The Annual Chemical Engineering Department Awards Convocation was held in the Rozsa Center on April 11, 2012. This is an opportunity to thank the faculty, staff and students for their hard work and dedication. The department recognized the support of Mrs. Karen Hubbard, Kimberly-Clark, Dow Chemical, and UOP for their donations and services, which made this year’s Awards Convocation possible.
The guest speaker was Linda McInally, who joined Dow Corning in 1981 after having worked 2 years with IBM following her graduation from MTU as a chemical engineer. Her career at Dow Corning was centered on operations, with positions in process engineering, product development, finance and most recently, several roles in manufacturing leadership. Linda was named Vice President of Manufacturing for the Specialty Chemicals Business in 2008, where she was responsible for manufacturing plants across Asia, Europe and North and South America. Linda was recognized for her deep knowledge of the people and processes around the world, enabling strong leadership for contributing significant financial contribution and quality improvements for the business. Linda was also leading the Global Manufacturing Automation Group, responsible for implementing a vision for improving productivity through automation.Linda was awarded membership to the MTU Presidential Council of Alumnae in 2008 and inducted into the Chemical Engineering Distinguished Academy in 2010. She retired from Dow Corning in early 2012.
The Interim Chair, Dr. Tony Roger opened the event. The Convocation Master of Ceremonies was Dr. Faith Morrison, Associate Professor. Awards were presented by Mr. David Caspary, Lab Facilities Manager for Prevent Accidents With Safety (PAWS) Awards. The Dow Chemical Marriott W. Bredekamp Award was presented by Dr. John Sandell, Associate Professor. The Kimberly-Clark Communication Award and Kimberly-Clark Professional Ethics Award was presented by Mr. Robert VanDen Heuvel, Senior Process Engineer, Kimberly-Clark Corporation. The UOP Davis W. Hubbard Plant Design Team Award was presented by Dr. Caryn Heldt, Assistant Professor. Student Reports were given for the AIChE Chapter President by Ms. Kelly-Anne Zayan, Omega Chi Epsilon (OCE) President by Ms. Ellesse Bess, the Consumer Products Manufacturing (CPM) President by Mr. Robert Parker and the Alternative Fuels Group (AFG) President by Mr. Jacob Boes Student Research Recognition was presented by Dr. Caryn Heldt, Assistant Professor, the Faculty Awards, Teacher of the Year was presented to Dr. Faith Morrison by AIChE Chapter President Ms. Kelly-Anne, and the Special Recognition of Graduating Seniors, by Dr. Faith Morrison, Associate Professor.