Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame to Hold 2007 Ceremony

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame will induct seven individuals and honor four corporations/institutions during a Feb. 24 ceremony at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa in Birmingham.

Joining the 109 individuals already inducted into the Hall of Fame will be:

Marcus J. Bendickson has impacted the United States’ capacity to protect its citizens and soldiers from threat systems through his leadership of Dynetics. As chief executive officer, Bendickson leads 900 employees in eight states. His policy of responding quickly and modeling accurately has led Dynetics in achieving some revolutionary firsts, including a patented counter-rotating scanner protected in 28 countries.

Bendickson graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, and he received a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University. He joined Dynetics in 1975 to pursue radar and missile engineering. He became president of the company in 1989 and oversaw 190 employees increase to 410 and $14 million in sales grow to $60 million. He pursued his doctorate at the University of Alabama at Huntsville and wrote his dissertation on improved understanding of radar waveform returns.

Bendickson received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ 2002 Professional of the Year award, and he was named a member of UAH’s College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board.

Julian Davidson’s research and role in engineering have made him a chief architect of America’s ballistic missile defense system. After studying at Howard College, Davidson deferred continuing education amid World War II to join the Navy. After his tour of duty, he attended Auburn University and graduated in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. In 1981, he received an honorary doctor of science from Southeastern Institute.

Davidson was appointed as the first director of the Advanced Ballistic Missile Defense Agency. As director, he led thousands of personnel in creating breakthrough technologies, including “Safeguard,” the first system to protect against nuclear attack.

In 1996, Davidson founded Davidson Technologies in Huntsville. As head of the company, he is a prominent force in missile defense engineering. In 2001, Dynetics, CAS & Davidson LLC was launched to provide technology-based services to the space and missile defense community.

Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a member of the U.S. Senate’s Armed Services Committee, describes Davidson’s work as among “the most significant technological achievements in our nation’s history.”

Davidson was named to the panel that evaluated President Reagan’s strategic defense initiative in 1984. The Army has awarded Davidson numerous commendations, and he is among 22 recipients of the Medaris Award, which is presented by the Tennessee Valley chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association for significant accomplishments.

Davidson serves on Auburn’s Alumni Engineering Council and on departmental advisory boards.

James Delahay, posthumous induction, is remembered for leading LBYD, for working on vital structural code committees, and for transforming the senior design course for civil, construction, and environmental engineering for students at The University of Alabama.

Delahay earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1980 from The University of Alabama before joining Birmingham’s Lane/Bishop/Hodnett. He became a registered professional engineer in 15 states, and received his master’s degree from the Capstone in 1987. In 2000, he was elected president of the firm now known as LBYD. He oversaw strategic planning, development and marketing, and human resources.

In 1999, Delahay became one of three practitioners on the 16-person International Building Code Structural Committee. He was voted committee chairman in 2002 and was the first practicing engineer to ever fill that role.

Delahay also was the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s wind expert on the team that dissected the damage from Hurricane Ivan.

Working with the civil engineering department at UA, Delahay transformed the professor-led class into a competition among student-mock-design firms utilizing LBYD project files with LBYD engineers as mock consultants and clients. The model that he developed has since been adopted by other firms that support engineering education.

UA named Delahay a Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 2003. In 2005, an endowed scholarship fund was established to honor Delahay.

Thomas E. Doster III is the founder, board chairman and chief executive officer of Doster Construction, a company that has received the Contractor of the Year award twice by the American Subcontractors Association of Alabama.

Doster graduated from The University of Alabama and has led Doster Construction into the ranks of the top American contractors. His company has completed structures in 27 states. Doster Construction’s 2006 work contract reached $450 million, with an estimated 70 percent representing repeat patronage. Modern Healthcare named the business one of the 10 busiest health-care construction contractors nationwide as Doster was responsible for facilities in Birmingham, Mobile, Hoover and Montgomery. Doster’s company was also one of the contractors that structured the Mercedes-Benz USA plant in Vance.

In 2004, Doster received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alabama branch of the American Subcontractors Association. In 2005, he received the Cornerstone Award from Alabama Construction News for an exemplary, life-long commitment to Alabama’s construction industry.

In 1993, he was selected as a Distinguished Engineering Fellow at The University of Alabama, and he has endowed several scholarships that benefit UA College of Engineering students.

Earl R. Foust is an executive dedicated to publishing, patenting and researching new products, as well as managing growth and profitability. As president of Valmont-Newmark, a utility division of global Valmont Industries, Foust utilizes his intellectual curiosity for evolving engineering principles. His company is America’s largest provider of the spun concrete, tubular steel, and hybrid poles used in electrical transmission, distribution, and substation systems.

In 1971, Foust graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and then received his master’s degree from The University of Alabama. He is on The University of Alabama’s Mechanical Engineering Advisory Council and is a UA Mechanical Engineering Department Fellow. Foust also is a member and past chairman of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Engineering Foundation Council.

Foust is an active presenter and panelist at professional conferences. He has served in diverse leadership roles for the American Society of Mechanical Engineer’s Birmingham chapter and for the Birmingham Engineering Council. He also is active in the American Society of Professional Engineers.

Raymond Loyd has changed how Americans live through his work in air conditioning technology and his development of the Carry Cool, the first room air conditioner to sell profitably for under $100.

After graduating from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Loyd was admitted to General Electric’s prestigious engineering training program and was made design engineer in GE’s appliances division. He has been recognized with a national award from the Society of Plastics Engineers and has been issued three patents for related innovations. Loyd became GE’s manager of international marketing and won the firm’s elite Cordiner Award.

