Our alumni have become chief executive officers, presidents, vice presidents, faculty members, and leaders in the profession who all share a common heritage –as engineering graduates of Mississippi State University.

In 1991, the College of Engineering named 100 Distinguished Fellows as part of its 100th anniversary celebration for engineering education at Mississippi State. The program was reborn in 1999 with the addition of 10 Distinguished Fellows. Each year eight to 10 esteemed alumni are given this prestigious recognition.

 

William (Billy) Ball
B.S. Electrical Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1987
M.B.A., University of Southern Mississippi, 1994

Billy is responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of Southern Company's transmission system. Billy is actively involved in electric utility industry policy matters. He currently serves on the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative Executive Committee and is chairman of the board of the North American Transmission Forum.

Prior to his current position, Billy was senior vice president of transmission design and construction. From 2004 to 2008, he was senior vice president of transmission planning and operations, and was responsible for the planning and operations of the Southern Company's network transmission grid, transmission policy and industry interfaces. While in this role, he served as vice chairman of the board of the Southeastern Electric Reliability Council, and chairman of the North American Electric Reliability Council Members Representative Committee.

Billy's previous experience includes positions at Mirant, formerly Southern Energy, where he was responsible for technical due diligence on business development projects, transmission and O&M support to the various business units, and establishing and implementing safety and health policy at Mirant. He also held the position of Manager, System Planning, with both generation and transmission planning responsibilities at Mississippi Power, and played a key role in the development and certification of the company's 1,100 MW combined cycle facility at Plant Daniel. He served as Mississippi Power's technical witness in numerous regulatory hearings.

Billy is a native of Columbia, Miss. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor degree in electrical engineering, 1987. He also holds a MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi, 1994. Billy serves on the board of Briarwood Christian School and is a registered professional engineer in Mississippi.

Billy and his wife, Cindy, have four boys: William, Jordan, Andrew, and Brandon. The family resides in Birmingham, Ala.

Sara S. Ford
B.S. Computer Science & Mathematics, Mississippi State University, 2001

Sara Smolensky Ford is the senior product and community manager for Ohloh.net, the largest public destination for finding and evaluating open source software, at Black Duck Software.

Prior to Black Duck, she worked for nine years at Microsoft Corporation, where she was responsible for CodePlex, the open source project hosting forge for Microsoft. She started her career as a software tester on Visual Studio, a software development tool, where she drove the effort to make it possible for developers who are blind or have low-vision be able to write software applications. She is the author of Visual Studio Tips, published by Microsoft Press, where she donated her author royalties to start a scholarship fund designed for residents of her hometown Waveland, Miss. to attend the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Currently, she is serving on the board of directors for the National Technical Honor Society. She is working on her second book with Microsoft Press titled Coding Faster: Getting More Productive with Microsoft Visual Studio, where once again she will donate her royalties to the Waveland Scholarship Fund. Additionally, she is training for her first Seattle to Portland cycling event with Team in Training to raise money for blood cancer research.

Ann J. Hairston
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Mississippi State, 1987

Ann Hairston graduated from Mississippi State in 1987 with a BS in Chemical Engineering. Coming from a Bulldog family, both of her siblings graduated from MSU, Glenn in 1985 with a BS in Chemical Engineering, and Paul in 1989 with a BA in Business Management. Nearly two dozen cousins, all from the Mississippi Delta, attended MSU.

Ann began her career with Shell in Houston, working in the Corporate Product Sales group. She later relocated to New Orleans, continuing her career at Shell's Norco facility as a process engineer, whereupon she married John Hairston, also an MSU chemical engineer. She returned to corporate sales in two years later with Praxair, at the time a division of Union Carbide.

In 1992, Ann left Praxair to raise a family of three daughters, Taylor, Reagan, and Kennedy. Taylor is a senior at St. Patrick's High School in Biloxi, and will be attending Mississippi State's Shackoul's Honor College in the Fall of 2011, majoring in chemical engineering. Reagan is a freshman at St. Patrick's High School in Biloxi, and plans to follow her sister and parents to Mississippi State chemical engineering studies in 2014. Under Ann's close study supervision, Taylor and Reagan enjoy academic rankings at the top of their class.
Kennedy passed away in 2003, after a long battle with mitochondrial disease. Ann served as Kennedy's primary caregiver for her six year illness, keeping her alive to be the longest surviving patient in the world with that particular affliction. Ann created an endowment in 2010 at St. Patrick's High School in Kennedy's honor.

