Eighteen alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the University of Missouri-Rolla were honored during the MSM-UMR Alumni Association’s Awards Banquet Saturday, Oct. 1, at UMR.

The awards banquet was held in conjunction with UMR’s Homecoming Weekend celebration. Award recipients are:

Alumni Achievement Award – Charles D. Naslund of St. Louis, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer of Ameren UE in St. Louis. Naslund received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from UMR in 1974. He began his career with Union Electric Co. (now Ameren UE) in St. Louis as an assistant engineer in engineering and construction. During his 31-year career with Ameren, Naslund held a series of supervisory posts before being named superintendent of start-up in 1984. In 1986, he became manager of nuclear operations support at the plant, and in 1991, Naslund was named manager of nuclear engineering, where he led the engineering organization during seven consecutive years of superior Nuclear Regulatory Commission ratings for the Callaway Plant. Naslund has served on both the Electric Power Research Institute Nuclear Power Council and the Operations and Maintenance Target Steering Committee on the Generation Power Council. He has also served on the board of the St. Louis Minority Business Council and is currently on the board of Electric Energy Inc.

Alumni Achievement Award – Glenn E. Brand of Steelville, Mo., former engineering group leader and project engineer for Atomics International, a division of North American Aviation. Brand received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (now UMR) in 1939. He also received a master’s degree in chemical engineering from UMR in 1948 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Washington State University in 1956. During World War II, he served as an engineering and chemical warfare officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. He participated in the invasions of Sicily, Salerno, Normandy and Southern France. In 1956, Brand was employed by Atomics International, where he worked on many projects including O.M.R.E. (Organic Moderated Reactor), SRE (Sodium Cooled Reactor) and SNAP (Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power), the first reactor to operate in space. Brand also helped to organize the first chapter of Sigma Xi at Atomics International and served as chapter president. Since retiring from Atomics International in 1972, Brand has served as a board member and officer in the Missouri Farm Bureau (Crawford County Chapter), University of Missouri Extension, Steelville Telephone Exchange and the Foundation for Chemical Research at UMR.

Alumni Merit Award – Craig D. Adams of Rolla,, the John and Susan Mathes Professor of Environmental Engineering in the department of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at UMR. Adams received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, as well as master’s and Ph.D. degrees in environmental health engineering from the University of Kansas. From 1983-1987, he worked in research and development in industry. Then from 1991-1995, he was on the faculty at Clemson University. In addition to being the Mathes Professor, Adams currently holds an appointment as a professor in chemical and biological engineering at UMR. He also serves as director of the Environmental Research Center for Emerging Contaminants at UMR. His primary research and publications focus on the emerging contaminants in drinking water, wastewater and food, including antibiotics, endocrine disrupting chemicals, estrogens and disinfection byproducts.

Robert V. Wolf Alumni Service Award – Wayne R. “Pat” Broaddus Jr. (posthumous), founder and former president of Associated Aggregates International Inc. in Dalton, Ga. Broaddus received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (now UMR) in 1955. In 1990, he received a professional degree in civil engineering. After graduation in 1955, Broaddus spent the first eight years of his career in sales at Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co., followed by four years as the project manager for Dixie Lime and Stone Co. in Macon, Ga. In 1956, he also served as a second lieutenant in the Army National Guard. Then from 1968-1986, he became vice president of engineering for Dalton Rock Products Co. From 1983-2003, Broaddus served as president of his own firm, Associated Aggregates, in Dalton. Broaddus also established the Wayne R. Broaddus Sr. Memorial Scholarship at UMR and assisted in establishing the Aggregate Industry Scholarship.

