering at UK in 1934. He later dropped out to go to work for, among other companies, Procter and Gamble. During this time he became the youngest person ever in the state of Ohio to pass a professional engineer’s license exam. After a job promotion went to a colleague holding an engineering degree, Nutter moved his family back to Lexington where he convinced UK administrators to allow him to enroll in the middle of the semester. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1943.

William T. Young graduated with high distinction from the University of Kentucky in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. After a short employment with Bailey Meter in Cleveland, Ohio, he served as a captain in the U.S. Army from 1941-45. Upon returning to Lexington after World War II, he founded W. T. Young Foods, Inc., a company that became one of the nation’s leading producers of peanut butter. Mr. Young sold his business to Procter and Gamble in 1954, but continued to manage their peanut butter manufacturing operation until 1957, at which time he founded W. T.