COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 14, 2009 – Select students from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University have been recognized as distinguished members of their Spring 2009 graduating class.
At a reception honoring the department’s spring graduates, Michael Kingrey of Lake Charles, La., was named recipient of the department’s “Outstanding Graduating Senior Spring 2009 Award.”
In addition, Steven Fulk of Allen, Lucas Kinard of Spring, Matthew Neely of Harlingen, and Tina Parthum of Lumberton each received the “Chemical Engineering Excellence Spring 2009 Senior Award.”
Philip Niksch of Houston received the “2009 Senior Award” from the RHO Chapter of Omega Chi Epsilon, the national honor society for chemical engineering.
Addressing the students and their families in attendance, Department Head and Charles D. Holland ’53 Professor Michael V. Pishko lauded the students’ efforts throughout their academic careers, saying, “These chemical engineering degrees were not awarded and they were not given; they were earned with hard work.”
Pishko also reminded the graduates of the importance and tradition of maintaining a strong connection with Texas A&M.
“One thing I’ve found out about Aggies is that they are incredibly loyal to this institution, and this institution is incredibly loyal to its former students,” he said.
As part of the event, students Peng Cheng, of China, and Santosh Koirala, of Nepal, were formally recognized as recipients of the department’s 2009 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award.
In addition, winners of the department’s Spring 2009 Plant Design Competition received their awards. The competition, which was part of a senior-level course aimed at preparing students for the types of assignments they’re likely to see in a professional environment, tasked student groups with designing a fully functional crude oil processing plant. In recognition of their achievements, each of the top three teams received honorariums from the Fluor Corporation, the competition’s sponsor for this semester.