Robert V. Wolf Alumni Service Award – Lucien M. Bolen Jr. of Kansas City, Mo., retired director of the Office of Construction and Maintenance for Region 7 of the Federal Highway Administration. Bolen received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (now UMR) in 1959. He received a professional degree in civil engineering in 1998. Bolon served as a platoon leader of the U.S. Army Fifth Engineering Combat Battalion stationed in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and had an honorable discharge as first lieutenant. He also worked as a design and construction engineer with the Missouri State Highway Department. Bolon worked for the Bureau of Public Roads/Federal Highway Administration for 28 years, serving in various positions as a professional engineer. During these years, he served as area engineer for the Kansas Division in Topeka, Kan.; principal engineering assistant for the utilities staff at the Washington, D.C. Headquarters; principal assistant to the chief for the railroad and utilities branch in Washington, D.C.; and assistant regional design engineer, contract administration engineer, and construction and maintenance engineer and director for the Office of Construction and Maintenance for Region 7 in Kansas City. Bolon currently provides an endowed scholarship through the MSM-UMR Alumni Association for civil engineering students participating in intercollegiate athletics.

Honorary Life Member – Gary Thomas of West Orange, N.J., former chancellor of UMR. Thomas received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1960. He also received a master’s degree in physics from UC-Berkeley in 1962, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the same institution in 1967. Prior to joining UMR, Thomas served as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Before that, he served in several academic and administrative posts at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Thomas is an author and co-editor of the three-volume Fundamentals Handbook of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and he has contributed to many other books and publications, including Applied Physics, Physical Review and Solid State Electronics. During his five years as UMR’s chancellor, Thomas devoted his time and energy toward turning around UMR’s declining enrollment. In an effort to make UMR more attractive, Thomas introduced several new academic programs, including a new School of Management and Information Systems in 2001, a School of Extended Learning in 2005, and new degree programs in architectural engineering, environmental engineering and technical communications, among others. Thomas also helped secure the two largest gifts to UMR in the history of the campus: a $5 million donation from alumnus Gary Havener, Math’62, to create a new student center on campus, and a $5 million lead gift for the expansion and renovation of UMR’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Complex from alumnus John Toomey, ME’49, MS ME’51.

Distinguished Young Alumni Award – Thomas F. Hughes of Sterling, Va., vice president of federal regulatory for SBC Communications. Hughes received a bachelor’s degree in engineering management from UMR in 1991. He also received an MBA degree from St. Louis University. Hughes began his career with SBC in 1991, and has held various positions in Missouri, Texas, and most recently, Washington, D.C. His telecommunications experiences include positions in the network and customer service departments, a
s well as helping to establish SBC’s wholesale marketing organization, and then moving into the external affairs organization. In his current position, Hughes is responsible for the company’s interaction with the Federal Communications Commission on SBC’s telephone operations. Hughes also has given back to UMR by serving on the Corporate Development Council for six years.

Distinguished Young Alumni Award – Breck R. Washam of St. Louis, manager of energy services of Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. in St. Louis. Washam received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UMR in 1990. He also received a master’s degree in project management from Keller Graduate School of Management in 1999. In his current job, Washam is responsible for energy- and power plant-related personnel, projects, project management and business development primarily in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois. Since joining Burns & McDonnell in 1990, Washam has held positions with increasing responsibility and has accumulated a diverse project work portfolio. His work assignments have included studies, designs and construction services for energy projects, industrial processes, air pollution control systems, clean rooms, laboratories, critical environments and chemical processing facilities. Washam is a registered Professional Engineer in Missouri and is currently president of the St. Louis Chapter of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers (MSPE). He has been very active at both the local and state levels of MSPE, and in 2002 he was named Young Engineer of the Year for the State of Missouri by MSPE.

Frank Mackaman Volunteer Service Award – Robert M. Saxer of St. Charles, Ill., professional engineer in Illinois. Saxer received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from UMR in 1961 and 1962, respectively. Saxer began his engineering work as a draftsman. During college summers, he ran precise ground control for aerial surveying during the design of the interstate system in Illinois, and he also worked on the construction of I-70 in Missouri. After completing his master’s degree at UMR, he made a career in design, research and development, sales, construction, and operation of process equipment for water, wastewater and air emission treatment systems. In 1982 he joined as sales manager and is currently partner at the privately held Amcec Inc. in Lisle, Ill. Amcec is a professional design/build chemical engineering process equipment firm specializing in air pollution control. Saxer is a past member of the MSM-UMR Alumni Association Board of Directors. He also served the Chicago Alumni Section as board member and president, and in the mid-1980s he became an admissions ambassador.

