UA Engineering Students Receive IIE Student Awards for Excellence

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Michelle McGaha and Jack Trey Hayes, both seniors in industrial engineering at The University of Alabama, were recognized with the Institute of Industrial Engineers’ Student Award for Excellence during the IIE annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.

McGaha received the first place award while Hayes was honored with the third place award.

This national award recognizes undergraduate students who have distinguished themselves among their peers through excellence in scholarship and campus leadership.

In addition to this honor, McGaha is a member of the 2007 and 2008 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team. She is a 2006 Hollings Scholar and the recipient of UA’s Dr. Catherine J. Randall Award. McGaha is a member of numerous honoraries, including The XXXI, Anderson Society, Blue Key, Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board. She has received Tau Beta Pi’s Outstanding Sophomore, Junior and Senior Awards.

Hayes is the president of the Ambassadors for the College of Engineering and a founding member of University Stewards. Hayes was recently awarded UA’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, and he is a member of many honoraries, including The Jasons, Anderson Society, The Carl A. Elliot Society and the Blackburn Institute. He is a recipient of Tau Beta Pi’s Outstanding Junior Award.

IIE is dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity.

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 more than 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.