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Academy of Distinguished Former Students

Each spring, the College of Science pays tribute to its top former students by conferring upon them its highest honor: induction into the Academy of Distinguished Former Students.

Criteria

The Academy of Distinguished Former Students was established in October 1996 by the College of Science External Advisory & Development Council to "recognize former students of the College of Science at Texas A&M University who have brought honor to their profession through outstanding leadership in mathematics, statistics, the sciences, and medicine."

Each year, up to three recipients may be selected on the basis of:

• Contributions to the programs and activities of the Texas A&M College of Science;
• Technical/scientific accomplishments;
• Contributions to their professions, including continuing education and other educational activities.

Inductees

2013
	Dr. Wen-Feng Liaw '89 (Hsinchu, Taiwan)	Dr. Liaw received his doctorate in chemistry from Texas A&M University in 1989 under the research mentorship of Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Dr. Marcetta Y. Darensbourg. A full professor since 1993, he is one of the leading inorganic chemists in his native Taiwan and an influential leader in the Taiwan academic community who is credited with developing the country's current culture of scientific research and proliferating a thriving Aggie community there in the process. Since 2002, Liaw has served as a professor of chemistry at National Tsing Hua University. He was appointed as a distinguished professor of chemistry in 2007 and as chairman of the Department of Chemistry last fall. For the past three years, Liaw also has been Director General of the Department of Natural Sciences, National Science Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the organization charged with formulating science policy in Taiwan and overseeing research funding across the natural sciences. As a chemist, Liaw is a pioneer in the synthesis of iron-sulfur compounds that serve as mimetics and the overall study of nitrogen oxide when bound to iron. He has authored more than 80 manuscripts in rigorously peer-reviewed, high-impact journals and mentored more than 20 Ph.D. and 50 master's of science students as independent scientists.
	Dr. Mikhail Lukin '98 (Cambridge, MA)	Dr. Lukin received his doctorate in physics from Texas A&M University in 1998 under the supervision of Distinguished Professor of Physics Dr. Marlan O. Scully. In 2001 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, he joined the physics faculty at Harvard University. Three years later, he earned tenure, becoming a full professor at the age of 33 in less time than it took him to receive a Ph.D. Building on pioneering concepts he was first exposed to while at Texas A&M, Lukin and his colleagues stunned the world by stopping and storing pulses of light, making artificial atoms behave in new and fascinating ways, and doing engineering with individual quanta of light and matter -- breakthroughs that span the gamut of fundamental science and practical engineering. During the past decade, he has emerged as a central figure for an exciting scientific enterprise that has branched out from slow and trapped light to include sensing and spectroscopy as well as generation of novel quantum states of matter and entanglement -- developments that are central in exploring the next frontiers of quantum engineering of quantum science, engineering and information processing.
	Mr. Thomas Powell '62 (Galveston, TX)	Powell Indus Inc. Mr. Powell received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Texas A&M University in 1962. After working two years for Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Powell returned to his family's small Houston-based business and founded two subsequent corporations that he later merged to create Powell Industries Inc., an international leader in engineering solutions to manage complex, critical processes that control power, water, wastewater, transportation, and petrochemicals. He served nearly two decades as chief executive officer and chairman of the company, renowned by its 50th anniversary in 1997 as a publicly traded global leader in arc-resistant technology and electrical-voltage-regulation devices, retiring in 2012 as chairman of the board. In 2007, Powell created two major opportunities for faculty at his alma mater, establishing $1 million endowed chairs in both mathematics and marine engineering technology in an ongoing effort to achieve another of his lifelong ambitions -- closer ties between the main university and its maritime campus in Galveston. A former member of the Texas A&M-Galveston Board of Visitors, Powell recently was honored as the namesake of the campus' new Engineering Technology Building. In addition, he is active in a variety of community and civic causes, including past and current service on a number of area boards and committees.
	Dr. Keith Ward, Jr. '65 (Alexandria, VA)	Dr. Ward received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Texas A&M University in 1965 and a doctorate in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University in 1974. After a postdoctoral stint at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in protein crystallography, he served eight years on the chemistry faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where his laboratory was the first to port high-performance molecular modeling software to an IBM mainframe and to prepare high-quality single crystals of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Ward then returned to NRL, where his research team paved the way for a better understanding of the structural mechanisms involved in marine bioluminescent proteins, snake-venom toxins, and enzymes isolated from squid that can efficiently degrade chemical warfare agents. In 1995, he joined the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and demonstrated for the first time the efficacy of detecting and locating unexploded ordinance in shoreline waters using chemical sensors as payloads in small autonomous underwater vehicles. He also began a continuing tenure as technical adviser to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, which provides improved equipment for Navy Seals. In 2003, Ward became the first program manager in the Department of Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA), eventually heading the branch developing next-generation chemical and biological sensors to protect U.S. population centers. Ward was appointed in 2010 as Senior Science Adviser to the FBI Laboratory, where he led efforts to better transition basic research to meet specific FBI forensics requirements. He has received a Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award (ONR, 2003) and the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Senior Professional (DHS, 2008). Since retiring in 2011 after 27 years of federal service, Ward is an affiliate faculty member at George Mason University and also serves on the steering committee of the Northern Virginia AAAS/SSE STEM Volunteer Program that coordinates placement of retired technical professionals to assist public K-12 science teachers.

