Academy of Distinguished Alumni
Academy of Distinguished Alumni members at the Distinguished Alumni banquet in April 2018

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We are excited to be accepting nominations for the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Nominations can be submitted here (electronically).
New members of the ISE Academy of Distinguished Alumni announced (April, 2019)
ISE Academy of Distinguished Alumni honors seven new inductees (June, 2018)
ISE Academy of Distinguished Alumni Honor Nine New Inductees (May, 2017)
The Academy of Distinguished Alumni was established by the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Virginia Tech and its Advisory Board on October 14, 1993. Thirty‑eight charter member alumni were inducted and the Marvin H. Agee Distinguished Alumni Award was presented posthumously to Marvin Agee, who, as ISE department head in the early 1970's, founded the ISE Advisory Board. Since its inauguration, the Academy has steadily developed into a group of recognized leaders in the field who have served their profession and society with distinction.
The Academy of Distinguished Alumni
* Deceased
# | Inducted | Name | Class | Information |
---|---|---|---|---|
140 | 2019 | Suraj M. Alexander, Ph.D. | 1972, 1976 | Professor and Chair, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Louisville |
139 | 2019 | Maria Bothwell | 1990 | Chief Executive Officer, Toffler Associates |
138 | 2019 | Donald E.K. Campbell | 1990 | President, Persona Medical |
137 | 2019 | Kristen Casto, Ph.D. | 2009 | Colonel, Medical Service Corps, U.S. Army |
136 | 2019 | Delia Grenville, Ph.D. | 1997, 2001 | Director of Strategy, Corporate Strategic Procument, Intel Corporation |
135 | 2019 | John Kobza, Ph.D. | 1993 | Department Head, Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Tennessee |
134 | 2019 | J. Cole Smith, Ph.D. | 2000 | Associate Provost of Academic Initiatives and Professor of Industrial Engineering, Clemson University |
133 | 2019 | Warren Vaneman, Ph.D. | 1997, 2002 | Professor of Practice, Systems Engineering, Naval Postgraduate School |
132 | 2019 | Ingrid Vaughan | 1985 | Vice President and General Manager, Navigation & Maritime Systems, Northrop Grumman |
131 | 2018 | Pius J. Egbelu | 1979, 1982 | Distinguished Professor, New Jersey Institute of Technology |
130 | 2018 | Olivier A. Girod | 1996 | Senior Officer, U.S. Security and Exchange Commission |
129 | 2018 | Daniel W. Gower, Jr. | 1992 | President (Retired), U.S. Army Medical Department Test Board |
128 | 2018 | C. Garland Hagen | 1967 | Corporate Executive Vice President (Retired), SunTrust Bank |
127 | 2018 | Suvrajeet Sen | 1982 | Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, UCLA |
126 | 2018 | Marilyn Smith | 1982, 1984 | Professor of Management, Winthrop University |
125 | 2018 | Raymond W. Staats | 2003 | President, Craven Community College |
124 | 2017 | Thomas E. Askew | 1971 | Senior Associate, Partnership Staffing, Inc. |
123 | 2017 | Steven M. Belz | 1995, 1997, 2000 | Director of Express Solutions Design, AT&T Business Solutions |
122 | 2017 | Betty Chao | 1983 | Westech International, Inc. |
121 | 2017 | James T. Luxhøj | 1984, 1985, 1986 | Professor and Undergraduate Director, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Rutgers University |
120 | 2017 | Alexandra Medina-Borja | 1995, 2002 | Program Director, Directorate for Engineering, National Science Foundation (NSF) |
119 | 2017 | John W. Minnich | 1989 | Proprietor, Trio Wine, Beer, and Cheese |
118 | 2017 | W. Frederick St. John | 1973 | Former Owner, Officer, and Director, True Energy Coal Sales, Inc. |
