Contact: Phil Hearn
(Bottom, left) Richard A. Rula, William G. Shira, Joe C. Turnage, Lashell M. Vaughn, and Kenneth A. Williams
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State's James W. Bagley College of Engineering honors this week 10 alumni for career accomplishments and personal contributions to the engineering community.
During a Thursday ceremony [Feb. 23] at the university, the college will bestow the title of Distinguished Fellow on:
--Stephen K. Ball of Nashville, Tenn., a 1983 biological engineering graduate who now is a cardiac surgeon with Cardiovascular Surgery Associates at St. Thomas Hospital in the capital city.
--William W. Bunker of Little Rock, Ark., a 1992 industrial engineering graduate and majority shareholder in Insite Interactive, an Internet marketing design and strategy company. He co-founded Web Media Ventures, which launched match.com, an online dating service that was sold for $45 million.
--Thomas M. Gladney of Houston, Texas, a 1975 petroleum engineering graduate who serves as executive vice president of exploration and production for Houston-based Plains Exploration and Production Co.
--Carl B. Mack of Ft. Washington, Md., a 1986 mechanical engineering graduate and fourth executive director for the National Society of Black Engineers, the largest student-managed organization of its kind in the world.
--Wade C. Patterson of Huntsville, Ala., a 1983 electrical engineering graduate who is the founder, president and chief executive officer of Synapse, a supplier of wireless home lighting systems, water heaters, wall thermostats, and other devices.
--Richard A. Rula of Jackson, a 1970 civil engineering graduate who is the owner and president of Florence-based Hemphill Construction Inc. and two other companies.
--William G. Shira of Savannah, Ga., a 1979 aerospace engineering graduate, now vice president of marketing and sales support for Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. in Savannah.
--Joe C. Turnage of Edgewater, Md., a 1967 nuclear engineering graduate, now a senior vice president of Constellation Generation Group, a national organization of diversified energy plants. He also holds master's and doctoral degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
--Lashell M. Vaughn of Memphis, Tenn., a 1982 computer science graduate, now vice president of Hilton Hotels' Corporate, Information Technology Division. She also received a master's degree from Christian Brothers University.
--Kenneth A. Williams of The Woodlands, Texas, a 1972 chemical engineering graduate, now vice president and president of the U.S./Mexico Division for BJ Services, a Houston oil field services company.
"As I travel across the United States, I am continually amazed by the exceptional
levels of achievement of many of our engineering alumni," said college Dean Kirk Schulz. "I congratulate these Distinguished Fellows on their careers and life accomplishments, and wish them continued success in the future."
Distinguished Fellows have been recognized annually since 1991, a year that marked the college's centennial observance. This latest group of honorees will receive plaques from Schulz during a banquet at the Hunter Henry Center, a major campus facility named for another distinguished MSU engineering alumnus.
The Bagley College of Engineering--also carrying the name of yet another distinguished graduate--enrolls more than 2,300 students among 10 different academic disciplines. The college is among the nation's top 10 percent in research and development expenditures.
For more information, contact Julie Lemons at (662) 325-8098 or jlemons@engr.msstate.edu.