2012
	Dr. Jerry Oglesby '71 (Cary, NC)	SAS Institute, Inc. Oglesby received his doctorate in statistics from Texas A&M University in 1971 under the direction of legendary professor Dr. Ronald R. Hocking. Oglesby currently works for SAS Institute Inc. as the Senior Director of Global Academic Programs and Global Certification within the Education Division. He began his career as a statistician with the University of West Florida, where he served 13 years as both an assistant and associate professor of statistics. In addition, he was founder and chief executive officer of SCI Data Systems Inc. from 1978-89 and, before joining SAS in 1996, he also worked for Monsanto Chemical Company as plant statistician. In his prior role at SAS as Director of Analytical Consulting within the Professional Services Division, he grew his department from its formation to roughly 40 modelers and business analysts whose primary function was to provide analytical support and expertise to SAS's sales force and customers. His current departments are charged with supporting SAS in the academic community and SAS certification worldwide. One of their major goals is the introduction of SAS training materials, SAS certification, and software in the course curricula across many units within universities. In addition, Oglesby serves on several advisory boards in support of statistics, computer science, and data mining, including five years on the Center for the Management of Information Systems Board in the Department of Information and Operations Management at the Texas A&M Mays Business School. He also serves as co-chair for several of SAS Education's data mining, forecasting, and discovery conferences.
	Dr. Daniel Romo '86 (College Station, TX)	Texas A&M University Romo received his bachelor of arts in chemistry and biology from Texas A&M University in 1986 and his doctorate in chemistry from Colorado State in 1991. After two years as an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, he joined the Texas A&M faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry in 1993. A world-renowned pioneer in the chemical synthesis of natural products and related studies, Romo has spent nearly 20 years researching the potential of compounds found in marine species, such as sponges, by synthesizing them in the laboratory in order to exploit their utility in basic studies of human cell biology and as lead compounds for drug development. His career efforts to enable discoveries at the chemistry-biology interface were rewarded in 2011, when he was appointed as the inaugural director of the Natural Products LINCHPIN Laboratory, a collaborative center that enables chemists to work with biologists to address issues of human disease. Romo's many honors include a National Institutes of Health Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (2009), Texas A&M Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Awards in Research (university-level, 2011) and Teaching (college-level, 2009), a Texas A&M Office of Technology Commercialization Excellence in Innovation Award (2008), a Pfizer Award for Creativity in Organic Synthesis (2001-03), the Novartis Chemistry Lectureship (2001-02), a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1999), a Zeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award (1999), an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (1998) and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1996).

2011
	Dr. Richard Ruiz '54 (Houston, TX)	The Robert Cizik Eye Clinic Ruiz, whose research and practical focus is age-related macular degeneration and ocular melanoma, is a partner in The Robert Cizik Eye Clinic (formerly Hermann Eye Center). In addition, he has served more than three decades on the faculty at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where he is professor and chairman emeritus of The Richard S. Ruiz Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science. Ruiz studied two years at Texas A&M in the early 1950s toward a bachelors of science in biology at Texas A&M (awarded in August 2010) prior to leaving in 1953 to pursue a medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, which he received in 1957. After completing a yearlong post-graduate internship at Hermann Hospital (1957-58) and three years of residency with the Kresge Eye Institute at Wayne State University and the City of Detroit Receiving Hospital (1958-61), he spent one year at Harvard Medical School on a Retina Foundation Fellowship with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (1961-62) before being certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology in 1963. Prior to joining the UTMS-Houston faculty as a clinical professor in 1971, Ruiz held academic and/or surgical appointments at several of the state's most prominent healthcare institutions, including UTMB-Galveston (1964-79), Baylor College of Medicine (1964-75), and M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center (1964-83). He was chief of ophthalmology at Memorial Hermann Hospital for 40 years and St. Joseph's Hospital for 15 years. A longtime advocate of local community support, Ruiz founded the Hermann Eye Fund in the early 1970s to provide medical care for indigent persons. In addition, he has been a visiting professor at many additional institutions nationwide. A prolific researcher, Ruiz has delivered more than 250 presentations across the nation and world and published nearly 100 articles during his career. In addition he has served as a United States Public Health Service Hospital Consultant and on two different panels for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. No stranger to former student recognition, he previously has been honored with distinguished alumnus awards from both UTMB-Galveston (1988) and the Kresge Eye Institute (2001). He also is deeply involved in the Houston community through his work with the Assistance League; Women's Fund for Health, Education and Research; Texas Commission for the Blind; Downtown YMCA; and Museum of Health and Science.

