In February, two outstanding Auburn Engineering alumni, Bill Cutts and Dick Smith, were inducted into the prestigious State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.
William J. (Bill) Cutts, a 1955 industrial management graduate and pioneer in the field of tanks and vessels, is president and CEO of American Tank & Vessel, Inc. (AT&V). The company’s performance and commitment to exceeding industry standards have earned it the distinction of being the most efficient erector of steel structures worldwide. AT&V has also sent three medical mission teams and two educational mission teams to Ghana,Africa. In partnership with Houston Christian School in the U.S., AT&V has established a school in Ghana, and is currently working on a second one. Cutts has also provided significant support to the college, most recently providing funding for the new Advanced Engineering Research Laboratory Building of the Shelby Center for Engineering Technology. He isa member of the Engineering Keystone Society.
Richard G. (Dick) Smith, a 1951 electrical engineering graduate,had a 35-year career with NASA that was dedicated to advancing space exploration technology. The director of John F. Kennedy Space Center from 1979 until 1986,his administration spanned the completion of the space shuttle buildup, the launch of 25 shuttle missions, including the first shuttle launch, and the beginning of the planning effort for the international space station. Smith received numerous NASA honors, including the medal for exceptional service,the distinguished service medal, the outstanding leadership medal for effective management of the Skylab re-entry program, as well as the rank of meritorious executive in the senior executive service. He received an honorary doctorate from both Florida Institute of Technology and Auburn University. He is a fellow in the American Astronautical Society.
At the fall meeting of the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council, five alumni were recognized for their engineering contributions, including:
Distinguished Auburn Engineer
Tom Lowe, 1949 Civil
Lowe founded Lowe Engineers, Inc., aleader in the design, construction andsupervision of civil engineering projectsthroughout the Southeast. He has servedas a Fulton County commissioner since1974. A member of the Auburn AlumniEngineering Council and the EngineeringEagles Society, he and his wife Bettyeare significant contributors to Auburn.The college also awards scholarshipsthrough an endowment in honor of his father, Thomas M. Lowe, Sr., a former department head in civil engineering.
Todd May, 1990 Materials
As special assistant to the director at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,May ensures that all center activities, processes and policies are consistent with U.S. Space Exploration Policy. He also serves as the manager of NASA’s lunar robotic program, which recently launched probes to the moon. Previously, May was a deputy associate administrator in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, as well as the deputy manager of Marshall’s Science And Mission Systems Office.
Wendell Mead, 1963,1966 Aerospace
Mead is the creator of the Ballistic Missile Defense Technical Requirements Assessment & Design Evaluation Simulation, a software program designed to simulate ballistic missile defense. He just completed a 16-month appointment on the National Academies Committee on “An Assessment of Concepts and Systems for U.S. Boost-Phase Missile Defense in Comparison to Other Alternatives.” He is also a Sloan Fellow in Management from Stanford.
Bill Ward, 1955 Mechanical
Ward is a retired regional manager of General Electric’s Southwest PowerSystems Sales. Throughout his career with GE, he held a number of management positions, ultimately leading the corporation’s power systems unit throughits largest period of growth as the Sunbelt assumed an economic leadership position in the decades leading up to the millennium.
Distinguished Young Engineer
Nicole Faulk, 1996, 1999 Mechanical
As manager of nuclear regulatory affairs at Georgia Power Company, Faulk is the primary interface with the Public Service Commission, as well as the interface between Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear for compliance issues related to commission inquiries. She became and engineer at Southern Company in 1998, and following roles of increasing responsibility, earned her senior reactor operator license while working at Plant Farley.
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