117 | 2017 | Dinesh Verma | 1991, 1995 | Professor, Systems Engineering and Executive Director of Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), Stevens Institute of Technology |
116 | 2017 | Linda S. Wood | 1981 | Vice President of Operations Services (Retired), R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. |
115 | 2016 | John Montague | 1967 | President of John W. Montague Jr. Inc. (retired) |
114 | 2016 | Janis Terpenny | 1981, 1996 | Chair and Head of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State University |
113 | 2016 | Don Wittke | Honorary alumnus | Director of Industrial Engineering at United Parcel Service |
112 | 2014 | Rebecca B. Kates | 1978, 1981 | Owner, Quality Consulting, LLC |
111 | 2014 | Martin E. Muscatello | 1982 | President & CEO, CCS-Inc. and subsidiaries Qualtrax, Inc. and FoxGuard Solutions, Inc. |
110 | 2014 | Chris J. Rockwell | 1992 | President, Lextant |
109 | 2012 | Thomas R. Balzer | 1983 | Executive Vice President, Balzer & Associates, Inc. |
108 | 2012 | Thomas A. Dingus | 1985, 1987 | Director, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute |
107 | 2012 | John R. McKnight | 1991 | Vice President & General Manager, Wyman-Gordon Forgings |
106 | 2010 | David (Dave) H. Klein | 1983 | Principal, BTB Solutions, LLC |
105 | 2010 | Kevin E. Layne | 1983 | President, Kollmorgen |
104 | 2010 | Eileen M. Van Aken | 1988, 1991, 1995 | Interim Department Head, ISE Department, Virginia Tech |
103 | 2008 | Kevin W. Leclaire | 1995 | Founder & Managing Director, ISDR Consulting |
102 | 2008 | Charles E. Leslie | 1956 | President & Owner, Embroidery by Chalaine |
101 | 2008 | Jaime A. Smith | 1989 | Vice President Sales, SunEdison |
100 | 2006 | Aditya (Tim) Guleri | 1988 | Sierra Ventures |
099 | 2006 | Robert (Bob) L. Gunter* | 1992 | Sector Senior Vice President, Northrop Grumman Newport News |
098 | 2006 | Robert van Luyn | 1963 | Staff Engineer, General Electric Aircraft Engines (retired) |
097 | 2006 | Bevlee A. Watford | 1983, 1986 | Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech |
096 | 2004 | Lawrence K. Baker* | 1957 | Engineer, Hearing Aid Industry |
095 | 2004 | Dan H. Heflin Jr. | 1953 | Professional Engineer, Heflin & Williams, Inc. |
094 | 2004 | Nancy Bowman Sauer* | 1984 | President, D2Xchange, LLC |
093 | 2004 | Herb H. Thompson* | 1956 | President and CEO, Ball Foster Glass Container Company (retired) |
092 | 2002 | Darrell A. Davis | 1982 | Vice President - Six Sigma, Empire-Today |
091 | 2002 | Timothy Fields Jr. | 1970 | Senior Vice President, Marasco Newton Group, Ltd. |
090 | 2002 | Oren E. Hopkins Jr.* | 1950 | Former President, The Coombs-Hopkins Company |
089 | 2002 | James P. Ignizio | 1971 | Manager, Modeling and Simulation, Intel Corporation |
088 | 2002 | Joseph (Joe) W. Meredith Jr. | 1997 | President, Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center |
087 | 2002 | William T. Miller* | 1951 | President, RBI Corporation |
086 | 2002 | Kirk E. Spitzer | 1967 | President & CEO, Alfa Laval Inc. |
085 | 2002 | Thomas Cato Tillar* | 1945 | W.T. Tillar Company, Inc. |
084 | 1999 | Richard (Dick) M. Arnold | 1956 | Consultant, Ben. Rd. of Global Ministries of the UMC |
083 | 1999 | William G. Buchanan Jr.* | 1935 | Associate Professor, “Voice of the Hokies” |
082 | 1999 | Richard L. Francis | 1960, 1962 | Professor, Department of ISE Dept., University of Florida |
081 | 1999 | Homer H. Hickam Jr. | 1964 | Retired NASA Engineer and noted author |
080 | 1999 | James Ed Hines | 1969 | Manufacturing Vice President, Lucent Technologies, Inc. (retired) |