2010
	Dr. R. Bowen Loftin '71 (College Station, TX)	Texas A&M University Named the 24th president of Texas A&M University on February 12, 2010, Dr. R. Bowen Loftin has had a distinguished career in higher education. He graduated a year early from Texas A&M in1970 with a bachelors in physics and continued studying physics until he earned his master's and Ph.D. degrees from Rice University in 1973 and 1975, respectively. For nearly 20 years, Loftin and his students explored three-dimensional computer graphics to the development of training and visualization systems. Loftin as a professor in and chair of the Department of Computer Science and the director of the NASA Virtual Environments Research Institute at the University of Houston. He next served as professor of electrical and computer engineering and professor of computer science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. from 2000 to 2005, where he also served as director of simulation programs and executive director of the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center. In 2005, he accepted the position of Vice President and Chief Executive Officer at Texas A&M University of Galveston, where he continued as professor of maritime systems engineering, before assuming the role of interim president of the College Station campus in June 2009. Loftin has been recognized with numerous awards for his work in education including the University of Houston-Downtown Awards for Excellence in Teaching and in Service (twice), the American Association of Artificial Intelligence Award for the innovative application of artificial intelligence, NASA's Public Service Medal, and the 1995 NASA Invention of the Year Award. The author and co-author of more than 100 technical publications, Loftin remains to this day a frequent consultant to both industry and government in the areas of modeling and simulation, advanced training technologies and scientific/engineering data visualization.
	Josie Williams, M.D., M.M.M. '71 (Paris, TX)	Texas A&M Health Science Center In addition to serving as co-director of the Rural and Community Health Institute and Institute for Healthcare Evaluation as well as Quality, Patient Safety Initiatives, in the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, Dr. Williams is also an associate professor of internal medicine and family and community medicine in the Texas A&M University System. After obtaining her R.N. and B.S., Dr. Williams continued to earn her M.D. at the University of Texas Medical School and her Masters of Medical Management at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Gastroenterology Association and the American Society of Internal Medicine/American College of Physicians. She sits on the Board of Trustees of the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement and the American College of Medical Quality, on the Board of Commissioners for the Joint Commission, and on the Board of Directors of the Coalition for Physician Enhancement. Moreover, Dr. Williams is the Immediate Past President of the Texas Medical Association. Dr. Williams has received many honors, including the Texas A&M University Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Texas Medical Association-Medical Student Section C. Frank Webber, M.D. Award in 2002. In addition to sitting on the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Medical Quality and the Journal of Patient Safety, she has spoken at numerous invited presentations and authored many published articles and abstracts.

2009
	Dr. Chi-Cheng Huang, M.D. '93 (Boston, MA)	Boston University School of Medicine Chi-Cheng Huang graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University with a degree in biology in 1993. With a deep-rooted interest in pediatrics, he continued his education at Harvard Medical School in Boston, where he earned a degree in medicine, cum laude, in 1998. Dr. Huang divided his time between residency training in the Harvard Combined Internal Medical/Pediatric Program and diligently working to improve the plight of impoverished street children in developing countries throughout the Americas and Europe by providing much needed medical care. He founded Kaya Children International in 1997. Kaya is a non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing and sheltering underprivileged street children. He also is a co-founder of three different homes in La Paz, Bolivia, for the young homeless. In 2006, Dr. Huang published a book based on his experiences in Bolivia, When Invisible Children Sing, which received the coveted ”Starred Review“ by Publishers Weekly. He completed his residency training in 2002. Today, Huang is an assistant professor in pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, where he is the director of in-patient services for pediatrics, an internal medicine hospitalist and director of the pediatric global health initiative at Boston Medical Center. He also continues his tireless efforts to help less fortunate children.
	Dr. Sallie Sheppard '65 (Austin, TX)	One of the first women admitted to Texas A&M University for full-time study, Sallie Sheppard earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from Texas A&M in 1965 and in 1967, respectively. She received her doctorate in computer science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977 after serving three years as a graduate teaching assistant at Pitt, from 1972 to 1975, and a year as an assistant professor of computer science at State University of New York from 1971 to 1972. Dr. Sheppard returned to Texas A&M in 1977 as an assistant professor of computer science and spent the next 20 years teaching full-time and working in administration. Sallie was the associate provost for honors programs and undergraduate studies from 1987-1991 and the associate provost for undergraduate programs and academic services from 1991-1998. She earned the Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching in 1985 and for Administration in 1998. Dr. Sheppard helped establish the Texas A&M Women's Faculty Network, an organization dedicated to enhancing professional development and career opportunities for its members. From 2001 to 2005, Sheppard served in many administrative positions at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, establishing the framework for its academic administration and UAE accreditation.

