CU Honors Engineering Alumni and Teacher

The University of Colorado at Boulder will honor four of its distinguished engineering alumni along with a retired faculty member tonight at its 42nd annual engineering awards banquet.

Scott Donnelly

Recipients of the 2007 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award in the industry and commerce category are Scott Donnelly, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation; and Pamela Drew, vice president and general manager of Boeing’s Integrated Defense and Security Solutions.

Adam Beguelin

Adam Beguelin, vice president of AOL Video, will receive the award for research and invention; and James Harris, a consulting structural engineer based in Denver, will receive the award for private practice.

Evi Nemeth, who retired from CU-Boulder as an associate professor of computer science in 2001, will receive a special award. The alumni award was established in 1966 to honor graduates and friends of the College of Engineering and Applied Science who have distinguished themselves through outstanding personal qualities, knowledge and significant contributions to their fields.

Evi Nemeth

Donnelly, who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at CU-Boulder in 1984, will be recognized for his leadership at General Electric, a company he first joined in 1989.

Donnelly’s positions at GE have included vice president of technology for GE Medical Systems, senior vice president of GE Global Research and, since 2005, president and CEO of GE Aviation. At 43, he became one of the youngest executives ever to lead GE Aviation, a business unit with $12 billion in revenues and approximately 30,000 employees worldwide.

Pamela Drew

Drew, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, and master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science at CU-Boulder in 1985, 1987 and 1991, respectively, will be recognized for her technical and leadership accomplishments at Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company.

Drew joined the company in 1996 and serves as vice president and general manager of Integrated Defense and Security Solutions. In this position, she manages SBInet, a program to secure 6,000 miles of the nation’s borders, along with other defense and homeland security projects.

Beguelin, who earned master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science at CU-Boulder in 1988 and 1990, respectively, will be recognized for his innovations both as an academic researcher and an entrepreneur. Beguelin was on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University before he joined the search engine company Inktomi in 1996. He later co-founded the startup company Truveo and led a new technology wave in video searching.

Beguelin was named vice president of AOL Video in December 2005 after selling Truveo to the Internet giant.

Jim Harris

Harris, who earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at CU-Boulder in 1968, will be recognized for his leadership in the modernization of building design load standards for safer and more reliable buildings.

Harris, who leads the consulting firm J.R. Harris & Co., headed the American Society of Civil Engineers’ committee that wrote structural design load standards for the United States in 1998, 2002 and 2005. His key accomplishments include leading the development and implementation of modern standards for earthquake resistance. He also served on the team that investigated damage in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.

Nemeth, who was an associate professor of computer science at CU-Boulder from 1980 until her retirement in 2001, will be recognized for her accomplishments as a teacher and scholar in computer system administration and networks.

Nemeth co-authored the twin “bibles” of system administration: the Unix Systems Administration Handbook and LINUX Administration Handbook. She also played a key role in the early growth and development of computing at CU-Boulder and has helped bring Internet technology to the developing world through the Internet Society and United Nations Development Programme.

Rockfall Clean Up, Mitigation Under Way on S.H. 133

Colorado Department of Transportation maintenance crews are working with contractors to clear away rocks and further stabilize the mountainside on State Highway 133 south of McClure Pass.

(Photo courtesy of CDOT)

Early Wednesday morning, 2,000 cu yd of rock came down onto the highway near mile marker 29, with the biggest pieces measuring 15 ft by 100 ft. CDOT closed the highway shortly thereafter.

Hotchkiss contractor Rundle Construction began work on Thursday to excavate the site and break up rocks blocking the road so they can be hauled away.

Yenter Companies of Arvada will begin work today to mitigate further rockfall at the site. A crane with a man-basket will be used while the slope on either side of the rockfall site is drilled and blasted. Crews expect to bring down an additional 2,000 cubic yd of material to be hauled away.

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