The Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering hosted its annual Mechanical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni (MEADA) Award Ceremony on September 14, 2018. This event honors nominated alumni in four different categories: Outstanding Young Mechanical Engineer, Distinguished Mechanical Engineer, Mechanical Engineering Hall of Fame, and Honorary Mechanical Engineer. This year, the department honored 12 new members at the San Jacinto Hall at UT Austin.
Kicking off the ceremony and welcoming the attendees were Denise Elston, 2013 Honorary Mechanical Engineer; Sharon Wood, Dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering; and Rick Neptune, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering Chair. Approximately 120 alumni, students, and staff attended the ceremony.
New and exciting updates from a few members were announced at the ceremony. Danielle Applestone founded Daughters of Rosie to increase the hiring of women in manufacturing jobs. Bryan Willson recently returned from Rwanda, where he worked to bring electricity to a village. Generous gifts to the department were recently given by Mike Walker, 2009 Distinguished Mechanical Engineer, and Rick Church, 2018 Distinguished Mechanical Engineer.
On Saturday, the 22nd annual Mechanical Engineering Tailgate was held in advance of the UT vs. USC football game, in which UT won with a score of 37-14. Despite the weather, around 350 students, alumni, faculty and staff attended the tailgate, sponsored by Phillips 66.