2008
	Hugo Elmendorf, Jr. M.D. '44 (San Antonio, TX)	Elmendorf received his bachelor of arts in science from Texas A&M University in 1944 and his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Galveston in 1946. After a yearlong surgical internship at Henry Ford Hospital and three years studying radiology at Brooke Army Medical Center, he completed his residency at Gaston Hospital, passing his radiology board exams in 1951. In addition to his respected abilities as a physician, Elmendorf is legend for his tireless efforts in technological innovation and medical education. As longtime chief of radiology for Baptist Hospital and what later became the Baptist Memorial Hospital System (BMHS) from 1959-1988, he spearheaded its pioneering efforts in both equipment and staffing, establishing the hospital as the first in the region to offer many state-of-the-art X-ray services, including CAT scans in the mid-1970s. In 1972 Elmendorf was named chief of staff, a capacity in which he oversaw three hospitals in the BMHS. For 31 years, he also mentored the residency program for radiologists and X-ray technicians. Although retired since 1988, he pursued his lifelong dedication to education, taking courses and fulfilling educational requirements to maintain his medical license. In 2006 his children established the Hugo F. Elmendorf, Jr., M.D. '44 Lifelines Scholarship in his honor.
	Mr. Phillip Moses '49 (Pottsboro, TX)	Mr. Moses received his bachelor of science in physics in 1949 from Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and A Troop Cavalry. He immediately put his Aggie education to good use with Core Laboratories Inc., where he used the oil fields of Texas and Louisiana as a springboard to a distinguished career as an international industry expert in the behavior of oilfield hydrocarbons at extreme conditions. While at Core Labs, Moses designed much of the equipment used to study these behaviors, at the same time overseeing its laboratories in most oil- and gas-producing areas of the free world. In addition to serving as an expert witness in litigation before state regulatory bodies and in civil courts, Moses has lectured extensively in countries throughout North and South America, Europe and the Middle East. He also has contributed to many papers in petroleum engineering literature and was a member of the industry advisory board for the Petroleum Department at Marietta College in Ohio. He and his wife, Doris, recently created the Doris R. and Phillip L. Moses '49 Endowed Fund in Physics through their estate to provide funds to support Texas A&M graduate and undergraduate students pursuing degrees in physics.
	Dr. F. Michael Speed '69 (College Station, TX)	Texas A&M University Dr. Speed received his doctorate in statistics from Texas A&M University in 1969. After rising through the ranks to professor at Louisiana State University in 1979, he spent the next 10 years running family businesses in Corpus Christi in oil, real estate and shrimping. After taking each to new heights, he left the business world in 1991 to return to academia at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi as founding director of the Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science and holder of the Conrad Blucher Chair. Three years later, Speed joined the faculty at Texas A&M, where he amassed a reputation as an international authority in a wide variety of areas, including regression analysis, the nature of the Laguna Madre of Texas, remote sensing of data from the Gulf of Mexico, the use of technology in the classroom and distance education. A past member of the College of Science External Advisory & Development Council, he currently serves as Associate Dean for Technology-Mediated Instruction and Distance Education. Mike Speed is known far and wide as a man to turn to for help by students, faculty, government officials, and others in a wide variety of problems and situations.

