Louisiana Tech University College of Engineering and Science

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1 Louisiana Tech University College of Engineering and Science College News March-May 2012 Contents More Student Honors (page 2) Foundation Board Elects New Officers (page 3) Alumni Stories (page 4) More Photos (page 5) Stay in Touch! Linkedin.com/ groups Engineering & Science Students Take Top Honors at 2012 Shell Eco-marathon Competition Louisiana Tech s new Urban Concept vehicle, Hot Rod, took the first place award for miles earned in the diesel fuel competition in Urban Concept earning miles at the Shell Eco-Marathon in Houston last month. Hot Rod also won for best design with its retro hot rod look and red and white paint design featuring flames on each side of the front of the car. Roadster competed again this year and took second place in gasoline in the Urban Concept design with 321 miles per gallon. No car at this year s competition beat Roadster s record from last year so it retains its U.S. record of miles per gallon. I couldn t be more proud of our team and the way they have represented us, said Dr. Heath Tims, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and one of the team s faculty advisors. Even as we competed and worked to correct problems with our cars, we were still assisting other teams, especially the high schools from Louisiana that competed in this year s event. Benton High School, Bossier High School, Airline High School, Haughton High School and North Desoto High School all competed in this year s event and received assistance from Louisiana Tech during the school year. Find the College of Engineering and Science group page LaTech.edu/coes Facebook.com/ pages/louisiana- Tech-Engineering PO Box Ruston, LA The Roadster takes the track in Houston 1

2 Engineering & Science Students Take Top Honors (continued)( The Louisiana Tech Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) has been named the National Distinguished Chapter of the Year, the highest award any collegiate chapter can receive for being the best chapter in the nation for exemplifying the NSBE mission statement. They also received the NSBE Retention Program Award honoring their new Engineering Retention Program. In addition to the tributes, the national awards came with cash prizes totaling $10,000, which the chapter plans to use to improve its programs and community service projects. Nationally, there are over 120 collegiate chapters of NSBE. The Louisiana Tech NSBE chapter is in Region 5, the Vanguard Region of NSBE, which includes all the chapters in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The NSBE mission statement is to increase the number of culturally responsible, black engineers, who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community. The University s student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) won first place in the concrete canoe competition during the Deep South Regional Conference at The University of Tennessee - Martin. The students competed against 14 other southern universities in events including concrete canoe, steel bridge, surveying, and the Mead Paper student contest. In the concrete canoe division, students participated in endurance races, sprint races, technical paper, and aesthetics. This is the fifth time a Louisiana Tech team has won the regional competition and moved on to compete in the national competition. In addition to winning the overall first place award in concrete canoe, the team won awards in the following categories: 1 st place Final Product/Aesthetics, 1 st place Design Paper, 1 st place Co-ed Sprint, 2 nd place Women s Sprint, and 2 nd place Men s Sprint. 2

3 College News Engineering & Science Foundation Elects New Officers and Directors The Louisiana Tech Engineering and Science Foundation has elected new members and announced its officers for the year. The group met in Houston last week for their spring board meeting and announced the election results afterwards. Mike Pearson, CEO of Orion Marine Group in Houston will be the new president. He joined Orion Marine Group as President and Chief Operating Officer in March Pearson graduated from Louisiana Tech in civil engineering in He has previously served as the group s vice-president. Sandy Johnson, President and owner of Barrios Technology in Houston will be the new vice-president. Sandy graduated from Louisiana Tech in 1978 with a degree in math. Tim Petrus, Vice President of XTO Energy (recently acquired by ExxonMobil) in Fort Worth, Texas, will be the new secretary and George Baldwin, President of Baldwin-Madden Energy in Shreveport, will serve as treasurer. Hilton Nicholson of Mobile, Alabama, will serve as immediate past president. The new Directors include Pete Ball, Principal and co-founder with XRoads Solutions Group in Dallas, Texas; Gerald McDaniel, Principal with Veer Advisers in Dallas, Texas; Zeffrey Lucas, Director Americas of the Wood Group in Houston, Texas; Ed McGough, Senior Vice-President of Alcon Labs in Dallas, Texas; Phillip Parker, President of the P.R. Parker Company of Shreveport; Kenny Smith, President of T.B. Smith Company in Houma, Louisiana; and Michael Swain with HP Americas Intel Corporation in Houston, Texas. The Louisiana Tech Engineering and Science Foundation Board of Directors meets three times annually and advises the dean of the college on matters of need. Pearson (left) and Johnson will lead the board. 3

4 Alumni News Members of the Engineering and Science Foundation Board join the Tech Eco-marathon team and faculty sponsors at the opening ceremony in Houston Engineering Alumnus Takes Different Path Jack Maxwell is one of three brothers who left Canebrake Plantation in Ferriday, Louisiana, to attend college at Louisiana Tech. He completed his B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1965 and after seven years with Exxon, moved with his wife, Sue, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they opened several placement companies. However, it is his work with the Rotary Club that changed his life and the lives of countless others throughout the world. As past President of the Rotary Club in Bixby, Oklahoma, and chair of the District 6110 Water and Health Concerns Committee, Jack has created a project whose goal is to provide clean water to every person in Belize. He also established the Worldwide Humanitarian Alliance of Rotarians and Friends (WHARF), which provides humanitarian aid to third world countries overseas. He has received the Service Above Self Award, the highest honor the Tulsa Rotary Chapter can bestow, for his humanitarian work. Even though he and his wife have sold their business and retired, they remain in the Tulsa area where he continues his philanthropic work. Jack and Sue have three children and three granddaughters. Jack Maxwell in Tulsa 4

5 Photos from the American Society of Civil Engineers Deep South Regional Competition The 2012 Louisiana Tech Concrete Canoe Team poses with their canoe prior to this spring s regional competition in Tennessee The interior of the Louisiana Tech team canoe includes the Tenets of Tech: confidence, excellence, commitment, knowledge, integrity, respect, leadership, loyalty, enthusiasm, caring, hope and pride 5