Four alumni were elected Distinguished Engineering Graduates of The University of Texas at Austin and were honored at fall commencement ceremonies on Dec. 8.
The annual selections, made by the Cockrell School’s Engineering Advisory Board, are based on outstanding professional records, public service, support of education, and other significant achievements.
The 2007 Distinguished Engineering Graduates are: Portland State University Emeritus Dean Chik Erzurumlu, IBM Distinguished Engineer Kitty Pearsall, consultant, inventor and California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, and owner and manager of HAT Resources Harry Trueblood Jr.
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Dr. Chik Erzurumlu is emeritus dean and retired professor of civil engineering at Portland State University (PSU). As the founding dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, he provided the guiding influence in transforming a pre-engineering program into a comprehensive college of engineering that now has over 1,900 majors enrolled in B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degree programs in five engineering fields and computer science.
Erzurumlu’s University of Texas at Austin connection began in 1960, where he earned his master’s degree in civil engineering in 1962. The same year he joined PSU as an instructor in engineering. In 1968, he took a sabbatical leave to work on his Ph.D. in civil engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and completed the degree in 1970.
Upon returning to PSU, he adopted a professional strategy involving teaching excellence, research productivity, and service to the institution and the profession. After serving as head of civil-structural engineering for four years, he was appointed as the founding dean of PSU’s newly established School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1980. He has more than 30 publications and presentations in topics ranging from structural engineering to professional practice at international, national and regional conferences.
Erzurumlu has also been active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) serving in leadership positions at the local and national levels. Currently, he represents ASCE on the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the national Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
In recognition of his contributions to engineering education and the engineering profession, Erzurumlu was granted fellow status by both ASCE and NSPE. He received the Outstanding Engineer of the Year Award by the ASCE Oregon Section in 1985 and the Engineer of the Year Award by Professional Engineers of Oregon in 1999. Perhaps the greatest recognition occurred in 2004 when as part of an $8 million gift to the College, his former student Dr. Fariborz Maseeh, established an endowment in Erzurumlu’s name.
Erzurumlu and his wife, Ulku, enjoy traveling, tennis, reading, opera, and watching the Longhorns win.
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Dr. Kitty Metcalfe Pearsall earned a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering in 1971 from the University of Texas at El Paso. In 1972 she joined IBM as a materials engineer, but took an educational leave of absence in 1976. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering with a materials option from The University of Texas at Austin in 1979 and 1983 respectively. Since returning to IBM in 1983, she has been a technical resource in materials/package engineering in manufacturing, procurement and development environments with 12 years spent in technical management focusing on the qualification of various commodities.
In 2005 Pearsall was appointed an IBM Distinguished Engineer (DE) and elected into the IBM Academy of Technology. As a DE in IBM’s integrated supply chain, she serves as a process consultant and subject matter expert working on strategic initiatives impacting qualification and end quality of procured commodities. She is engaged with world wide teams implementing cross-brand, cross commodity processes/products.
Pearsall has been a licensed professional engineer in the Texas since 1993. She is the holder of one U.S. patent, four patents pending and several patent disclosures that have contributed to the IBM patent portfolio. She has authored numerous internal publications as well as 17 external publications for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ conferences and journals.
She is a role model to others both technically and professionally, and embraces her role as mentor. She devotes endless time to mentoring – and promoting the engineering career path to technical women professionals – by providing career guidance, engineering advice, and “lessons learned.” She actively supports the development, advancement, and recognition of IBM’s technical talent. She was recognized this year for her endless drive and passion for mentoring and people development and presented with the Women in Technology “Frances E. Allen Mentoring Award.”
Her work with the Society of Women Engineers has had an inspirational effect on today’s female engineering students, and she continues to promote engineering as a superb profession for young women to enter.
Pearsall continues to support the Cockrell School of Engineering with contributions to the Friends of Alec spanning more than 20 years.
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Steve Poizner has had a successful career as a business consultant, an inventor of life-saving technology, a volunteer public school teacher, the founder of several non-profit organizations supporting improved education for disadvantaged students and as a public servant. Today, Poizner is one of California’s highest-ranking elected officials.
An inventor and entrepreneur, Poizner developed the cutting-edge technology that allowed GPS receivers to be placed into cellular phones. The technology Poizner developed can be found in more than 200 million cell phones around the globe, and has already saved dozens of lives.
After selling his company, he was selected to serve in the non-partisan White House Fellowship program, where he was appointed Director of Critical Infrastructure in the National Security Council. Beginning work just one week before 9/11, Poizner was tasked with protecting the nation’s network systems and electrical grids against terrorist attacks.
After concluding his service in Washington, D.C., Poizner returned to California where he taught government in a disadvantaged high school and refused to accept a salary.
Wanting to continue in public service, Poizner sought election as the state Insurance Commissioner, one of California’s eight statewide elective offices. On the campaign trail, he earned endorsements of more than 35 major newspapers and won the election by more than a million votes. As California’s Insurance Commissioner, Poizner regulates the fourth largest insurance market in the world.
Poizner’s commitment to bettering society is evidenced in his government service and his efforts to improve public education by focusing on under-privileged schools to ensure that every student has the opportunity to receive a quality education. Steve seeks to be an exemplary role model for addressing challenges and seeking to make the impossible possible. During his rise in both business and politics, he has sought to maintain his integrity and values. From his middle-class upbringing in Houston, Texas, he emphasizes to students that goals can be realized with hard work, vision and integrity.
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During his 59 years in the energy industry, Harry Trueblood Jr. has been the president and/or chairman and chief executive officer of eight publicly-traded companies, founding seven of them. For about 30 of those years, his principal operating company was Consolidated Oil & Gas, Inc., (CGS) which made significant crude oil and natural gas discoveries as well as numerous acquisitions in the Rocky Mountains and Texas. His public real estate firm was one of the founders of Vail and developed Princeville Resort on the north shore of Kauai, Hawaii.
Trueblood earned his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1948 after his studies were interrupted for two years of service in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His first industry job was with The California Company (Chevron) in Mississippi and Louisiana. Later he joined independent oil operation in Sterling, Colorado. There he founded his own consulting firm in 1952 and began his corporate career in 1955 with a small private company that became CGS.
He currently is owner and managing member of HAT Resources, LLC, and vice president/ treasurer of his Harry Trueblood Foundation, which annually supports scholarships in the university’s Department of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering.
Trueblood was a member of the executive committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Natural Gas Supply Association and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers for over 50 years. He was elected to membership in the American Petroleum Institute’s 25 Year Club, helped found the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS) and its counterpart in New Mexico, and helped found the One Hundred Club of Denver and the Flatirons Club of CU/Boulder.
In 2006, IPAMS recognized him with its Wildcatter of the Year award for lifetime achievement and distinguished service to the energy industry and his employees and to society through his philanthropic works. In 2004, he was one of the 54 inductees into the inaugural class of the Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Hall of Fame.
At the university he is a member of the UT Chancellor’s Council, the President’s Associates, and the Littlefield Society and a lifetime member of the Cowboys Alumni and Ex-Students Associations. He and his wife Lucile live in Denver and they have two children and two grandchildren.