2007
	Dr. Ersen Arseven '74 (Nyack, NY)	Arseven Consulting, Inc. Ersen Arseven received his doctorate in statistics from Texas A&M University in 1974. Since 2002, he has served as director of pre-clinical statistics at Schering-Plough Research Institute in Kenilworth, New Jersey. His 33-year career as a statistician has included stints with American Cyanamid Corporation (1974-84) and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals (1984-92), as well as 10 years in private practice as the founder of his own company offering statistical services and consulting to the pharmaceutical industry. In 2003 Arseven received the H.O. Hartley Award, given annually to a former student of the Texas A&M Department of Statistics in recognition of distinguished service to the discipline of statistics. A generous supporter of his Department, College and University, Arseven has established three endowments at Texas A&M in memory of his late wife, Susan M. Arseven, one of which honors her as namesake of the Susan M. Arseven '75 Conference for Women in Science & Engineering, hosted annually by the College of Science, and provides two $1,000 awards for female graduate students pursuing master's or doctoral degrees in science, engineering or technology.
	Dr. Nelson Duller, Jr. '48 (College Station, TX)	Texas A&M University Dr. Duller received his bachelor's of science from Texas A&M University in 1948, followed by a master's of arts and doctorate from Rice University. Five decades after beginning his professorial career as a member of the Texas A&M Physics faculty, he continues to stand as one of the university's most prominent testaments to the importance and value of quality teaching. A natural instructor who says he was attracted to physics largely because of the abundance of challenging teaching material it supplies, Dr. Duller is revered both for his lively classroom manner, known to include spontaneous singing, and his devotion to his students, who have 24-hour access to his counsel via his home phone number. Among students and colleagues alike, Dr. Duller is legendary for his uncanny ability to communicate complex ideas very clearly, his determination to find innovative ways to enrich the educational experience, and his passion for continually developing uptodate course materials to best prepare his students in constantly evolving fields. At 83, the three-time Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching recipient shows no signs of slowing down, continuing to teach three undergraduate physics courses and inspire untold numbers of Aggies along the way.
	Ms. Nancy Matz '73 (McKinney, TX)	Matz Investments A member of the first generation of women admitted to the university, she graduated at the top of her class with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and served as president of the first university women’s organization. That early pioneering spirit served her well during the next three decades, in which she founded a nationally recognized software corporation, Dynamic Energy Systems, Inc. - honored in 2005 as one of the top 100 fastest-growing Aggie-owned businesses worldwide - and helped husband Jack ‘71 launch countless other entrepreneurial ventures. She was inducted into the College of Science Academy of Distinguished Former Students in 2007.

2006
	Mr. John "Bill" Lyons '59 (Dickinson, TX)	Lyons & Plackemeir A successful Galveston area attorney and businessman, Mr. Lyons is the principal owner of Sean Lion Technology Inc. and Texas Molecular Limited Partnerships and a former managing partner of Lyons & Plackemeier. He is described as a clear and critical thinker who is vitally interested in promoting science and higher education, as evidenced by his recent commitment to fund the first endowed chair in the Texas A&M University Department of Biology and his longtime leadership in biological research in the Gulf of Mexico through A&M's Galveston campus. Mr. Lyons also is a generous contributor to Texas A&M Athletics and to scholarships benefiting high school students in the Texas City/Galveston area.
	Dr. Jehanne Simon-Gillo '91 (Laytonsville, MD)	Since earning her Ph.D. in physics from Texas A&M in 1990, Simon-Gillo has distinguished herself as an accomplished researcher and science administrator. She currently serves as the director of the Division of Facilities and Project Management in the Office of Nuclear Physics in the United States Department of Energy. As such, Simon-Gillo oversees a budget of more than $30 million per year and handles all capital and new construction projects, effectively setting the nation's nuclear physics priorities while ensuring that it has the research capabilities to remain at the forefront of global science. Prior to joining the DOE in 2001, she was a staff physicist/group leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where she participated in high-energy nuclear physics experiments at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

2005
	Dr. William Gordon '67 (San Antonio, TX)	Alamo ENT Associates An accomplished physician and educator, Gordon earned his bachelor of science in zoology from Texas A&M in 1967 before receiving his medical degree and specialty training in otolaryngology from Baylor University. As a student at Texas A&M, he served as junior class president and was honored as the Outstanding Pre-Medical Student for 1966. In 1977, Gordon founded his own private practice, Alamo ENT Associates, in San Antonio, where he is also a clinical associate professor of surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center.
	Dr. Charles Riordan '90 (Newark, DE)	University of Deleware Since earning a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Texas A&M in 1990, Riordan has built a reputation as one of the leading inorganic-organometallic chemists of his generation -- and with the prime of his career still ahead of him. In 2002, he became one of the youngest research-oriented chemistry department heads nationwide, earning unanimous selection as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware after only five years on faculty. Prior to that, he spent four years on faculty at Kansas State University (1993-97) and two years completing post-doctoral work in the famed laboratories of National Academy of Sciences member Dr. Jack Halpern at the University of Chicago (1990-92). Riordan's accomplishments have earned him recognition from both scholarly organizations and colleagues worldwide. He and his research group have accounted for many firsts in bioinorganic chemistry, as evidenced by his five-year National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award and recent election by his peers as chair of the Bioinorganic Subdivision of the American Chemical Society. An in-demand speaker and author, Riordan has made presentations at both industrial research laboratories and the most prestigious academic institutions in the country as well as published extensively in many of the world's most rigorous and prestigious research journals. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemists, Phi Lambda Upsilon, Sigma Xi and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

