sealPurdue Notebook
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April 17, 1998

Appointments and promotions

-- Arden Bement Jr., the Basil S. Turner Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Purdue, has been appointed head of the School of Nuclear Engineering, effective July 1. Bement holds a joint appointment in the Schools of Materials Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering. In addition, he directs the Midwest Superconductivity Consortium, a group of six universities that develops new technologies based on high-temperature superconductors. His career in science and engineering includes positions as the vice president for science and technology at TRW Inc., the U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, and professor of nuclear material at MIT. In 1983, Bement was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. Victor Ransom, who has been head of the school since 1990, will return to teaching and research after a year's sabbatical. Purdue's School of Nuclear Engineering was founded in 1960 and is ranked among the top 10 nuclear engineering departments in the country.

Alumni honors:

-- Five Purdue University graduates have received 1998 Distinguished Alumni Awards from Purdue's School of Pharmacy. The recipients were honored March 27 during a ceremony at Purdue. The awards are given each year to honor graduates for their outstanding achievements in professional and scientific endeavors. This year's award winners are:

  • David C. Hsia, executive vice president for research and development at Watson Laboratories Inc., Corona, Calif.
  • Jack A. Klee, manager of Temple Pharmacy within the Hammond Clinics, Munster, Ind.
  • Rachel Mata, professor and head of the pharmacognosy department in the School of Chemistry at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
  • R. Craig Schnell, vice president for academic affairs at North Dakota State University at Fargo.
  • Arthur C. Solomon, vice president of business development and marketing at SP Pharmaceuticals LLC, Albuquerque, N.M.

-- Eleven graduates of Purdue's Schools of Engineering will receive Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Awards on April 24. The awards were established in 1964 and are conferred each year by the faculty of the Schools of Engineering to recognize a graduate's contributions to engineering and related fields. Including this year's honorees, 351 of the more than 60,000 living Purdue engineering alumni have won the award. The 1998 recipients are:

  • Roy D. Bridges Jr., Cocoa Beach, Fla., director of the Kennedy Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
  • Christopher B. Burke, Naperville, Ill., president of Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd., Rosemont, Ill.
  • W. Michael Clevy, Brentwood, Tenn., president and chief executive officer of International Comfort Products Corp., Nashville.
  • Vincennes, Ind. , native Michael L. Eskew of Atlanta, senior vice president of engineering for United Parcel Service.
  • Charles R. Kline, president and chief executive officer of Equate Petrochemicals Co., Kuwait.
  • Michael J. McCulley, Friendswood, Texas, vice president and deputy program manager for United Space Alliance, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
  • Michael T. Riordan, Long Grove, Ill., president and chief operating officer for Fort James Corp., Deerfield, Ill.
  • Thomas J. Sheehan Jr., retired general director of operations for Delco Electronics Corp., Kokomo, Ind.
  • William E. Smith, Brownsburg, Ind. , executive director of global manufacturing services for Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis.
  • Suwat Liptapanlop, Bangkok, Thailand, member of Thailand's parliament.
  • Highland, Ind. , native Stephen J. Zelencik of Woodside, Calif., senior vice president and chief marketing executive for Advanced Micro Devices, Sunnyvale, Calif.

Compiled by J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail,
mike_willis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu

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