UA Honors Six Distinguished Engineering Fellows

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama College of Engineering will honor six alumni of the College by inducting them into its class of 2008 Distinguished Engineering Fellows.

Woodrow B. Cannon, Kevin Michael Hostler, Jerry L. Stewart, Saša Tomić, Charles Vice and Susan Burch Waltman received the top honor the College presents at a ceremony March 29 at NorthRiver Yacht Club.

Woodrow B. Cannon – B.S.M.E. ’68

Throughout Woodrow B. Cannon’s career, he has demonstrated leadership and versatility, especially in the field of communication equipment providers. As co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Infinity Security Solutions, he currently oversees the operation of a security equipment provider that uses cutting-edge technology to protect the assets of company networks.

Cannon received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Alabama in 1968 and began his professional career at IBM in a broad variety of sales, marketing and technical support positions. After spending 13 years at IBM, he spent six years at AT&T in sales management positions where his area consistently led the country in results.

Before co-founding Infinity Security Solutions, Cannon served as president and chief executive officer of Mariposa Technology Inc., a provider of integrated access devices for building mission-critical converged networks, where he led the effort to sell the company for $268 million. One of Cannon’s most significant challenges was as president and chief executive officer of Kestrel Solutions, an optical technology company, where he led an extraordinarily difficult turnaround that resulted in dissolving the company in a method that was fair for creditors, employees and investors.

Through consulting work, Cannon has served as an invaluable leader in advising venture backed communications and computer companies. He has worked with the development of breakthrough technology in the next-generation of the Internet, and he has co-authored two patents in the field.

Cannon resides in Alpharetta, Ga., with his wife, Gladys. They have four children and three grandchildren.

Kevin Michael Hostler – B.S.Ch.E. ’77

With more than 30 years of extensive experience in the oil and gas industry, Kevin Michael Hostler has become a national leader in the business. As president and chief executive officer of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., Hostler is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, one of the premier pipeline systems in the United States. This pipeline system extends over 800 miles of arctic tundra, three mountain ranges, and hundreds of rivers and streams in one of the world’s most precious environmental locations delivering one-sixth of the U.S. domestic supply.

Prior to joining Alyeska, Hostler dedicated 28 years to British Petroleum. Hostler worked as the business unit leader and associate president of BP’s subsidiary in Colombia, general manager of BP’s operations in Southern England, and as operations manager of BP’s Deepwater assets in the Gulf of Mexico. His most recent assignment was a senior vice president of the company’s global human resources organization. He was responsible for providing human resources support in more than 80 countries.

Hostler serves on the boards of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, the Association of Oil Pipelines, and the American Petroleum Institute. He is a member of the Providence Hospital Alaska Foundation Board and secretary of the Foraker Board. He is also on the advisory boards for the University of Alaska and the Center of International Studies at Texas A&M University.

In 1977, Hostler graduated from The University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.

Residing in Anchorage, Alaska, Hostler and his wife, Becky, have two children.

Jerry L. Stewart –B.S.M.E. ’73

Jerry L. Stewart has dedicated 35 years of engineering management expertise to Southern Company and its subsidiary Alabama Power Co. Stewart has held numerous leadership positions within the two companies, including vice president of fuel services, general manager of technical services, and assistant plant manager.

After graduating from the Capstone with a degree in mechanical engineering, Stewart began his career with Alabama Power as a junior engineer. In 1988, he became the general manager of technical services at Alabama Power in Birmingham. He was later named vice president of fuel services for Southern Company, where he was responsible for safely and efficiently coordinating the overall fuel operations of the company. Stewart returned to Alabama Power in 1999 as the senior vice president of fossil and hydro generation. Through this position, he was responsible for the performance management of all Alabama Power fossil and hydro generating plant managers.

Currently, Stewart serves as the executive vice president and chief production officer of Southern Company, and senior production officer of Alabama Power. He leads Southern Company’s fossil and hydro fleet with one of the lowest forced outage rates in the industry, and he provides instruction for the operation of the company’s 280 coal, oil, gas and hydro generating units.

Stewart serves as chair for the Electric Power Research Institute Generation Council, and he is a member of the Executive Council of Association of Edison Illuminating Companies Power Generation Committee.