Ann is active in Mississippi coast philanthropic affairs, serving previously on the board of the American Heart Association and currently on the Gulfport American Heart Auxiliary Board. She also is a current director of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, where she serves as chairman of the Nominating Committee.

John M. Hairston
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1987

John M. Hairston is CEO and chief operating officer of Hancock Holding Company and Hancock Bank, one of America's Top-10 Best Banks. He joined the 111-year-old financial services company in 1994. Earlier in his career, he specialized in financial services consulting with Andersen Consulting, now Accenture.

Hairston is a 1987 magna cum laude graduate of Mississippi State in chemical engineering. His wife, Ann, is also a chemical engineer from Mississippi State. John and Ann's two daughters, Taylor and Reagan, are avid MSU fans and Taylor will begin her freshmen year in chemical engineering at MSU in the Fall of 2011.

Active in business, community, economic development, and educational initiatives throughout his native Mississippi, he was a Mississippi Delegate to Republican National Convention in 2004 and is a past fourth district representative for the Mississippi Republican Party Executive Committee. He is a past commissioner of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, appointed by former chief justice Jim Smith. He was appointed by Governor Barbour in 2004 and 2009 as director of the Board of Mississippi Information Technology Services, and was similarly appointed in 2005 and 2010 to the Mississippi Gaming Commission as one of the three-member body who regulate the industry. He serves as co-chair of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Capital Campaign, chair of the Gulf Coast Business Council's Tourism Initiative, is co-chair of the American Bankers Association Dodd-Frank Task Force, and chairman of the Mississippi Bankers Association Legislative Committee. He serves as a director or member on numerous charitable and civic organizations on the Mississippi coast. Finally, he is the reigning King of Mardi Gras, referred to by the Gulf Coast Mardi Gras Association as King d'Iberville. Notably, incoming Freshmen Taylor will serve as Mardi Gras 2011's Key Girl, an honor reserved for the top academic high school senior in Biloxi.

Frank C. Kessler
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1998

Frank Kessler is the co-founder and vice president of Ewing Kessler, Inc., a professional sales organization with locations in Memphis, Tenn. (HQ); Starkville, Miss.; Jackson, Miss.; and Gulfport, Miss. Ewing Kessler specializes in engineered systems and energy solutions for the commercial and industrial air-conditioning and heating markets. Under the leadership of Frank and his partner, the company has experienced tremendous growth since inception in 2005 with $29 million in annual sales.

After graduating from Mississippi State in 1998, Frank worked for the world's largest building automation company. In 2000, he went to work for a large professional sales organization that focuses on air-conditioning and heating systems. He was quickly recognized as a market leader in building controls/integrations, HVAC design, and technical sales, and he has received multiple sales and technical awards.

Frank serves on multiple boards and design teams of various organizations, is a licensed contractor in three states, holds a pilot's license, and owns (or has interests) in four other companies. He enjoys the challenge of building a sales organization like Ewing/Kessler but also enjoys spending time traveling with his family.

He is a native of Amory, Miss., and currently lives in Tupelo with his wife, Jennifer, a 1996 MSU graduate in elementary education. They have two children, 4-year-old Carson and 3-year-old Addison.

Samuel M. Lawrence
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1986

Samuel (Sam) Miller Lawrence is currently the chief executive officer of Aetos Technologies, Inc., based in Auburn, Ala. Aetos is a technology development company which focuses on the commercialization of university-based research. Technologies currently being commercialized by Aetos include an advanced optical microscope (CytoViva), freshwater aquaculture spawning aids, animal byproduct protein recovery, and advanced architectural coatings.

Prior to Aetos, Lawrence was a director at Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, Wash., where he led Supply Chain Transformation for the 737/757 Programs and was factory manager of the Interiors Responsibility Center. Prior to Boeing, Lawrence worked with Deloitte & Touche, LLC as a management consultant. Lawrence began his career in 1986 as an engineer on the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Aerodynamics staff after graduating from Mississippi State University with a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering. After moving into manufacturing R&D he was awarded two U.S. patents for his work on innovative insulation materials for commercial airplanes. Lawrence left Boeing in 1991 to continue his education at the Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management where he earned a masters of management in manufacturing in 1993. Lawrence also completed the International Executive Programme at INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France/Singapore) in 2002.