2004
	Dr. Guy Clifton '71 (Washington, DC)	UT School of Medicine Currently a clinical professor of medicine and Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at UT Health Science Center Medical School in Houston. Dr. Clifton is also director of Mission Connect which focuses on spinal cord injury and nerve regeneration.
	Dr. Thomas Hairston '71 (Nacogdoches, TX)	Dr. Hairston completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1971 and joined Dow Chemical Company. During his 32-year career he developed 25 patents, implemented many successful business plans, and served as an inspiration to those around him.
	Dr. Barbara Martinez '80 (Los Alamos, NM)	Dr. Martinez is recognized for her leadership in the Division of Nuclear Materials Technology at the Los Alamos National Laboratories where her significant contributions to basic and applied research on the actinide elements and compounds have led to several laboratory awards.
	Dr. Lee Smith '57 (Bedford, TX)	Travelhost Inc. As a scientist, administrator and university leader, Dr. Smith has provided exceptional service to the state of Texas and the higher education system. His commitment to Texas A&M makes him a role model for all graduates.
	Robert Walker, D.D.S. '45 (Dallas, TX)	UT Southwestern Medical Center As professor emeritus of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Dr. Walker has been honored around the globe and saved countless lives through improved trauma care and injury prevention initiatives.

2003
	Dr. C. Les Carpenter '69 (Sumter, SC)	University of South Carolina Dr. Carpenter, who assumed the role of dean of the university (Sumter campus) in 1993, is recognized for leading its growth in performance and scope. 'He has led the faculty and staff to academic and educational excellence,' said Major Gen. Thomas R. Olsen, retired, of Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter. The Sumter campus of the University of South Carolina consistently earns the highest South Carolina Performance Funding performance ratings for administration, management and student success among regional campuses, said the general (who is a Texas A&M graduate himself). Carpenter earned undergraduate degrees in English and mathematics at Texas A&M, before he received a master's in educational administration from the university in 1974. A member of Texas A&M's famed Corps of Cadets, he served the Army as a combat infantry leader in Vietnam.
	Dr. Ralph Kodell '74 (Little Rock, AR)	Dr. Kodell is an expert in using statistics to assess health risks. Recognized by peers as one of the world's leading researchers in statistical methods for toxicology, he helped develop procedures that are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry and that provide the basis for cancer risk estimates used by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. Kodell is director of the division of biometry and risk assessment at the National Center for Toxicological Research at Jefferson, Ark. He earned his Ph.D. in statistics at Texas A&M in 1974.
	Dr. Charles Munnerlyn '62 (San Jose, CA)	Dr. Charles Munnerlyn of Santa Clara, Calif. A key innovator in laser eye surgery, Munnerlyn designed and built the first excimer laser system for vision correction and founded VISX Inc., the leading manufacturer of laser-vision correction systems in the United States. 'His work has had an incredible, revolutionary impact on the lives of millions,' Professor Roland Allen of Texas A&M's Department of Physics said in his nomination. Munnerlyn, a physics major, graduated from Texas A&M in 1962 before going on to receive a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.