Outstanding Student Advisor Award – William G. Fahrenholtz of Rolla, associate professor of ceramic engineering at UMR. Fahrenholtz received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ceramic engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987 and 1989, respectively. He received a Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from the University of New Mexico in 1992. From 1993-1999, Fahrenholtz worked as a research professor in the Sandia National Laboratories/University of New Mexico Advanced Materials Laboratory. His research focused on the use of ceramic-metal reactions to form composite materials. In 1999, he joined UMR as an assistant professor of ceramic engineering and was recently promoted to associate professor. At UMR, he has taught numerous undergraduate courses, including thermodynamics, characterization, two required sophomore-level ceramics laboratories, and phase equilibria. His research at UMR has been in three main areas: 1) processing of ultra-high temperature ceramics for aerospace applications; 2) cerium oxide coating for corrosion resistance; and 3) ceramic-metal interactions. He has published more than 40 technical papers on his research. In addition to his teaching and research activities, Fahrenholtz organizes a statewide science and math competition for high school students called the Academic Challenge. Based on his combined teaching, research, and service activities, he has been recognized with three UMR Faculty Excellence awards.

Outstanding Student Advisor Award – William R. Kehr of Rolla, instructor in the information science and technology Department at UMR. Kehr received a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering with an emphasis in nuclear engineering from UMR in 1971. He also received master’s and Ph.D. degrees in engineering management from UMR in 1976 and 2002, respectively. From 1974-1977, Kehr worked for Factory Mutual Engineering in St. Louis, where he provided loss prevention engineering services to industrial operations throughout the Midwest. From 1977-1998, he served as general manager of Steelville Telephone, a locally owned telecommunications utility. During this time he directed a variety of service and equipment upgrades, added new services, led the company through regulatory changes, and was responsible for telephone service to the company’s customers. In 1998, Kehr returned to UMR to complete his Ph.D., and during this time he served as a graduate teaching assistant. He also worked with Communications Engineers Inc., a telecommunications industry consulting engineers firm in Springfield, Ill. In January of 2002, while a student, he joined UMR’s Information Science & Technology Department as a GTA and later became one of its first faculty members. Kehr currently teaches courses dealing with the communications industry. Subjects include voice and data networking, wireless telecommunications, voice over Internet protocol, telecommunications management and management of technology.

Outstanding Student Advisor Award – Clayton D. Price of Rolla, freshman and transfer student advisor for the Computer Science Department at UMR. Price received a bachelor’s degree in geology and geophysics from UMR in 1980. He also received master’s degrees in math and computer science from UMR in 1985 and 1990, respectively. After completing his bachelor’s degree, he worked part-time as a lecturer for the math department while he pursued his first master’s degree. He continued to teach for the math department until 1999 when he joined the faculty of the computer science department. Price currently has 26 years of teaching experience at UMR, which helps him as he advises all entering freshmen and transfer students. Price also teaches introductory programming and object-oriented numerical modeling. He has won the College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award for three consecutive years and the 2004-2005 Freshman Student Advisor Award.

Outstanding Student Advisor Award – Paul N. Worsey of Rolla, professor of mining engineering at UMR. Worsey received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. Before coming to UMR in 1981, he worked at the Scottish Branch of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory. Worsey was initially hired at UMR to perform research that has included about $3 million in outside funding with him as the principle investigator. However, Worsey has also received numerous teaching awards and commendations, including awards this year from the School of Materials Energy and Earth Resources (SoMEER) and the School of Extended Learning. He is currently the director for explosives engineering curricula in the mining and nuclear engineering department, and he has spearheaded the new minor in explosives engineering, the emphasis in explosives, and the explosives certificates at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is also responsible for the first university courses in the nation for commercial pyrotechnics and demolition.

