Eight civil engineers with ties to Missouri University of Science and
Technology were inducted into the Missouri S&T Academy of Civil Engineers
during the academy’s induction ceremony held April 18.

The academy honors civil engineers for their contributions to the
profession, leadership and involvement with Missouri S&T. The academy also
serves as an advisory group to the Missouri S&T civil, architectural and
environmental engineering department.

New members are:

— Greg Bolon of Kansas City, Mo., assistant division engineer at Kansas
City (Mo.) Public Works. Bolon received a bachelor’s degree in civil
engineering from Missouri S&T in 1985. Following graduation, Bolon worked
for the Missouri Department of Transportation. He joined Kansas City Public
Works in 1996.

— Dr. Franklin Cheng of Rolla, Mo., Curators’ Professor emeritus of civil
engineering at Missouri S&T. Cheng received a Ph.D. from the University of
Wisconsin in 1966 and joined the Missouri S&T faculty as assistant
professor that same year. In 1987, he was appointed as Curators’ Professor and
retired in 2000.

— Dr. Jeffrey Ger of Tallahassee, Fla., senior bridge engineer for the
Federal Highway Administration’s Florida Division. Ger earned a master’s degree
and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Missouri S&T in 1985 and 1990,
respectively. After graduation, Ger served as an assistant professor at
Missouri S&T for two years. He then worked as a structural engineer for the
Missouri Department of Transportation before joining the Federal Highway
Administration in 2001.

— Col. Larry McCallister of Huntsville, Ala., commander of the U.S. Army
Engineer and Support Center. McCallister received bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in civil engineering from Missouri S&T in 1978 and 1979,
respectively. He also obtained a master’s degree in strategic studies from the
U.S. Army War College and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at
Arlington.

While at Missouri S&T, McCallister was the ROTC cadet commander and was
commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He has held a variety of
engineer command and staff positions throughout his Army career and has
deployed for combat operations in Operation Desert Storm, Somalia,
Albania/Kosovo and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

— Ron Petering of Overland Park, Kan., president of Shafer, Kline &
Warren Inc. He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from
Missouri S&T in 1983.

After graduation, Petering worked for the Missouri Department of
Transportation. He joined Shafer, Kline & Warren as director of traffic and
transportation in 1989, becoming an associate and stockholder in the firm in
1994. He later was elevated to principal and elected to the firm’s board of
directors. He assume his current position in 1999, where he is responsible for
general business oversight and direction of the firm.

— Lynne Puetz of St. Louis, deputy west director and director of St. Louis
operations for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Puetz received her
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Missouri S&T in
1973 and 1982, respectively. She also holds a master’s degree from the U.S.
Naval War College.

After graduation, Puetz worked for the U.S. Army at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.,
and the Corps of Engineers in St. Louis and Washington, D.C. She began her
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency career with its predecessor agency, the
Defense Mapping Agency in 1988 as chief of the engineering and construction
division. Puetz became deputy director of facilities engineering in 1989,
moving to the agency’s production side in 1993. She has held a variety of
positions within the agency, including chief of the Transnational Center,
director of the global navigation office and director of the Americas
office.

— Steven R. Sieckhaus of St. Louis, chief operating officer and partner at
Clayco Inc. Sieckhaus earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a
master’s degree in engineering management from Missouri S&T in 1987 and
1990, respectively.

After graduation, Sieckhaus joined Turner Construction Co., serving in
several positions before becoming project superintendent. He then worked as a
project manager for R.G. Brinkmann before joining Clayco Inc. in 1995 as senior
project manager. He became regional vice president in 1998, later serving as
vice president of operations and one of the firm’s partners. He assumed his
current position last year.

— Dr. Kent Wray of Rolla, Mo., provost and executive vice chancellor for
academic affairs at Missouri S&T. Wray received a bachelor’s degree in
physics from Washburn University in 1967 and a bachelor’s degree in civil
engineering from Kansas State University in 1968. He earned a master’s degree
in civil engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1974 and a
Ph.D. in civil engineering from Texas A&M University in 1978.

Before joining Missouri S&T in 2006, Wray was a professor of civil
engineering and provost at Michigan Technological University (MTU). Prior to
joining MTU, Wray served as dean of Ohio University’s Fritz J. and Dolores H.
Russ College of Engineering and Technology from 1996-2000. He also served as
Ohio University’s Cruse Moss Professor of Engineering Education. From
1990-1996, Wray was professor and chair of civil engineering at Texas Tech
University in Lubbock, Texas. He joined Texas Tech’s civil engineering faculty
in 1978 as an assistant professor, and was promoted to associate professor in
1984 and to full professor in 1989.

Wray served in the Air Force from 1968-1976 and the Air Force Reserves from
1976-1990. He retired from the reserves with the rank of lieutenant
colonel.