2002
	Mr. James Adams '61 (San Antonio, TX)	Adams & Associates James R. Adams, a former chairman of the board of Texas Instruments, has been a member of the TI board of directors since 1989. After receiving bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics from Texas A&M, he forged a 30-year career in the telecommunications industry with Southwestern Bell. In addition to serving on the boards of the Dallas Citizens Council, the Telecom Corridor Technology Business Council and the Dallas Symphony Association, Adams is a member of the Texas A&M Capital Campaign Steering Committee, the Baylor University Hankamer School of Business Advisory Board and the University of Texas Engineering School Advisory Council.
	Dr. Carl Pearcy, Jr. '54 (College Station, TX)	Texas A&M University Carl M. Pearcy, a professor of mathematics at Texas A&M since 1990, boasts an impressive career in academia that spans more than 40 years and three institutions. Since earning bachelor's and master's degrees from Texas A&M, Pearcy has taught mathematics at A&M, Rice University and the University of Michigan, where he holds the title of professor emeritus. As a faculty member, he has directed the dissertations of 27 doctoral students. Pearcy, who has received funding support from the National Science Foundation every year from 1964 to 1997, has written six books, including two nearing completion. In addition, he has published more than 100 mathematical papers in the areas of functional analysis and numerical analysis.
	Dr. Jan Troup '74 (The Woodlands, TX)	SpectraCell Laboratories As a chemistry graduate student at Texas A&M in 1973, Jan Troup founded Molecular Structure Corporation (MSC), the world’s first company specializing in single crystal X-ray diffraction, the most powerful laboratory tool available to view new molecules at the atomic level. After selling MSC to the Japan-based Rigaku Corporation in 1996, Troup founded Aquavit Inc., a manufacturer of scuba diving products, including the U.S.-patented X-tra System, a self-rescue system for divers. In September 2001, Troup incorporated LipidLabs Inc., a startup company that commercializes technology licensed from Texas A&M University.

2001
	Dr. William Howell, Jr. '69 (College Station, TX)	Office of Technology Commercialization - TAMUS As Director of Business Development for the Texas A&M University System’s Office of Technology Commercialization, Bill Howell commercializes technology through companies and investors and establishes a market focus culture within university research and intellectual property communities. He was previously a consultant in chemical R&D management, intellectual property development, and chemical industry relationships. He retired from Dow Chemical Company as a R&D Director where he spent three years at Los Alamos National Lab as an industrial staff member and chemical industry liaison. He holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry from Texas A&M University.
	Dr. Homer Pearce, III '74 (Zionsville, IN)	After receiving bachelor's and doctorate degrees in chemistry from Texas A&M, Homer L. Pearce joined Eli Lilly Laboratories in 1979, where he currently serves as vice president of cancer research and clinical investigation. His most significant accomplishments including leading the development of important clinically utilized drugs for the treatment of life-threatening cancers. In addition, Pearce's graduate work at Harvard - the total synthesis of picrotoxinin, which was considered to be an impossible problem by none other than the scientist who originally decoded the structure of the picrotoxinin family - remains one of the landmark achievements in the area of natural products total synthesis. What makes it even more remarkable is that it was a feat he accomplished single-handedly.
	Dr. William Smith '60 (College Station, TX)	Texas A&M University William B. Smith joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1967, the same year he received his doctorate in statistics. In the 33 years since, Smith has developed a career that epitomizes success in every dimension of academic leadership. Revered as a stellar researcher, teacher, administrator and colleague, Smith and his service to Texas A&M and the statistics community has brought tremendous recognition to the College of Science. A past executive association dean of the College, he is a Fellow and a former executive director of the American Statistical Association, the nation's leading statistical society. Smith is a past recipient of the ASA's Don Owen Award, which recognizes excellence in research, statistical consultation and service to the statistical community. In addition, he is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. Smith currently serves as editor-in-chief of 'Communications in Statistics' and as a program director for the National Science Foundation.

2000
	Mr. Don Birkelbach '70 (College Station, TX)	Texas A&M Foundation Don decided in Fall 2001 to devote his full-time efforts to fundraising and stewardship for the College of Science. Don received both his bachelor's (1970) and master's degrees (1971) in chemistry from Texas A&M. After serving three years as an officer in the U.S. Navy, he joined The Dow Chemical Company. During a successful career with Dow that spanned 27 years, Don held several positions in plastics research and development, manufacturing and human resources. His research resulted in 12 U.S. patents and the discovery of linear low density polyethylene, that was recognized with an Industrial Research IR-100 award and is now one of Dow's largest sales volume products.
	Dr. James Matis '70 (Lubbock, TX)	James H. Matis received his doctorate in statistics from Texas A&M in 1970 and joined the faculty in the Department of Statistics that same year. Over the past 30 years, he has forged an award-winning teaching career as well as an internationally renowned research record in compartment modeling and ecological and environmental system modeling. The successful combination has resulted in numerous awards, including a Distinguished Statistical Ecologist Award, an Association of Former Students' Distinguished Research Award, an AFS Distinguished Teaching Award and an Honored Alumni Award from the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at Brigham Young University. A Fellow of the American Statistical Association, Matis also is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. He is a past recipient of the ASA's Don Owen Award, which recognizes excellence in research, statistical consultation and service to the statistical community.