079 | 1999 | Harold W. Schneikert | 1965 | Principal Consultant, International Division, E. I. Dupont De Nemours & Co. |
078 | 1999 | Walter L. Thomas* | 1943 | Production Control Contracts Administrator, Newport News Shipbuilding, Retired US Army Major |
077 | 1999 | Grover L. Wilson* | 1937 | Retired Colonel, Industrial Engineer, US Air Force |
076 | 1999 | Hal G. Worley* | 1946 | Manager, AT&T Customer Engineering & Quality Administration |
075 | 1998 | Jerry R. Batt | 1972 | Consumer Billing Systems Vice President, AT&T Corporate |
074 | 1998 | John G. Casali | 1979, 1982 | John Grado Professor, ISE Department, Virginia Tech |
073 | 1998 | George A. Costan* | 1936 | Chairman of the Board, Southern Air Inc. |
072 | 1998 | Daniel M. Dick | 1970 | Director, Air Force Programs, General Dynamics Advanced Info Systems |
071 | 1998 | John C. Harrell | 1963 | President, Suffolk Iron Works, Inc. |
070 | 1998 | Jesse P. Jacobs Jr.* | 1949 | Retired USAF, Boeing Corporation |
069 | 1998 | James L. Jones Jr. | 1956 | Retired Patent Agent |
068 | 1998 | Arthur C. Klages* | 1942 | Vice President, Burlington Handbags, Inc. |
067 | 1998 | Edward H. Lane Jr.* | 1937 | Vice President, The Lane Company |
066 | 1998 | John S. McLellan | 1963 | President, Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems |
065 | 1998 | Augustus M. Raney* | 1941 | Investment Real Estate |
064 | 1998 | T. Frank Smith Jr.* | 1944 | Manager of Southern Region, Exxon Corporation (retired) |
063 | 1998 | Harry D. Temple* | 1934 | United States Army |
062 | 1998 | John W. Thomas Jr. | 1949 | Chairman of Board, Thomas Built Buses, Inc. |
061 | 1996 | Leon P. Harris | 1964 | President, Keltech, Inc. |
060 | 1996 | Robin L. Keesee | 1970, 1976 | Director, US Army Human Ergonomics Lab |
059 | 1996 | Gordon A. Mapp* | 1968 | Vice President and General Manager, Thermo King Corporation |
058 | 1996 | C. Alexander Neely | 1973 | President, Burlington Menswear |
057 | 1996 | L. Thomas Wilburn Jr.* | 1951 | Chairman, President & CEO, Bethesda Services |
056 | 1996 | Paul J. Woo Jr. | 1969 | President and CEO, Sterlie Concepts, Inc. |
055 | 1996 | Elwin I. Brawner | 1966 | Chairman of the Board, ICI Explosives, Inc. |
054 | 1996 | Bennie J. Butts Jr.* | 1950 | Adjunct Associate Professor, North Carolina A&T State University |
053 | 1995 | John R. Canada* | 1957, 1961 | Professor Emeritus, IE Department, NC State University |
052 | 1996 | Thomas (Tom) A. Carpenito | 1973, 1974 | Vice-President of Global Infrastructure, Computer Sciences Corporation |
051 | 1994 | Robert F. Allnutt | 1957 | Executive Vice President, Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Assoc. |
050 | 1994 | Vinod Chachra | 1968, 1971 | President, VTLS Inc. |
049 | 1994 | Charles M. Forbes* | 1949 | VP Development & University Relations, University of Delaware |
048 | 1994 | Larry M. Goodall | 1970 | Attorney, McGuire, Woods & Battle |
047 | 1994 | D. Joe Long | 1956 | Owner and President, Regency Bedspread Mfg. Company |
046 | 1994 | Ellis P. Monroe | 1956 | President, Monroe Sales Company, Inc. |
045 | 1994 | Douglas C. Montgomery | 1965, 1967, 1969 | Regents' Professor of Industrial Engineering, Arizona State University |
044 | 1994 | J. Frederick Moring* | 1957 | Attorney & Partner, Crowell and Moring |
043 | 1994 | J. Landon Short* | 1952, 1956 | Director of Education, The Robert & Janice McNair Foundation |
042 | 1994 | Wayne C. Turner | 1964, 1970, 1972 | Professor, IE Department, Oklahoma State University |
041 | 1993 | Warren E. Abrams* | 1950 | President, Warren Elliott Associates, Inc. |
