Dr. G. Kemble Bennett, vice chancellor and dean of engineering, honored faculty and staff of the Dwight Look College of Engineering and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station at Texas A&M Engineering’s annual holiday reception.
Receiving the Engineering Safety Excellence Award was Brian Bachmeyer, technician II in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In five years on the job, Bachmeyer has taken what was described as a “nearly non-existent safety program” and brought it to the forefront. On top of regulation compliance, he’s improved everything from inspections and training, to inventory control and record keeping. Most impressive, though, may be his impact on our students: instilling new attitudes toward safety.
Bennett also announced winners of the Texas A&M Engineering Staff Achievement Awards:
• Keith E. Biggers, TEES engineering associate IV, Texas Center for Applied Technology. Biggers has been with Texas A&M Engineering for 10 years, the first two as a graduate student. A standout even back then, his supervisor calls his technical competence “unmatched” and says “he’s matured into a strong leader more rapidly than any other he’s observed during his lengthy career.”
• Jackie Booker, senior lead systems support specialist, TEES Information Systems. One nominator described Booker as a “highly-positive thinker who motivates everyone around her [and who is] the best example of great customer service. An ace problem solver and cool under pressure, she embraces new challenges, learning all she can and providing solutions to user problems.
• Darcy Hensley, senior proposal administrator II, TEES Proposal Services. Hensley is highly regarded by faculty and researchers for her impressive, broad knowledge, her calm, methodical approach, and helpful, can-do attitude. One nominator sums it up thusly: “While some employees seek attention for their contributions, others are content to just quietly go about their work. Year in and year out, she does her job with little recognition or fanfare. But what she does is vital to the entire enterprise.”
• Gail Krueger, administrative assistant, Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering. She has been called “the heart and soul of the department’s undergraduate program” where she’s worked with every one of their students in the past 20 years. Says one student, “No other staff member has given so much and is held in such high regard for their stewardship and compassion for the undergrads.”
• Necia Perdue, business coordinator I, Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, who is described as an essential “knowledge repository.” honoree. Says a co-worker, “Her eye is always on developing herself and our processes to the best they can be, now and in the future.” She’s streamlined business operations by developing efficient database systems and created a web-based group orientation for new graduate assistants and student workers, cutting the amount of time spent on this function by 40 percent.
• Shannon Pope, assistant to the department head, Department of Nuclear Engineering, who has transformed her department’s administrative environment, streamlining tasks, improving efficiencies, reconfiguring office space with free surplus furnishings and helping to rejuvenate the department’s advisory council — all of it in less than two years.
Also recognized at the reception were 219 employees reaching milestones in their employment with Texas A&M Engineering. Individuals who reached 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service received pins.
Those with 25 or more years of service:
40 Years
Ysidoro Ramirez, Mechanical Engineering
Tony Restivo, Nuclear Science Center
35 Years
Kenneth R. Hall, TEES Administration and Chemical Engineering
Terry Kohutek, Civil Engineering
Carlos Ortiz, Energy Systems Laboratory
B. Don Russell, Electrical and Computer Engineering
30 Years
Cynthia Baxter, Research Services-Contract Div.
Tim Brundidge, Energy Systems Laboratory
Jerald Caton, Mechanical Engineering
Fidel Fernandez, Biomedical Engineering
Susan Garcia, Fiscal Office
Retha Groom, Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution
David Harvell, Engineering Budgets and Payroll
Cindy Havner, Dwight Look College of Engineering Administration
Linda Huff, Texas Center for Applied Technology
Melinda Lindsay, Mechanical Engineering
William Marlow, Nuclear Engineering
Marsa McKee, Fiscal Office
John Niedzwecki, Dwight Look College of Engineering Administration and Civil Engineering
Ozden Ochoa, Mechanical Engineering
Dawna Rosenkranz, Dwight Look College of Engineering Administration
Mary Louise Sims, Civil Engineering
Karen Vance, TEES Research Services
Teresa Wright, TEES Administration
25 Years
Thomas Blasingame, Petroleum Engineering
Tammy Carda, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rosemary Chavez, TEES Fiscal Office
D’Anne Crain, Civil Engineering
Valerie Dockery, Texas Center for Applied Technology
Debbie Hanson, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Jessie Hernandez, Electrical and Computer Engineering
David Hollingsworth, TEES Research Services
Deborah Kucera, TEES Fiscal Office
Pam McConal, TEES Research Services
Christina Mitchell, Engineering Communications
Michael Nelson, TEES Information Systems
Jennifer Olivarez, Engineering Communications
K. Lee Peddicord, Nuclear Power Institute and Nuclear Engineering
Randy Shirley, Engineering Budgets and Payroll
Norris Stubbs, Civil Engineering
Lale Yurttas, Chemical Engineering
View more photos from the reception here.
Download the full list of honorees — 2009 Recognition list Banner