Engineering Awards Banquet Honors Distinguished Alumni, Faculty, and Staff
Heidi Kirk Duffy, Thomas Wroe, Jr., and other distinguished
alumni of the URI College of Engineering joined faculty and staff in receiving awards at the sixth annual Engineering Awards Banquet, held on April 25, 2003 at the Foxwoods Golf and Country Club.
The ceremony began with the presentation of the Engineering Faculty Excellence Awards. Recipients included Otto J. Gregory, professor of chemical engineering, who received the Albert E. Carlotti Award for his outstanding research and development contributions; Ramdas Kumaresan, professor of electrical and computer engineering, who was presented with the Aurelio Lucci Award for his research work; Musa K. Jouaneh, professor of mechanical engineering, and Christopher D. Hunter, professor of civil and environmental engineering, who each received the Edmund and Dorothy Marshall Awards for their excellent teaching and service; and Winston A. Knight, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, and Malcolm L. Spaulding, professor of ocean engineering, who were each presented with the Royal Wales Award in recognition of their outstanding service contributions to their respective engineering departments.
Staff Excellence Awards were presented to Ruth Gormly, executive assistant, Kathleen Maher, assistant director of the IEP, and Charlotte Woodhead, assistant business manager, for their exceptional service to the College of Engineering.
Also at the banquet, eight distinguished alumni were inducted into the URI College of Engineering Hall of Fame. The newest inductees include:
Daniel O. Cargill ’19 (Posthumously)
Daniel O. Cargill played a major role in planning Rhode Island’s most important highways and bridges. After graduating from Rhode Island State College in 1919 with a degree in civil engineering, he began a long career with the Department of Roads & Bridges, retiring in 1969 as chief engineer. He received an honorary doctorate of engineering from URI in 1969, and won the Alumni Association’s Ram Award in 1992. In 1982, members of his family established the Daniel Cargill Memorial Scholarship in Civil Engineering.
Gina DeSimone ’79
Gina DeSimone was responsible for Boeing’s overall operations in Huntsville, AL, including projects related to the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle Main Engine, the Bradley-Linebacker Air Defense Systems, and the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Systems. She was recently promoted to vice president, engineering and programs, for Boeing Air Traffic Management, located in McLean, Virginia.
Francis E. Ducharme ’61
Francis E. Ducharme has served as president and CEO of E. Turgeon Construction Corp., where he has supervised major construction projects at some of Rhode Island’s leading companies and educational institutions. While he’s proud of his professional accomplishments, he’s even prouder of his family – his wife, Barbara, and two of their four children are also URI graduates – and his community involvement. The coach of several basketball and baseball teams, Duke also serves on numerous boards and chairs a major fundraising event for The Tomorrow Fund.
Donald F. Farley ’65
Donald F. Farley began his career in 1965 at Pfizer, and went on to be president of Pfizer Consumer Health Care and Pfizer Food Science Group. He’s now chairman of Stolle Milk Biologics, Inc., chairman of Vyteris Inc., and an adviser to a pain management company, Minrad, and to Verification Technologies, Inc. He’s also CEO of Spencer Trask’s Specialty Group LLC, which focuses on emerging and developing companies.
Heidi Kirk Duffy ’95 (Honorary)
Thanks in large part to the efforts of Heidi Kirk Duffy, URI’s International Engineering Program is a model for universities around the globe. As chair of the program’s advisory board, she has helped raise money, secured internships, and hosted overseas guests. As a native German with connections to the German business world, she built relationships with important international companies that have helped to boost the program’s reputation. For her efforts, she received Germany’s highest recognition, the Order of Merit, 1st Class, for her outstanding contribution to the development of academic and economic exchanges between universities and companies in the U.S. and Germany.
Ronald D. Laime ’66 (Posthumously)
Ronald D. Laime enjoyed an engineering odyssey that led him around the world. His travels began as a company commander of the Civil Engineering Corps and officer in charge of a Naval Construction Battalion in Vietnam. Returning to civilian life, Ron had a long career at Bechtel Construction, ultimately becoming vice president in 1989. From there, he became president of Strange & Coleman, then vice president of Parsons Corp., where he had worldwide responsibility for construction projects on four continents.
William B. Rouse ’69
Author, entrepreneur, consultant, researcher, and educator are just a few of the many hats worn by William B. Rouse. In addition to serving as the H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart Chair of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he founded several technology companies, including Enterprise Support Systems, which provides software tools for strategic management. Bill also found time to join a medical mission to Bolivia to help provide care for the indigenous population, teach adult education and serve as president of his church, as well as serve on a non-profit board that trains mentally and physically challenged adults for the workforce.
