Missouri University of Science and Technology presented three Awards of Professional Distinction during spring commencement ceremonies held Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 19. The awards recognize the outstanding Missouri S&T graduates for professional achievement.

The following S&T alumni received the Award of Professional Distinction:

Kenneth D. Gielow of Festus, Missouri, president of Imrie-Gielow Inc., earned bachelor of science and master of science degrees in metallurgical engineering from Missouri S&T in 1970 and 1971, respectively. Following graduation, he spent nine years with the St. Joe Minerals Corp. as blast furnace superintendent, refinery superintendent and project manager for the construction of a lead strip caster and rolling mill. In 1980, Gielow joined J. Imrie Sales Co., where he became a full partner in the refractory and corrosion-resistant materials distribution business and the company name was changed to Imrie-Gielow. Imrie-Gielow maintains two warehouses in St. Louis, an office in Omaha, Nebraska, and offices and warehouses in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Denver, Colorado. The company distributes and fabricates refractory and corrosion-resistant materials to Industrial customers in the minerals, power, foundry, steel, petrochemical, non-ferrous and chemical industries. Gielow served as president of the St. Louis section of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers and on the boards of various organizations. In 2013, he was inducted into the Missouri S&T Academy of Mines and Metallurgy. Gielow and his wife, Sherry, manage farm land in six counties in Missouri and two counties in Illinois. They are co-op members of an ethanol plant in Laddonia, Missouri, and a bio-diesel plant in Kansas City, Missouri. The Gielows have three daughters and six grandchildren.

Al Kaplan of Houston, Texas, owner of Energy Projects Consulting, earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Missouri S&T in 1972. His career began at Mobil Oil Co., where he managed offshore and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in over 20 countries, including Indonesia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Qatar. He served as vice president for major projects with Marathon Oil Corp., and after leaving in 2008, set up an independent consulting firm. He has since served as acting head of wind projects for BP U.S., an advisory board member for an algae-to-biodiesel company and LNG project manager for the Mozambique LNG Project with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Kaplan has served on the board of directors of the Construction Industries Institute and on the Project Management Practices Advisory Board at Texas A&M University. He has authored several technical papers on LNG production and transport and holds related U.S. patents. Formerly a registered professional engineer in Louisiana and Missouri, he is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and in 2014, he was inducted into the Missouri S&T Academy of Civil Engineers.

Charles W. Lyon of St. Louis, Missouri, business director for the Americas and Asia Pacific for INEOS, earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering in 1984, graduating Magna Cum Laude, and a master of science degree in engineering management in 1991, both from Missouri S&T. He began his career at Monsanto as a manufacturing process engineer and after a series of promotions in engineering, became an operations manager. In 1995, he was named the global business manager for two specialty chemical business units. In 2000, Lyon joined the specialty resins business of Solutia as the Americas and Asia business manager for liquid coating resins, and served as the managing director for Solutia’s joint venture in India. Lyon also held senior business leadership positions in the specialty resins business at Belgian chemical and pharmaceutical company UCB before joining INEOS in 2005. In addition to his current position at INEOS, Lyon serves on the board of directors for INEOS in the U.S., Singapore and Indonesia. He specializes in establishing, growing and leading business operations throughout Asia Pacific. Over his career he has also started up manufacturing sites and established global supply chains, established joint ventures and alliances, formed international commercial organizations, and held P&L responsibility for multiple diverse businesses for nearly 25 years. Lyon is a member of the Missouri S&T Academy of Chemical Engineers and serves on its board of directors, chairs the Industrial Advisory Council for the Missouri S&T chemical and biochemical engineering department, and is a member of the College of Engineering and Computing Advisory Board.

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