College of Technology honors nine with 2011 Distinguished Alumni Awards
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Nine graduates from Purdue University's College of Technology will receive the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award on Friday (April 15).
The award is presented to alumni who have harnessed the power of their Purdue degrees to positively impact their chosen professions and have changed how today's technology will improve the world tomorrow.
Award recipients include: David B. Blackmore, Daniel A. Cunningham, Steven C. Easley, James B. Hill, William J. King, Joseph F. Mack, Nicholas L. Miller, Craig A. Schauss and James A. Stephens.
* David B. Blackmore graduated from Purdue in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in building construction management. In 1994 Blackmore was a founding principal of Integra Construction Inc. in Atlanta. While there, he has been instrumental in the construction of the Two Midtown Plaza office building Atlanta and the Trade Centre South office building in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
* Daniel A. Cunningham graduated from Purdue in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in industrial technology. After graduation Cunningham spent 21 years serving in the U.S. Army and received the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and six awards of the Meritorious Service Medal. He is now president and chief operating officer of Parish Manufacturing Inc., a bag-in-box company in Indianapolis. Cunningham also is a 35-year member of the Boy Scouts of America and has received the Silver Beaver Award and District Award of Merit.
* Steven C. Easley earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Purdue in 1974 and 1975, respectively, and spent 10 years as a professor of building construction and contracting. Easley is a nationally and internationally known construction consultant through his focused work on increasing quality of construction, sustainability, energy efficiency and reducing costly mistakes that lead to construction defects and callbacks. Easley's firm has been selected by the Department of Energy as a Build America Team Member of the Build America Retro-Fit Alliance Team. Easley has a monthly column in Green Building Magazine and has hosted hundreds of best practice building science videos that can be seen at http://www.codecollegenetwork.com
* James B. Hill graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology. Born into a family of Boilermakers and influenced by his grandfather, Hill has benefited from those closest to him. Hill Mechanical was the first in the Chicago market with automated machinery in its shops and the first to use computer-aided drafting as normal operating technology. As an early proponent of energy efficient mechanical systems, Hill has helped customers understand the value of systems over the life of a building compared to simple upfront costs.
* William J. King graduated from Purdue in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership and supervision. King's ability to make strong business relations and leverage opportunity have been hallmarks of his professional achievements. His knowledge and experience with technology led him to coordinate direct sales activities and manage the business relationships with key Fortune 500 customers and prospects. He now is working with Troux Technology, which provides software to help Global 2000 enterprises better manage and align their information technology resources and investments and to help those resources align with the businesses they support.
* Joseph F. Mack graduated from Purdue in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in computer graphics technology. Mack created 3-D environments and main user interfaces for PC-based games and assisted in the creation of "Dark Side of the Moon," "20,000 Leagues, the Adventure Continues" and "Wild, Wild, West." For the past 11 years, he has worked as senior interactive media developer for SAS in Cary, N.C., where he serves as lead designer on all math products for SAS Curriculum Pathways, an online resource for high school and middle school teachers and students.
* Nicholas L. Miller graduated from Purdue in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in computer and information technology. After graduation, Miller took the focus of helping people through technology as he began his 25-year career at Eli Lily and Co. Miller has been responsible for central nervous system and metabolic IT support as manager of the clinical research information systems, has led programs to create tools for pharmaceutical project management as an IT program manager for clinical research, and worked on the team that developed Prozac.
* Craig A. Schauss graduated from Purdue in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology. Schauss began his career as a flight test engineer for the B-52 bomber. His career since then has continued to enhance the use of electronics in military vehicles. He received a U.S. patent and several international patents for his design and development of the serial communication protocol and custom-integrated circuit implementation of the MIC Bus technology. In 1990 he formed his own company, Tektronix Research Corp., which makes products for weapon systems used by all branches of the U.S. military.
* James A. Stephens graduated from Purdue in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in aviation technology. Stephens was influenced to start a career at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) after the events of 9/11 and watching the effects on the aviation industry. He currently is a regional deployment manager for security checkpoint technology and the primary liaison with TSA's systems integrator for 178 airports in 17 states. He is in charge of the on-site activities at each airport as well as the oversight of subcontractors.
Writer: Amanda Sliepka, 765-496-3006, asliepka@purdue.edu
Source: Vanessa Buntin, alumni relations director of the College of Technology, 765 494 0486, vpuckett@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Complete biographies and photographs of the 2011 distinguished alumni are available online at http://www.tech.purdue.edu/TechWeek/DTA/index.cfm