Marston Muses, Fall 1999

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1999 Marston
Medalist

Distinguished
Young Alumni

Accomplished
Engineers

Distinguished
Achievement
Citation

Alumni Medal

Outstanding
Young Alumnus

Engineering
Tailgater '99

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ALUMNI AWARDS 1999 Marston Medalist
	The college awarded the 1999 Marston Medal to James Watson, BSCerE’58, MSCerE’60, during Homecoming in October. Watson, of Plano, Texas, is chairman of the board of GlobiTech Inc., a supplier of epitaxial foundry services to the semiconductor industry. He also serves as chairman of STARTech Technology Business Center LLC, a for-profit business incubator focusing on telecom, software, and semi-conductor technologies. Watson previously was president of TwinStar Semiconductor Inc., a joint venture project between Texas Instruments (TI) Inc. and Hitachi Ltd. From 1960 until he retired in 1994, Watson was with TI, where his assignments at the officer level included worldwide responsibility for total quality, supply process management, and strategic marketing, as well as management of digital logic and military products integrated circuit businesses. James Watson is the 61st recipient of the Marston Medal, which honors an alumnus for outstanding achievements in engineering. Named for Anson Marston, ISU’s first engineering dean, it is the highest honor the college bestows.
Distinguished Young Alumni The following alumni received Professional Progress in Engineering Awards, which recognize outstanding professional achievements, distinguished service, personal development, and leadership. The PPEA is bestowed on engineering alumni under age 46 who hold the promise of continued progress and development.
	Michael Dowd, BSChE’81, MSChE’84, PhDChE’86, New Orleans, Louisiana, has compiled an outstanding record of scientific and engineering accomplishment. He is a chemical engineer and lead scientist at the Southern Regional Research Center for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in the use of high-performance computing for the molecular modeling of complex chemical structures, he received the 1998 Horace S. Isbell Award, a major honor recognizing outstanding young carbohydrate chemists/technologists.
	Mark Nahra, BSCE’84, Tipton, Iowa, has held positions of increasing responsibility in county engineering, including assistant county engineer in Benton County, county engineer in Cedar County, and, more recently, county engineer administration in Linn County. Active in several professional societies, he recently completed a yearlong term as president of the Iowa Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 1992, he was honored as the group’s Associate Member of the Year.
	Umit Ozkan, BSChE’78, MSChE’80, PhDChE’84, Columbus, Ohio, is on the faculty at Ohio State University where she has distinguished herself as a dedicated teacher and internationally renowned researcher. A leader in the catalysis research community, she has earned numerous national and international awards. She has also received several awards for teaching, including the Harrison Faculty Award for Excellence in Engineering Education, the most prestigious teaching honor given at Ohio State.
Accomplished Engineers The college recently honored four alumni for superior technical or professional accomplishments. Recipients of the 1999 Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering are identified below.
	Don Clausing, BSME’52, Waltham, Massachusetts, is an internationally recognized leader in total quality engineering, having received both the 1985 Taguchi Award and the 1997 Akao Prize for leadership in transferring quality-oriented engineering techniques from Japan to the United States. He joined Xerox Corporation in 1972, acquiring progressively more responsible leadership positions. For nine years he was Bernard M. Gordon Adjunct Professor of Engineering Innovation and Practice at MIT.
	John Foster, BSChE’65, Evergreen, Colorado, retired as an intellectual property attorney, at the age of 45, from the Chicago law firm of Leydig, Voit and Mayer, Ltd. After earning a J.D. degree from Georgetown University, he was patent counsel for Chevron Corporation, working on heterogeneous catalysis, lubricant additives, and licensing matters. He then joined Leydig, Voit and Mayer. More recently, he was chief patent counsel for Pall Corporation, obtaining patent protection for fundamental work on blood filtration.
	Joseph Sullivan, BSChE’62, Blacksburg, Virginia, holds the Joseph H. Collie Chair in Chemical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. In 1996, he retired as senior vice president of Ciba-Geigy Corporation. Under his leadership, Ciba received the World Environment Center’s Gold Medal for Environmental Achievement and EPA’s Partner for the Environment Award. Since 1993 he has served on the EPA’s National Advisory Council on Environmental Policy and Technology.
	David Van Winkle, BSIE’73, Allen, Texas, has been with Texas Instruments (TI) for more than 25 years. As director of worldwide data converter products, he recently spearheaded a major expansion of TI’s data converter presence with a fourfold growth of their product team. Van Winkle is recognized for his synergistic development of products and markets for a major segment of the analog and mixed-signal components that TI markets, helping TI emerge as the world’s largest supplier of these products.
Distinguished Achievement Citation
	The ISU Alumni Association presented its highest honor to Vance Coffman, BSAeroE’67, of Potomoc, Maryland. As chair-man and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation, Coffman is one of the most influ-ential shapers of the nation’s space program. A 32-year veteran of Lockheed, Coffman was formerly president of the Space Systems Division and responsible for the Hubble Space Telescope, the MILSTAR satellite communications program, the Space Based Infrared System, and Iridium, the global cellular phone system. Coffman received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University.
Alumni Medal
	ISUAA awarded the Alumni Medal to Stanley Howe, BSEngr’46, Muscatine, Iowa, in recognition of his loyal and outstanding service to the university through alumni activities. Howe is chairman emeritus of HON Industries, a billion-dollar company that manufactures office furniture and home building products. The gift of $6 million given by Stanley and Helen Howe to build Phase I of the Engineering Teaching and Research Complex, supplemented with an additional $1 million in furniture from HON, is a testament to Stanley Howe’s commitment to the future of ISU and the State of Iowa.
Outstanding Young Alumnus
	In the eight short years since Wagdy Wassef, PhDCCE’91, received his doctorate, he has soared to the top of his profession as a designer of bridges. Wassef, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, has created designs used throughout the country, including the $80 million Second Bluewater Bridge, connecting the U.S. and Canada at Port Huron, Michigan. He is a respected researcher in the areas of enhanced performance steel, software validation and testing, and the rehabil-itation of bridges damaged by earth- quakes. He also makes presentations to bridge designers throughout the country.
Faculty Citation
	John Even, Jr., IMSE professor emeritus, served ISU for more than 30 years. Perhaps he is best known for his dedication to students as faculty advisor to the student chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). Always available to students, Even was the sole faculty who traveled with them to all national and regional meetings. Through his untiring effort, the students at ISU entered the most national and regional competitions of the IIE student chapters every year. He viewed student involvement in professional organizations as a way to develop leadership skills and character.