040 | 1993 | John A. Bachmann | 1965, 1968, 1970 | President, Proteus Performance Group |
039 | 1993 | Charles J. Brown III | 1970 | President, Entergy Power Group |
038 | 1993 | Thomas C. Burns* | 1949 | Chairman and Managing Director, AIT/BAC New Zealand Ltd. |
037 | 1993 | David H. Burrows* | 1942 | Chairman and CEO, Wiley N. Jackson Company |
036 | 1993 | Fred T. Campbell* | 1950 | Past President, Campbell and Associates, Inc. |
035 | 1993 | W. John Campbell* | 1953 | President, Tobacco Technologies Group |
034 | 1993 | Gerald D. Clarke | 1968 | Retired President and CEO, Energy Services Group |
033 | 1993 | William S. Cross Jr. | 1941 | CEO and Director, Cross Sales and Engineering Co., Inc. |
032 | 1993 | Charles W. Davies Jr. | 1971 | President and CEO, Tultex Corporation |
031 | 1993 | John W. Donehower | 1969 | Senior Vice President and CFO, Kimberly Clark Corporation |
030 | 1993 | Robert D. Dryden* | Honorary alumnus | Dean of Engineering, Portland State University |
029 | 1993 | Phillip E. Frankfort* | 1940 | Union Camp Corporation (retired) |
028 | 1993 | Leroy O. Gillette* | 1947 | Director of IE, Armstrong World Industries, Inc. |
027 | 1993 | Charles O. Gordon, Sr* | 1942 | Chairman, Bydand Corporation |
026 | 1993 | Charles O. Gordon Jr. | 1969 | Senior Vice President, Thomasville Furniture Industries, Inc. |
025 | 1993 | Jack C. Gordon* | 1977 | President, The Bydand Corporation |
024 | 1993 | John Grado, Jr.* | 1951 | Retired Chairman and CEO, Technographics, Inc. |
023 | 1993 | George C. (Jack) Guynn | 1964 | President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
022 | 1993 | Dale B. Hartman* | 1950 | President, Cam-I |
021 | 1993 | Robert H. Holland | 1966, 1969, 1972 | President and Chairman, Holland Systems Corporation |
020 | 1993 | O. P. Johnson | 1952 | President, L-TEC Welding & Cutting Systems |
019 | 1993 | Barry A. Latimer | 1971, 1972 | President, Whites Advertising, Inc. |
018 | 1993 | Robert H. Levine* | 1946 | President, Raleigh Junk Company |
017 | 1993 | Earl F. Myerholtz* | 1948 | Vice President, TRW Inc. Industrial Product Group |
016 | 1993 | Charles G. O'Brien | 1956 | Retired Executive Vice President, Thomasville Furniture Industries |
015 | 1993 | Frederick T. Parker II* | 1965 | President, Virginia Peanuts, Inc. |
014 | 1993 | Charles J. Parks* | 1948 | Vice President in Operations, Union Carbide Corp., Nuclear Division |
013 | 1993 | Hal G. Prillaman | 1955 | President, Prillaman Brothers, Inc. |
012 | 1993 | Wiley E. Ring, III | 1958 | President, Kingsport Foundry & Manufacturing Co. |
011 | 1993 | B. Fielding Rolston | 1964 | Vice President, Eastman Chemical Company |
010 | 1993 | Donald L. Sage* | 1956 | Engineering Manager, AT&T Microelectronics |
009 | 1993 | John F. Sweers | 1946 | Corporate Vice President, The Gap Stores, Inc. |
008 | 1993 | Robert E. Taylor P.E. | 1970 | Associate Professor Emeritus, ISE Department, Virginia Tech |
007 | 1993 | Joseph C. Thomas* | 1943 | President, Thomas Brothers, Inc. |
006 | 1993 | Curtis Tompkins | 1964, 1967 | John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center |
005 | 1993 | Paul E. Torgersen* | Honorary alumnus | Honorary Professor & John Hancock Chair, ISE Department, Virginia Tech |
004 | 1993 | John A. Urquhart* | 1949 | President, John A. Urquhart Associates |
003 | 1993 | James R. Vilseck | 1959 | President, Island Creek Coal Company |
002 | 1993 | Douglas D. Walker | 1963 | Vice President Engineering, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company |
001 | 1993 | John A. White Jr. | 1966 | Chancellor and Distinguished Professor, University of Arkansas |