Outstanding Staff Award – William Bonzer of Rolla, manager of the nuclear reactor at UMR. Bonzer completed technical electronics training at the United Electronics Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa. Before coming to UMR, he spent 22 years w
orking for Zenith Electronic Corp. in Springfield, Mo., where he received additional training in electronics, including advanced electronic technical training. As a licensed senior reactor operator at UMR, Bonzer assists and monitors everyone closely to maintain a safe facility. He enjoys verbally quizzing students regarding reactor operations training, and this is done with the intent of making training more enjoyable and thought-provoking. 

Outstanding Staff Award – Tina R. Douglas of St. James, Mo., secretary of the UMR Office of Student Life. Douglas received a bachelor’s degree in computer and information systems from Columbia College. In 1998, she began working at UMR as a secretary for the development office, and in March of 1999 she was promoted to senior secretary. Douglas currently serves as secretary for the Office of Student Life, and she enjoys seeing students excel and prosper. She always makes herself available to assist her students professionally and personally, and she considers her extra support part of just “doing her job right.” Douglas volunteers her time to Central Missouri’s Regional Fair pageants and the former Miss Rolla pageant. She is a member of the Disciples of Christ Church and Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society.

Class of 1942 Outstanding Teaching Award – William Canu of Rolla, assistant professor of psychology at UMR. Canu received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. He also received a Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin in 2004. Between his undergraduate and graduate degrees, Canu spent three years in the financial industry, and then he served as a research assistant at Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Canu is currently an assistant professor of psychology at UMR, where he teaches general psychology, abnormal psychology and clinical psychology. His research has largely focused on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and his specific interests include understanding how this syndrome affects adults in their social and professional lives. He has published articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Learning Disabilities and Journal of Attention Disorders, and he has also published papers in The ADHD Report, a publication with a large audience of clinicians and researchers. In addition, Canu established the Laboratory for Psychopathy and Social Outcome Studies (LPASO) at UMR, which is a place where undergraduates interested in clinical psychology can engage in “active learning” by assisting with research projects. Canu also serves as the faculty advisor for the UMR Psi Chi chapter, a national psychology honor society.

Joe Mooney Leadership Award – Michael Lancey of Rolla, outstanding officer of the Interfraternity Council and Kappa Sigma Fraternity at UMR. Lancey will graduate in May 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering, and he has already accepted a job offer from Thornton-Tomasetti Group, a structural engineering firm in Kansas City. Lancey currently serves as president of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, which has almost doubled in size in the past three years. With the Interfraternity Council, Lancey organized campus trigonometry reviews to help incoming freshmen prepare for math placement exams. In previous years, Lancey has served as treasurer of Kappa Sigma, vice president of recruitment for the Interfraternity Council, vice president of membership for the Blue Key Honor Society, and both corresponding secretary and recording secretary for Tau Beta Pi. Lancey is currently an active member of Chi Epsilon (a National Civil Engineering Honor Society), Order of Omega, the Newman Center, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Architectural Engineering Institute.

Joe Mooney Leadership Award – Daniel Tabacchi of Rolla, outstanding member of the Army ROTC and Sigma Gamma Epsilon. Tabacchi is currently a junior in mining engineering at UMR, and he is contracted with the Army ROTC and will commission as a second lieutenant after completing his degree. While at UMR, he has been actively involved in a variety of student organizations including the Society of Mining Engineers, the National Honor Society for Earth Sciences and the Army ROTC. As the son of a military family, Tabacchi has grown up all over the world. His great-grandfather and grandfather worked in the Pennsylvania and Ohio coal mines for several years after immigrating from Italy near the turn of the century, which influenced his decision to study mining engineering. Last summer, he attended the Sapper Leader Course at Fort Leonard Wood, an intense 28-day course designed to train the Army’s leaders in infantry tactics and complex military engineering tasks. Tabacchi finished second in the course, competing against 50 active duty soldiers and officers. In the Army, Tabacchi hopes to be a branch engineer and serve his country.