Contact: Bob Ratliff
Nine seniors in Mississippi State's College of Engineering are being cited for outstanding achievements at the university.
The five women and four men--each the first-ranked student of the college's separate academic programs--recently were recognized at a campus banquet honoring the top 15 percent of the combined senior engineering class.
"Academic achievement is just one area in which this group of outstanding young people has excelled," said Dean Wayne Bennett. "They also are being honored for such things as participation in the university's cooperative education program, and in regional and national activities sponsored by professional organizations and other extracurricular activities."
Sponsors for this year's senior awards were Adtran Inc., Andersen Consulting, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobile Corp., Howard Industries, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Peavey Electronics, and Tennessee Valley Authority.
"We're most appreciative to the sponsors who make possible the annual banquet and the senior awards program," Bennett said.
Receiving a plaque and MSU watch, the 2000 honorees include (by hometown):
BILOXI-Katherine A. Toconi, a chemical engineering major and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Taconi. She is a 1996 D'Iberville High School graduate.
BOYLE-Patrick W. Easley, an industrial engineering major and the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Easley. He is a 1996 Cleveland High School graduate.
BRANDON-Scott W. Westerfield, a civil engineering major and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Westerfield. He is a 1996 Northwest Rankin High School graduate.
COLUMBUS-Lea Alice Lancaster, a mechanical engineering major and the daughter of Judge and Mrs. Robert Lancaster. She is a 1997 graduate of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.
HATTIESBURG-Jonathan W. Heath, an electrical engineering major and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Heath. He is a 1996 Oak Grove High School graduate.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala.-Rachel C. Mueller, a computer engineering major and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Mueller. She is a 1996 Grissom High School graduate.
SOUTHAVEN-Chad S. Hammons, an aerospace engineering major and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Hammons. He is a 1997 Southaven High School graduate.
STARKVILLE-Yee-Roo "LuLu" Lin, a biological engineering major and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chyi Hong Daniel Lin. She is a 1997 Starkville High School graduate.
WAVELAND-Sara S. Smolensky, a computer science major and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Smolensky. She is a 1996 Our Lady Academy graduate.