AAEC Awards Reception Held

Auburn University's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, in conjunction with the institution's Alumni Engineering Council, honored four alumni as Distinguished Auburn Engineers, an additional alumnus as an Outstanding Young Engineer, and presented awards for achievement and service to the college during ceremonies on the Auburn campus September 23.

Alumni named as Distinguished Auburn Engineers include Jimmie Adams, David Scobey, Jerry Thomas and Larry Tuggle.

Jimmie Adams, vice president of L-3 Communications Corporation, graduated from Auburn in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and earned a master's in 1963 from the University of Texas. A member of Auburn's Research Advisory Council, Adams is the first Auburn Air Force ROTC graduate to become a four-star general. He has received military awards and decorations that include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

President of Small Business Services for BellSouth Corporation, David Scobey received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1978 and a graduate degree from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard in 1997. During his 25-year career at BellSouth, he has held many positions including president of BellSouth Long Distance. He has received the JD Power award for customer satisfaction for the past two years.

Jerry Thomas, senior vice president of SCI Systems in Huntsville, received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Auburn in 1963 and his master's degree in 1970 from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Joining SCI in its infancy, Thomas helped turn the small business into a Fortune 500 company with 51 plants in 19 countries, becoming a corporate officer in 1976.

Retired vice president of Russell Corporation's Environmental and Engineering Services, Larry Tuggle received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Auburn in 1957, and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Florida in 1969 and 1971. During his career, he conceived, organized and implemented one of the most dramatic and extensive solid-waste reduction programs in the industry. His program reduced the total trash going to landfills by 94 percent. This effort, a model for the textile industry, is now emulated by many other companies.

He received the 1995 and 2000 Alabama Recycling Coalition's 2,000 Best In-house Recycling Program Awards for his paper, plastic, cardboard and cloth waste recycling efforts. For his civic efforts, he was named "Man of the Year" in 1987 by his hometown of Alexander City.

An Auburn Engineering Achievement award was presented to James Hunnicutt, retired president of Hunnicutt Davis Associates, a consulting firm he founded specializing in traffic engineering and parking studies. He received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Auburn in 1950 and his master's degree from Yale in 1954. Hunnicutt co-founded the International Municipal Parking Congress, and in 1964, became the organization's president. Growing to more than 1,400 members in 25 countries, it became the International Parking Institute.

Karen Sharpless received a Superior Service award for her work as former director of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering's Office of Development. Under her direction, Auburn's College of Engineering has received a number of accolades for superior fundraising efforts. She helped establish a solid foundation for the college's development unit and annual giving and donor recognition programs. Sharpless received her bachelor's degrees in political science and speech communications in 1977 and 1978 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and her master's degree from Auburn in 1981.

The Outstanding Young Engineer Award was presented to Glenn Phillips, president, founder and senior consultant of Forte Incorporated in Vestavia Hills, Ala. Phillips, who received his computer engineering degree from Auburn in 1987, developed "LifeTrac" software to assist paramedics in transporting injured patients to designated hospitals. Already implemented in over 20,000 critically injured cases, the software is now assisting stroke patients and is used in early warning of biological and chemical terrorism attacks. In April, LifeTrac became the first system in the country to deliver crash information to hospitals before patients arrive. For this program, Phillips received Birmingham Business Journal's 2004 Health Care Hero Innovator Award.

"We are truly proud of these graduates and the ways in which they have distinguished themselves in the engineering profession," observed Dean of Engineering Larry Benefield. "We are grateful that they were able to take the time out of their busy schedules and visit with fellow engineering alums on the Auburn campus."