Thomas Wroe Jr. ’72
A senior vice president of Texas Instruments Incorporated, Thomas Wroe, Jr. also serves as president of Sensors & Controls, a billion-dollar business group serving automotive, appliance, climate control, electronics, telecommunications, lighting, and aircraft markets. Tom has leadership responsibility at locations in ten countries. He also serves on the executive committee of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, on the boards of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Cape Cod Healthcare, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the United Way of Greater Attleboro/Taunton, and on URI’s College of Engineering Advisory Council.
alumni of the URI College of Engineering joined faculty and staff in receiving awards at the sixth annual Engineering Awards Banquet, held on April 25, 2003 at the Foxwoods Golf and Country Club.The ceremony began with the presentation of the Engineering Faculty Excellence Awards. Recipients included Otto J. Gregory, professor of chemical engineering, who received the Albert E. Carlotti Award for his outstanding research and development contributions; Ramdas Kumaresan, professor of electrical and computer engineering, who was presented with the Aurelio Lucci Award for his research work; Musa K. Jouaneh, professor of mechanical engineering, and Christopher D. Hunter, professor of civil and environmental engineering, who each received the Edmund and Dorothy Marshall Awards for their excellent teaching and service; and Winston A. Knight, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, and Malcolm L. Spaulding, professor of ocean engineering, who were each presented with the Royal Wales Award in recognition of their outstanding service contributions to their respective engineering departments.
Staff Excellence Awards were presented to Ruth Gormly, executive assistant, Kathleen Maher, assistant director of the IEP, and Charlotte Woodhead, assistant business manager, for their exceptional service to the College of Engineering.
Also at the banquet, eight distinguished alumni were inducted into the URI College of Engineering Hall of Fame. The newest inductees include:
Daniel O. Cargill ’19 (Posthumously)
Daniel O. Cargill played a major role in planning Rhode Island’s most important highways and bridges. After graduating from Rhode Island State College in 1919 with a degree in civil engineering, he began a long career with the Department of Roads & Bridges, retiring in 1969 as chief engineer. He received an honorary doctorate of engineering from URI in 1969, and won the Alumni Association’s Ram Award in 1992. In 1982, members of his family established the Daniel Cargill Memorial Scholarship in Civil Engineering.
Gina DeSimone ’79
Gina DeSimone was responsible for Boeing’s overall operations in Huntsville, AL, including projects related to the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle Main Engine, the Bradley-Linebacker Air Defense Systems, and the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Systems. She was recently promoted to vice president, engineering and programs, for Boeing Air Traffic Management, located in McLean, Virginia.
Francis E. Ducharme ’61
Francis E. Ducharme has served as president and CEO of E. Turgeon Construction Corp., where he has supervised major construction projects at some of Rhode Island’s leading companies and educational institutions. While he’s proud of his professional accomplishments, he’s even prouder of his family – his wife, Barbara, and two of their four children are also URI graduates – and his community involvement. The coach of several basketball and baseball teams, Duke also serves on numerous boards and chairs a major fundraising event for The Tomorrow Fund.
Donald F. Farley ’65
Donald F. Farley began his career in 1965 at Pfizer, and went on to be president of Pfizer Consumer Health Care and Pfizer Food Science Group. He’s now chairman of Stolle Milk Biologics, Inc., chairman of Vyteris Inc., and an adviser to a pain management company, Minrad, and to Verification Technologies, Inc. He’s also CEO of Spencer Trask’s Specialty Group LLC, which focuses on emerging and developing companies.
Heidi Kirk Duffy ’95 (Honorary)
Thanks in large part to the efforts of Heidi Kirk Duffy, URI’s International Engineering Program is a model for universities around the globe. As chair of the program’s advisory board, she has helped raise money, secured internships, and hosted overseas guests. As a native German with connections to the German business world, she built relationships with important international companies that have helped to boost the program’s reputation. For her efforts, she received Germany’s highest recognition, the Order of Merit, 1st Class, for her outstanding contribution to the development of academic and economic exchanges between universities and companies in the U.S. and Germany.
Ronald D. Laime ’66 (Posthumously)
Ronald D. Laime enjoyed an engineering odyssey that led him around the world. His travels began as a company commander of the Civil Engineering Corps and officer in charge of a Naval Construction Battalion in Vietnam. Returning to civilian life, Ron had a long career at Bechtel Construction, ultimately becoming vice president in 1989. From there, he became president of Strange & Coleman, then vice president of Parsons Corp., where he had worldwide responsibility for construction projects on four continents.
William B. Rouse ’69
Author, entrepreneur, consultant, researcher, and educator are just a few of the many hats worn by William B. Rouse. In addition to serving as the H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart Chair of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he founded several technology companies, including Enterprise Support Systems, which provides software tools for strategic management. Bill also found time to join a medical mission to Bolivia to help provide care for the indigenous population, teach adult education and serve as president of his church, as well as serve on a non-profit board that trains mentally and physically challenged adults for the workforce.
Thomas Wroe Jr. ’72
A senior vice president of Texas Instruments Incorporated, Thomas Wroe, Jr. also serves as president of Sensors & Controls, a billion-dollar business group serving automotive, appliance, climate control, electronics, telecommunications, lighting, and aircraft markets. Tom has leadership responsibility at locations in ten countries. He also serves on the executive committee of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, on the boards of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Cape Cod Healthcare, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the United Way of Greater Attleboro/Taunton, and on URI’s College of Engineering Advisory Council.