1999
	Dr. Allen Hermann '65 (Golden, CO)	Allen M. Hermann, a physics professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder who holds a doctorate in physics from Texas A&M, was honored for his role in the discovery of materials that led to the development of batteries now used in heart pacemakers. His most notable success, helping develop a new class of high transition temperature superconductors based on thallium, earned him global recognition and induction as a fellow into the American Physical Society.
	Dr. Benjamin Mosier '47 (Houston, TX)	Institute for Research, Inc. Benjamin Mosier, president of the Institute for Research, Inc. and Encap, Inc., multidisciplinary research organizations, has been active in R&D for major institutions world-wide for more than 50 years and has over 50 patents to his name. He has been awarded 6 NASA Space Act Awards for work and patented inventions for the U.S. Space Program including developing the first bio-potential electrodes for monitoring the astronaut’s several hundred different compounds including pharmaceuticals, plastics, petroleum and agricultural related compounds. Mosier holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemistry from Texas A&M and a Ph.D from the University of Illinois.
	Dr. Keiyu Ueno '77 (Kumamoto, Japan)	Dojindo Labs Keiyu Ueno is president of Dojindo Laboratories in Kumamoto, Japan, where he has been involved in industrial research. Ueno began his professional career with Dojindo as a research chemist in 1972. In a span of 12 years, he rose from research chemist to president of the company, which was founded by his grandfather as a pharmacy in the early 1900s. Today, Dojindo manufactures more than 800 products commonly used in chemical and biochemical research. The company is highly regarded as a state-of-the art specialty chemical company as well as for its excellence in research. Ueno, who holds a doctorate in chemistry from Texas A&M, was honored as Texas A&M's Outstanding International Alumnus Award in 2000. He has published 19 research papers in scientific journals and served as a visiting professor at Kumamoto University, Kumamoto Prefectural University and Kyushu University.

1998
	Dr. Donald Huffman '57 (Tucson, AZ)	Arizona State University Donald Huffman, a Regents Professor of Physics at the University of Arizona, was honored for his role in the discovery of new processes for isolating fullerenes, which is one of the three forms of carbon. His work also has earned him the Material Research Society Medal and the Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Prize. Huffman holds a bachelor's degree in physics from Texas A&M.
	Dr. George McLendon '76 (Durham, NC)	Princeton University George McLendon, holder of the Russell Wellman Moore Professorship at Princeton University, is chairman of the school's chemistry department. He has received several awards for his work with heme proteins and electron transfer reactions, including the American Chemical Society (ACS) Eli Lilly Award in Biochemistry and the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry. McLendon holds a doctorate in chemistry from Texas A&M.

1997
	Dr. Kenneth Davenport '82 (Apex, NC)	Kenneth G. Davenport received a doctorate in chemistry from Texas A&M in 1982 and began his professional career with Celanese Chemical Co. in Corpus Christi. A major focus of his research has been developing new oxidation chemistry and catalysts for commodity and specialty chemicals. Davenport lectures widely at major universities in the United States and Europe and has been an active participant and plenary lecturer at national and international meetings. In 1991, he received the Leon Starr Award, Hoechst Celanese's highest worldwide award for technical excellence.
	Richard Harrison, III M.D. '47 (Bryan, TX)	Richard H. Harrison received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M in biology and chemistry in 1947 and attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine. While at Texas A&M, he was on the Corps staff, a member of the Ross Volunteers, a distinguished student seven semesters and elected to the Scholarship Honor Society. At Baylor, he was elected a member of the Osler Society, and the Texas Medical Association elected him an Honorary Member in 1991. He completed a rotating internship at Jefferson Davis Hospital in Houston and a rotating residency in urology at Baylor. Prior to his death in 2005, Harrison had been in practice as a urologist in Bryan for more than 30 years. In addition, he had written articles for medical journals and more popular medical magazines, created audiovisual aids and conducted continuing education short courses for medical professionals. A Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M, Harrison has served on the Association of Former Students Board of Directors and was a clinical professor in the Texas A&M College of Medicine. In addition, he was a former member of the President's Council, the Chancellor's Century Council and the Texas A&M Research Foundation.
	Dr. Michael Kutner '71 (Decatur, GA)	Michael H. Kutner, who received his doctorate in statistics from Texas A&M in 1971, now chairs the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Before that, he was on the faculty of Emory University. Kutner is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and is the author of approximately 135 research articles in refereed journals and coauthor of a widely used statistics textbook. In 1991, he was one of four statisticians to receive the ASA's Founding Award.