Loyd was with GE for a more than 15 years, during which time he earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Louisville. A unique opportunity arose for Loyd, and he founded Derby Packaging, a start-up fabricator of insulation and gaskets. In 2000, Loyd sold part of the business and retained the die-cutting portion and renamed it Derby Fabricating. The company has locations in four states and is a leading die cutter of nonmetallic materials for automotive and appliance clients.

He and his wife, Eleanor, also an Auburn graduate, established the Raymond E. and Eleanor H. Loyd scholarship at Auburn.

John Oztekin has 11 patents that are testament to how his innovations revolutionized store fixtures. Others adopted his techniques, but the contemporary design came from Oztekin’s engineering expertise.

After studying liberal arts in Turkey, Oztekin immigrated to Michigan and began studying engineering at the University of Michigan. After being urged by his pen pal and future wife, Oztekin transferred to The University of Alabama. He received his citizenship in 1951 and took a position in Detroit with America’s first modern store-fixtures manufacturer.

Upon marrying his pen pal, Sue, the couple returned south to start Dixie Craft Manufacturing Co., which manufactured shelving and belt-driven-check-out counters for retailers. After serving as chief executive officer from 1956-1958, Oztekin sold his share of the company.

In 1958, Oztekin launched the Kent Corp., where he perfected and patented his brainchild: the first unitized, one-piece, adjustable steel shelves that featured uprights with integrated, roll-formed-back-panel channels. The shelves were named the Supermatic line and were featured at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

In 2005, Kent introduced its state-of-the-art powder-coat system. Oztekin was the first person in his industry to perfect paint application that eliminated toxic solvents.

Oztekin created the Oztekin Family Endowed Scholarship, which assists engineering students at The University of Alabama. He was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 2006 by The University of Alabama.

The corporations/institutions to be inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame are:

Brasfield & Gorrie was established in 1921 as the Thomas C. Brasfield Co. The Brasfield & Gorrie we know today was formed in 1964 when founder, Miller Gorrie, purchased Brasfield’s construction assets in Birmingham. Since then, Brasfield has grown steadily.

In addition to offering full-service general contracting, Brasfield & Gorrie provides construction management. Its experience is diverse, including health care, industrial, office, institutional, retail, education, and water treatment facilities. No matter what role the company fulfills, it has the expertise to complete a project in a timely, efficient manner.

The company is known for its quality-finished products, which include some of the most recognizable structures in the Southeast. Adding to its reputation is its focus on people. Brasfield & Gorrie is completely dedicated to serving its clients, its communities and its own family.

Today, the company includes 21 divisions that focus on specific, specialized construction markets. Its superintendents, foremen and skilled labor force are some of the most experienced and best builders in the South.

Brasfield & Gorrie is currently ranked 28th among the nation’s “Top 400 Contractors” by Engineering News-Record, 15th among building contractors, and first by Modern Healthcare.

Drummond Company Inc. was established in 1935 when Heman Edward Drummond opened the company’s first mine on homesteaded land in Walker County. Since then, Drummond has progressed to the technologically advanced company it is today, utilizing state-of-the-art mining equipment.

Heman Drummond passed away in 1956, leaving his sons a company with a solid foundation. His sons had been well trained and prepared by their father to operate the company. Garry N. Drummond has been chief executive officer since 1973.

A major step in the growth of Drummond Company was the signing of a $100 million contract in 1969 for the company’s first export sale: the delivery of coal to a Japanese steel company. Drummond expanded rapidly in the 1970s to complete that contract and to compete for other domestic and export coal sales.

In 1985, the company completed its acquisitions of Alabama By-Products Corp., which provided Drummond with its first large-scale underground coal mines.

The company’s natural interest in engineering has propelled the Drummond Company to prominence, not only in its primary business of coal production, but also in the coke production industry and real estate development.

G.W. Jones & Sons Consulting Engineering Inc. was founded in 1886 by the late G.W. Jones. The company has provided continuous service to the people and governments of Madison County and north Alabama. It has been a major force in the region’s development and growth from an agricultural-based, rural environment to an urban, highly-technical economy.

The current chief executive officer is Raymond B. Jones, a grandson of the founder. He has led the company in becoming successful in providing engineering services for a variety of specialized projects. The company’s three primary areas of expertise are highway engineering, water and wastewater engineering, and airport engineering. In addition, the firm has performed services for environmental assessments, industrial-park development, master planning, land planning, and commercial and residential development.

The management and staff of GWJ work together to meet the needs of its customers, regardless of the nature of the project. The firm adheres to the same high standards of leadership, project management, design and integrity established by its founder 120 years ago.

Walter Schoel Engineering Co. Inc. began in 1888 when Herman Schoel established the tradition of surveying and engineering excellence. Walter Schoel Engineering Co. still serves its clients with that same tradition of integrity and quality service.

Herman Schoel immigrated to the United States from northern Germany in the late 1870s seeking an education in engineering. In 1888, Herman founded the private practice of Civil Engineering and Land Surveying, which eventually became Walter Schoel Engineering Co.

Today, Schoel Engineering has 67 employees, and it has helped shape Birmingham and neighboring communities through its engineering contributions in many areas. Many important landmarks and developments bear the mark of Schoel, including the Tutwiler Hotel, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham City Hall, and the 170-acre Summit retail development.

Schoel Engineering has developed vast experience in hydrology, flood mapping, and flood mitigation in Alabama, which has allowed the company to participate in many projects of significant regional importance, including assisting the Emergency Management Agency with improving the agency’s flood-forecasting system.

The State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame was founded by proclamation of the governor in 1987 to honor, preserve and perpetuate the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of individuals and corporations/institutions and projects that have brought and continue to bring significant recognition to the state.