Lawrence grew up in Jackson, Miss., and currently lives in Auburn, Ala., with his wife, Terri Lawrence. They have two children, Molly who is a sophomore at Auburn University, and Dalton who is a sophomore at Auburn High School. Mr. Lawrence has previously volunteered with Big Brothers of King County and the United Way of King County. The family is currently active in various volunteer efforts through their church, Auburn United Methodist Church in Auburn, Ala.

Richard Allen Loftin
B.S. Nuclear Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1974

Richard A. Loftin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nuclear engineering at Mississippi State University in 1974. Richard has worked for the Southern Company for 37 years.

In June 2010, he was promoted to Nuclear Systems Supervisor at Southern Company's Plant Vogtle Units 1 & 2 in Waynesboro, Georgia. Richard's responsibilities include the following areas: Reactor Engineering, the reactors and auxiliaries, nuclear fuel accountability, spent fuel pools and pool cooling, refueling equipment, and waste processing systems.

Prior to his current position, he worked in the corporate office of Southern Nuclear in Birmingham, Ala. As a senior engineer, he was responsible for the evaluations of new fuel designs. He planned and conducted spent fuel assembly inspections and repairs during refueling outages for Southern Nuclear's generating facilities. From 1981-98 he progressed through various positions in construction, start up, and operation at Plant Vogtle including Project Cost Supervisor; Planning, Scheduling and Cost Superintendent for start up; Senior Shift Technical Advisor; and Reactor Engineer.

Richard is a member of the American Nuclear Society, the Nuclear Energy Institute's High Level Waste Task Force Committee, and Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) High Level Waste Committee. He has presented numerous papers at EPRI meetings, Westinghouse Fuel Users' Group meetings and International Nuclear Fuel Performance meetings. He is the recipient of a Westinghouse Customer Achievement Award.

Richard currently resides in North Augusta, S.C. He and his wife of nearly 39 years, Durenda (Cardwell), graduated together from Starkville High School and Mississippi State. Their daughter, Stephanie Hudlow, lives with her husband and son in North Augusta, S.C. Their son, Bradley, lives with his wife and daughter in Grovetown, Ga. Stephanie and Bradley are the fourth generation of Loftins to graduate from Mississippi State. Each has a B.S. degree in chemical engineering.

Alton C. Morris
B.S. Civil Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1941

After graduating from Mississippi State in 1941, Lt. Col. Alton C. Morris started his professional career with the Tennessee Valley Authority. However in 1942, his career was interrupted when he joined the Army Air Corps as an aircraft maintenance officer. Two years later he was transferred to the 1864th Engineering Aviation Battalion Army Corps of Engineers and found himself in Guam aiding in the construction of airfields.

He was discharged from the military as a captain in 1946, but remained active in the Army Reserves, finally reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. He restarted his civil service career by joining the Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, and soon found work with the Air Force as a structural engineer. In 1950 he earned a position with the Arnold Engineering Development Center, which was in the early development stages. He was with the center for the last 23 years of his career—except for 29 months of military service during the Korean conflict.

At AEDC worked in structural engineering, project engineering and finally was made chief of the plans and programs division of the engineering directorate. He served on the architect – engineering selection board and was chairman during one of the selection processes.

After retiring in 1973, he opened his own firm, Engineering Services Company, specializing in support for large engineering firms, planning and layout of subdivisions including design of streets, water, sewage, and drainage systems. Other work included land surveying, which was his real hobby. Despite a love for the work he officially retired at 83 years old.

Now approaching his 92nd birthday takes pride in many things including his: age; love of God and country; and church and community service.

He has severed on the board of stewards, commission on missions and as president of his Sunday school class at the First United Methodist Church of Manchester. He was president of the Manchester Rotary Club during a record-breaking year of fundraising and activities for the group and was on the committee that owned and operated the city's youth center.

He and his family have established scholarships which he hopes will continue to support worthy students and contribute to the health and growth of one of the most useful professions known to man: civil engineering.

He and his late wife Roberta Rowzee have two children, Linda Anne and John Robert, who are graduates of Middle Tennessee State University. He is currently married to Emma Lou Spurlock.