Stewart also attended Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program.

Stewart resides in Birmingham with his wife, Ella Ruth. They have two children.

Saša Tomić – M.S.C.E. ’94, M.S.C.S. ’98, Ph.D. ’98

Saša Tomić’s work in stochastic hydrology and real-time database systems has not only gained him both national and international recognition, but has expanded his ability to develop, model and implement outstanding computer modeling and asset management software for the water resources industry.

Tomić graduated from The University of Alabama in 1994 with a master’s degree in civil engineering, and in 1998 with a master’s degree in computer science and a doctorate in civil engineering. Upon graduation, Tomić worked with Haestad Methods Inc. in a variety of positions, including software development engineer, software architect, manager of international business development, and director of services. He supervised the system integration services department while designing, implementing, and maintaining modeling software components.

In 2003, Tomić joined Wallingford Software Inc., a leading provider of water resource management software, as vice president of product management. He now serves as the company’s senior vice president and global product development manager as he assisted in the establishment of new distributor offices in East Asia and Latin America. He also coordinates international sales support and guides the future development direction of the water distribution product line.

Tomić serves on the graduate faculty of the University of Sarajevo. He holds a patent, and he is co-author of three books and multiple journal articles. He is active in the technical activities of the International Water Association, the American Water Works Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Tomić also volunteers at the Museum of Natural History where he is an Earth and space explainer and the Water Exhibit guide.

Tomić and his wife reside in Queens, N.Y. They have one child.

Charles A. Vice – B.S.M.E. ’86

For the past 17 years, Charles A. Vice has been a leader in the management and application of information to the energy industry. As president and chief operating officer of IntercontinentalExchange, known as ICE, Vice is responsible for operating the world’s leading electronic energy market and soft commodity exchange. He works with the executive management team to set corporate objectives and strategies and has day-to-day responsibility for technology, operations, and product development.

Vice graduated from The University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1986 and began working as a systems analyst with Electronic Data Systems (General Motors). He designed and marketed electronic document management systems for auto, airline, and financial service industry clients.

Vice continued his education at Vanderbilt University receiving a master’s degree in business administration in 1990. Upon graduation, he joined Energy Management Associates, where he sold and managed more than $2 million in consulting work for electric and gas utilities. Following his success at Energy Management Associates, Vice was named marketing director for the Continental Power Exchange Inc., a provider of electronic systems for trading electricity. In the late 1990s, he helped reorganize that company under new ownership to create an Internet-based trading platform that could easily be adapted for a variety of commodities and markets. ICE was finally launched in 2000 as a consortium of 13 of the world’s largest energy trading firms and investment banks.

Vice serves on the board of visitors for the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

He resides in Marietta, Ga., with his wife, Brenda, and they have two children.

Susan Burch Waltman – B.S.Ch.E. ’86

Since graduating from The University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, Susan Burch Waltman has been committed to exceeding expectations and finding innovative solutions through collaborative teamwork.

As the global brand director of Minute Maid with The Coca-Cola Company Inc., Waltman leads new product innovation for Minute Maid and other Coca-Cola non-carbonated products in more than 80 countries. She is responsible for the coordination of a multifunctional team that builds and develops new concepts for products and ingredients that meet the needs of consumers.

Before joining Coca-Cola in 2006, Waltman served as vice president of nutrition science and packaging development for ConAgra Foods Inc. Through this position, she was required to deliver consumer driven nutrition product improvements to brands such as Healthy Choice, Orville Redenbacher, Chef Boyardee, Kids Cuisine, Banquet, and Marie Callender’s.

Waltman began her career with Procter and Gamble, working on key brands such as Duncan Hines and Crisco, and she became the section head for Folgers Vacuum Coffee. In 1996, she moved to Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals where she served as the director of innovation launching new products, including the Viactiv Calcium Chew and Enfamil Easy Ones, around the globe. She enjoyed working for Bristol-Myers Squibb in several capacities, including key work with regulatory and scientific organizations as the director of nutrition science and technology policy for six years.

Waltman serves on the board of directors for Easter Seals, the International Food Information Council, the International Life Sciences Institute, and the National Association of Women’s Health.

Waltman resides in Marietta, Ga., with her husband, James. They have three children.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has about 2,300 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.