The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering has announced six recipients of its annual Outstanding Alumni Award.
The award was created in 1998 to recognize and honor alumni and friends of the department who have achieved significant professional, community and social accomplishments in the areas of agriculture, engineering and technology.

The 2004 inductees are:

Thomas A. Burke, BS ’79, vice president of Visteon Corp.’s North America and Asia manufacturing operations, based in Plymouth, Mich.

Michael R. Duncan, BS ’81, MS ’89, a consulting services supervisor at Caterpillar Inc., Aurora, Ill.

C. Gene Haugh, PhD ’64, of Blacksburg, Va., a professor, researcher and department head at Virginia Tech University until he retired in 2002 after serving 41 years in the agricultural engineering profession.

Otto J. Loewer, PhD ’73, the founding director of the University of Arkansas Economic Development Institute at Fayetteville.

Melcy Curth Pond, BS ’77, president of AOS Associates Inc., a woman-owned business in Plainfield, Ill., that provides water resource engineering services to local, state and federal agencies.

Jon Rettinger, BS ’82, MS ’87, a partner in a 1,500-acre family grain operation near Bourbon, Ind.

Animal Sciences recognizes 7

The Department of Animal Sciences has honored seven individuals for their work in the animal science industry. The awards recognize the achievements and contributions of animal sciences alumni to the industry, and they show current students the pathways to success taken by alumni.

The three recipients of the 2004 Distinguished Animal Sciences Lifetime Career Awards are:

Frank M. Clark, BS ’54, who owns and operates a farm near Williamsport, Ind., that produces corn, beans and wheat and includes a cow-calf enterprise. He was the 1992 Outstanding Cattleman of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association, and in 2002 he received the association’s highest recognition, the Robert Peterson-Lynnwood Farm Lifetime Achievement Award.

Thomas M. Means, BS ’49, MS ’52, PhD ’56, of Indianapolis, who joined Eli Lilly and Co. as a biochemist in 1956 and was involved with cattle, sheep and swine research. Means retired from Elanco in 1984 as assistant director of animal sciences field research administration.

George W. Thrasher, BS ’52, MS ’54, PhD ’58, of Crown Point, Ind., assistant professor in animal sciences at Purdue in 1958 and 1959. He joined Commercial Solvents Corp. in 1959 as a research scientist in the animal health and nutrition area. In 1964 he joined Pfizer Inc., where he served as research scientist until 1986, then as senior scientific adviser until his retirement in 1996.

Mid-Career Award recipients are:

Roy D. Riggs, BS ’79, of North Salem, Ind., director for the U.S. Cattle Business Unit of Elanco Animal Health in Greenfield, Ind. He is responsible for sales, marketing and field research in the cattle business unit.

Gary M. Weber, BS ’77, MS ’79, of Severn, Md., executive director of regulatory affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Washington, D.C. He works closely with regulatory agencies and in public policy issues pertaining to meat inspection, animal health, beef safety research and education.

Early Career Award recipients are:

Christie S. Chavis, BS ’92, MS ’94, of St. Louis, Mo., commercial strategy leader for Monsanto Choice Genetics, with responsibility for identifying corn hybrids with improved nutritional characteristics.

Brian P. Demos, MS ’94, of Omaha, Neb., vice president of product quality and development for the ConAgra Foods Food Service Co., with responsibility for production and food safety at 12 manufacturing facilities.

Food Science honors 10

The Department of Food Science has honored 10 professionals by bestowing on them its 2004 Outstanding Food Science Award.

“This class of 10 honorees completes the fourth year of the Outstanding Food Science Award,” said Suzanne Nielsen, head of the department. “These individuals include members from industry and academia, and all have brought honor to Purdue.”

Faculty and staff nominate candidates for the awards, and the department’s promotions committee votes on the award recipients.

This year’s recipients are:

Richard Heron, BS ’69, PhD ’72, Danville, Calif., senior process engineer with Del Monte Foods.

Alan R. Kimbell, Indianapolis, chairman of the board for Distribution Management Associates, which distributes Morton Salt water softener salt to the grocery trade in Indiana and Michigan.

Mark E. Kimmel, BS ’74, Modesto, Calif., senior vice president responsible for product development and production operations for Stanislaus Food Products.

John S. Morgan, Austin, Ind., owner of Morgan Foods, a 105-year-old family-run business that has evolved from a cannery to one of the largest contract packing companies in the United States.

Marshall Myers, MS ’63, Sarasota, Fla., retired in 1998 as corporate vice president of research and development for McCormick and Co.

Gary W. Naab, Plymouth, Minn., director of operations/engineering supply chain for General Mills Inc.

Brian L. Reichart, Frankton, Ind., chief executive officer of Red Gold Inc., a family-owned tomato processing company headquartered in Orestes, Ind.

Richard A. Roop, PhD ’81, Lowell, Ark., vice president of food safety and quality assurance for the Food Service and International Divisions of Tyson Foods.

Sharrann Simmons, BS ’77, MS ’78, Wayne, N.J., vice president and general manager of Colloides Naturels Inc., which produces, processes and ships gums and other carbohydrates around the world. She leads product development for the U.S. market of this French company.

James Swi-Bea Wu, PhD ’79, Taipei, Taiwan, head of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the National Taiwan University