A native of rural Tate County, Mississippi, Morris' formative years were spent in the Bowling Green community of Holmes County where his loving parents were tenant farmers and operated a large dairy farm.

Ronald Pantin
B.S. Petroleum Engineering and Management Science, Mississippi State University, 1975
M.S. Petroleum Engineering and Industrial Engineering, Stanford University, 1977

Ronald Pantin Carvallo is the chief executive officer and executive director of Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and its co-founder.

Pantin worked in the Venezuelan oil industry for twenty-three years prior to his appointment as CEO of Pacific Rubiales in 2007. Pantin held a number of senior positions within Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), including vice president of Corpoven, vice president of PDVSA E&P, president of CVP, president of PDVSA Exploration, president of PDVSA Services, and executive vice president of PDVSA Oil & Gas. Immediately after PDVSA, Pantin joined Enron Venezuela as its president. Pantin holds two B.S. degrees in petroleum engineering and management science from Mississippi State University with the highest distinction in the year 1975 and two M.S. degrees in petroleum engineering and industrial engineering from the Stanford University in 1977.

Member of the board directors for several international companies in the energy and mining sector.

Pantin has been honored with several international awards among which are:
Latin Trade, Pioneering CEO of the year 2010,
SPE Leadership, growth and performance Colombia SPE 2010, and SPE Young Professional Colombia 2009.

Ronald Pantin is married to Cecilia Van Den Bussche and they have five children.

Jerry E. Redmond
B.S. Industrial Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1988
M.B.A., Northwestern University, 2000

Jerry Redmond is currently senior vice president of operations and supply chain management for Andersen Corporation, located near the Twin Cities in Bayport, Minn. In this position, he oversees manufacturing, procurement, distribution, and customer service for the largest window and door manufacturer in the world.

Prior to joining Andersen, Redmond spent significant time at Whirlpool Corporation in a variety of senior leadership roles including President Whirlpool Mexico; General Manager Whirlpool Canada; and Plant Manager of the Oxford, Mississippi Division. During his tenure, he and his family spent six years outside the U.S. with consecutive assignments in Toronto, Canada and Monterrey, Mexico. Prior to Whirlpool, he worked in operations leadership roles for other Fortune 200 companies such as Eastman Kodak, Motorola and Compaq.
Redmond is a current board member of the Andersen Corporate Foundation and past board member for United Way, Junior Achievement, Electro-Federation Canada, and the American Chamber of Commerce. His other interests include Habitat for Humanity, STEM community support, coaching youth sports and all things associated with Mississippi State.

Redmond is originally from Moss Point, Miss., and currently resides in St. Paul, Minn. He has been married for 23 years to Donette (Wilson) Redmond, an MSU alumnus from the School of Accountancy, and they have three very active children; Jeremy- 10th grade, Lauren - 8th grade, and Trevor - 4th grade. He and his family enjoy traveling and spend substantial time on the gulf coast with family and friends.

Allen K. Sills, Jr.
B.S. Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1986
Ph.D. Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 1990

Allen K. Sills, Jr, MD, F.A.C.S. is an associate professor of neurosurgery and director of neurosurgery community practice at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Sills graduated valedictorian of Starkville High School in 1982 and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biological engineering from Mississippi State in 1986. While at Mississippi State he was part of the Famous Maroon Band, served as a student recruiter, and was elected Student Association president. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi. After graduation, Dr. Sills received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1990. He completed an internship in general surgery then received training in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. During his time at Hopkins, he also did fellowship training in neuro-oncology and was awarded the Hunterian Award for neurosurgical research.

Upon leaving Johns Hopkins, Dr. Sills joined the faculty of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis and set up a very active practice as a member of the Semmes Murphey Neurologic & Spine Institute. He was founder and executive director of the Memphis Regional Brain Tumor Center and later served as executive director of the Methodist Neuroscience Institute. In 2009 he was recruited to Vanderbilt University, where he has an academic neurosurgical practice with special emphasis on brain tumors and sports neurosurgery. He has been listed by Castle Connolly in America's Top Doctors for Cancer and America's Top Doctors in the Southeast. He is on the board of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Dr. Sills has served on the MSU Foundation Board and also serves as neurosurgery consultant for all of the Mississippi State athletic teams.

Dr. Sills currently resides in Franklin, Tenn., and is married to Shawne Sills, with whom he shares four children.