Engineering Excellence

The Pratt School of Engineering's alumni association honored graduates and professors at its annual awards banquet in April for distinguished service and excellence in teaching, research, and mentoring. Capers McDonald B.S.E. '74 received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and Edward L. Trimble B.S.E. '90 received the Distinguished Young Alumnus Award.

For twelve years, McDonald, who majored in biomedical engineering, was president and CEO of BioReliance Corp., a contract-service organization in Rockville, Maryland, that provides testing, development, and manufacturing services worldwide to companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He left BioReliance in 2004 when it was acquired by Invitrogen Corp., and is now executive-in-residence and a practitioner faculty member at Johns Hopkins University's graduate division of business and management. From 2001 into 2004, McDonald was chair of the Technology Council of Maryland. He also is a member of Pratt's board of visitors.

Trimble is the co-founder and CEO of EzGov, an Atlanta-based firm that provides software and services for federal, state, local, and foreign governments. Before founding EzGov, he was founder and CEO of InterArch Technologies of Atlanta.

Professor F. Hadley Cocks, a professor in the department of mechanical engineering and materials science (MEMS), received the Distinguished Service Award for thirty-three years of service to the engineering school, which he joined in 1972 as assistant professor after six years of industrial research. Cocks, who was promoted to professor in 1976, chaired MEMS from 1994 to 2001. He is the founding director of the Master of Engineering Management Program, which he led from 1997 to 2003.

Other Pratt School faculty members were honored. Donald Bliss, associate professor in MEMS, received the Klein Family Distinguished Teaching Award. Ashutosh Chilkoti, associate professor in the department of biomedical engineering (BME), received the Stansell Family Distinguished Research Award. Larry Bohs Ph.D. '87, assistant BME research professor, received the Lois and John L. Imhoff Distinguished Teaching Award.

Leslie Collins, associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering, was honored with the Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research. Michael Gustafson B.S.E. '93, Ph.D. '99, lecturer in the departments of civil and environmental engineering and electrical and computer engineering, received the Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising.