Kentucky Engineers ‘Outstanding’ in Their Field, Receive Honor Awards

(April 23, 2002, Frankfort, Kentucky)  -- The Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers (KSPE) has recognized 7 of its members for outstanding achievements and service to the Society and the engineering profession.  Awards were presented during the 67th KSPE Annual Convention held at Jenny Wiley State Park, Prestonsburg, Kentucky, on April 19, 2002.

 

Aubrey D. May, a retired professional engineer, professional land surveyor, and professional geologist, received the Distinguished Service Award for life-long achievement and life-long contributions to the engineering profession and to KSPE.  He was a principal and Vice President of Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott and May, from which he retired in December 2000, but during which time he contributed countless efforts on behalf of Kentucky’s engineering and land surveying communities.  This included back-to-back, four-year gubernatorial appointments to the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, of which he served as Chairman of the Board and during which time he led the way to significant revisions to the laws governing the practices engineering and land surveying in Kentucky. He is a Pike County, Kentucky, native, who received a B.S. and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Kentucky and became a professional engineer in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, a professional land surveyor in Kentucky, and a professional geologist in Kentucky.

 

Steven L. Skaggs, professional engineer, received the D.V. Terrell Award for his significant contributions to the goals and objectives of KSPE and for being considered to have made an outstanding contribution to the Society within the past one-year period. A cost engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District, he was the State Chairman for the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers’ MATHCOUNTS math competition program that just completed its 19th successful year of competition with over 900 students having participated, setting the second straight student participation record in Kentucky. He is 1991 graduate of the University of Louisville’s Speed Scientific School with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.

 

Randal S. Williamson (click to find out more), professional engineer, received the Young Engineer of the Year Award, meeting the criteria of being a KSPE member who is no older than age 35, who has shown professional integrity and reputation beyond question, and who has consistently worked for the professional, civic, and technical interests of the engineering profession. He is a University of Kentucky College of Mechanical Engineering graduate, and works as a lead mechanical engineer in the consumer products division at Lexmark International, Inc., in Lexington. He is the newly elected KSPE State Secretary, served as the KSPE State Treasurer in 2001-2002, is the Treasurer of the Bluegrass Chapter of KSPE (2001-2004), and is a KSPE Building Committee member. His contribution to KSPE’s MATHCOUNTS has been steady, dedicated, thorough, and history making. He has held several leadership positions specific to MATHCOUNTS, including serving as the State Chairman in 2000-2001 and serving on a National MATHCOUNTS Task Force (2001, 2002-2003). He has also been the recipient of KSPE’s D.V. Terrell Award, the President’s Award for MATHCOUNTS Achievement, and Achievement in Industry Award.

 

The following awards were given based on the individual’s outstanding contribution to their specific area of engineering discipline:

 

Dr. Robert L. Mullins, professional engineer, certified planner, and attorney-at-law, received the Achievement in Government Award.  He is the senior civilian in the Louisville Engineer District for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he is Deputy District Engineer. He has received the Department of the Army awards for Superior Civilian Service Medal, the Commander’s Medal for Civilian Service, and the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service. These represent the 3rd, 4th, and 5th highest honors awarded an Army civilian, respectively. He has been the chairman of KSPE’s Professional Development Committee for the last two years and has instructed or organized several leadership development sessions, including the Leadership P.E. program; it is the first program of its kind to work specifically toward the goal of developing leadership skills for professional engineers. He has a B.S. in Applied Science, a Masters of Environmental Engineering, a Juris Doctor, and a Ph.D. in Administration Management degree, all from the University of Louisville and a Masters Degree in Business Management from Vanderbilt University.

 

E. J. Foltz, professional engineer and professional land surveyor, received the Achievement in Private Practice Award. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Civil Engineering, where his major was geotechnical engineering. He is the owner and president of Cartec Engineering Corporation in Crescent, Kentucky.

 

Recipients of the President’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Society:

 

 

Founded in 1934, the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers is a professional membership organization for professional engineers (P.E.s), professional land surveyors (P.L.S.s), engineers-in-training (E.I.T.s), and students pursuing careers in these and related areas.  The organization is headquartered in Frankfort, Kentucky.  It has about 1,400 members. 

 

 

 

Lexmark Man Gets Engineering Society's Nod for Young Engineer of the Year

 

(January 3, 2002 - Frankfort, Kentucky) - Randal S. Williamson a 35-year-old Lead Mechanical Engineer in the Consumer Product Division at Lexmark International, Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky, has been selected as the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers’ (KSPE) Young Engineer of the Year.  The award recognizes one KSPE member, who is no older than age 35, for outstanding service to the engineering profession and to the KSPE during the past year.

 

Williamson, who is originally from Metcalfe County, lived most of his life in Jefferson and Oldham Counties. He is a graduate of Oldham County High School and has a 1989 BSME from the University of Kentucky College of Engineering-Mechanical Engineering.

 

“Engineering is the first love of my life.  My dad worked for Ford Motor Company in Louisville as a mechanical engineer for about 30 years, so I guess I got a lot of my interest in engineering from him. Mom and Dad also own a pretty big farm in Metcalfe County, so, as a kid, I was always designing equipment or modifying a process that made things better. 

 

When I went to high school, I joined the Future Farmers of America, and that’s when my agriculture teacher helped me realize that I would be a good engineer.  After that, I never considered being anything else.”

 

Williamson graduated from UK in 1989 and took an engineering position with National Southwire Aluminum (NSA) in Hawesville, Kentucky.  He joined KSPE in 1990 and has been an active member since that time.

           

In 1995, he relocated to Lexington, where he became a design engineer and later a project engineer for Clark Material Handling Company.

 

He joined Lexmark International, Inc. in May 2000 and was recently promoted. He is responsible for mechanical engineering and design of the company’s inkjet printers. He leads a group of 20 engineering or design professionals on various new product designs that have required him to travel such destinations as China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan on multiple occasions.

 

“Working for Lexmark is the best job ever.  Something new and challenging occurs every day, and I enjoy knowing that my skills help improve on a design and make a product better, faster, and more economical for the public. It’s a very fulfilling career.”

 

Volunteering for KSPE programs and activities is just a part of his job, Williamson explains.   “As a professional engineer, I have a responsibility to serve my profession and to serve the public in ways that improve all our lives and humanity. All that I do for KSPE, especially with the educational activities, is a contribution to mankind, and that is what engineers do every day. Most people don’t realize that nearly everything in our world occurs because an engineer made it possible.”

 

Paul West, a professional engineer with Johnson, Depp & Quisenberry, PSC in Owensboro, Kentucky, and KSPE’s Awards Committee Chairman, comments that “Randal is an exceptional engineer and has been a tremendous benefit to the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers over these many years, especially in his service to the KSPE’s building committee, his leadership roles within the Society, and most importantly, to our MATHCOUNTS program.”

 

Some accomplishments that earned Williamson the Young Engineer of the Year Award are:

 

For additional information, contact:  Connie Davis, Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers, 160 Democrat Drive, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Phone: 1.800.455.5573 or 1.502.695.5680, Fax: 1.502.695.0738 (fax), connie@kyengcenter.org.

 

Last Update: April 25, 2002