UT Alumni Association Awards
The UT Knoxville Alumni Board of Director’s Alumni Awards Program began in 2008. The program has expanded to include categories including Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna, Alumni Professional Achievement, Alumni Service, and Alumni Promise. Below are the Tickle College of Engineering alumni who have received this recognition.
Learn more about the UTAA Alumni Awards.
Distinguished Alumnus/a Award
Dedicated to the spirit of the Volunteer, the Distinguished Alumnus/a award is the single highest alumni award given and is reserved for alumni who have excelled at the national or international level. Read about the Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award.
- 2024 – Dr. Michele Wise Wright (MS IE ’92)
- 2023 – Dwight Nathaniel Hutchins (BS ChE ’86), Robert B. Lewis III (BS ChE ’81), and Charles Wharton (BS IE ’65)
- 2022 – Samuel E. Beall II (BS IE ’42)
- 2021 – Leslie Freemon Benmark (BS IE ’67, MS IE ’70)
- 2021 – Wayne T. Davis (MS Environmental Engineering ’73, PhD CE ’75)
- 2019 – Scott Kelly (MS Aviation Systems ’96)
- 2018 – General J. Mike Holmes (BS EE ’81)
- 2017 – Michael C. Crabtree (BS EE ’73, MS EE ’75)
- 2014 – Terry Douglass (BS EE ’65, MS EE ’66, PhD EE ’68) and Kim Greene (BS ES ’88)
- 2012 – Mark Dean (BS EE ’79) and Ann (BS Elementary Education ’65) and John Tickle, Sr. (BS IE ’65)
- 2011 – Joseph C. Cook, Jr. (BS IE ’65)
- 2008 – Chad Holliday (BS IE ’70)
Alumni Professional Achievement Award
The Alumni Professional Achievement Award recognizes alumni with outstanding contributions to their profession. You can read about the Alumni Professional Achievement award.
- 2024 – Paul A. Young (BS EE ’02)
- 2023 – Linda Averett (BS Engr Physics ’70), Charlotte M. Farmer (MS ChE ’96), and Jon Kevin Loebbaka (BS EE ’85)
- 2021 – Jerry L. Johnson (BS ChE ’94)
- 2017 – Barbie S. Bigelow (MS CS ’85)
- 2016 – Mitch Patel (BS CE 1991, MS CE ’93)
- 2015 – Nathan Sam Dougherty, Jr. (BS ME ’62, MS AE ’70), Jim Flood (BS CE ’80), and Dwight Hutchins (BS ChE ’86)
- 2014 – Harold Conner (BS ChE ’68, MS ChE ’78)
- 2013 – Kathy Caldwell (BS CE ’85)
- 2012 – Hashem Hashemian (MS NE ’77)
- 2011 – Ralph Heath (BS EE ’70, MBA ’75)
Alumni Service
The Alumni Service Award recognizes exceptional service or leadership to the University of Tennessee. Read about the Alumni Service Award.
- 2023 – Misty D. Mayes (’88)
- 2021 – Bill Eversole (BS EE ’73)
- 2019 – Cavanaugh Mims (BS NE ’86)
- 2018 – Thomas Edwards (BS ME ’72), Ralph Heath (BS EE ’70, MBA ’75), and Rick Kuhlman (BS IE ’73)
- 2016 – Edwin A. McDougle (BS CE ’69, MS CE ’75)
- 2015 – Howard E. Chambers (BS ME ’64)
- 2013 – W. Dwight Kessel (BS IE ’50)
- 2012 – Charles Wharton (BS IE ’65)
Alumni Promise
The Alumni Promise Award recognizes alumni no older than 40 who have demonstrated distinctive achievement in their career, civic involvement, or both. Read about the Alumni Promise award and recent winners.
- 2024 – Nathan Irwin (BS IE ’14)
- 2022 – Jennifer Winbigler, MD (BS ChE ’06)
- 2019 – Syreeta Vaughn (MS Geology ’05, MS IE ’13)
- 2016 – Joel B. Seligstein (BS CompSci ’06)
- 2012 – Stefan Duma (BS ME ’95) and Kristin Qualls (BS CE ’03)
- 2011 – W. David Merryman (BS ES ’01, MS ES ’02) and Amy A. Millslagle (BS ChE ’00)
- 2009 – Stephen Kennedy (BS ChE ’97)
Accomplished Alumni
The Accomplished Alumni Award program is designed to honor UT alumni who have achieved great things in their profession, volunteer roles, or civic involvement. Read about recent Accomplished Alumni honorees.
- 2024 – Mancil W. Milligan Sr. (’56, ’58, ’63)
- 2023 – James C. Conklin (’89)
- 2020 – Jim Flood (BS CE ’80)
- 2020 – Oscar Lee Martin Jr. (MS ChE ’96)
- 2019 – Bob Luther (BS EE ’63)
- 2018 – May Lee (BS CompSci ’88)
- 2015 – Mitch Patel (BS CE ’91, MS CE ’93) and Barry Wilmore (MS Aviation Systems ’94)
- 2013 – Pete Hoffman (BS ME Tech ’82, MS ME ’84) and Ken Huntsman (MS CompSci ’77)
- 2012 – Jorge Sotolongo (BS IE ’88)
- 2011 – Stefan Duma (BS ME ’95) and Carol (MS Planning ’79) and Jim Tevepaugh (MS ME ’79)
- 2010 – Shirley Pih Broadbery (BS Acc ’79)
- 2009 – Alan Gottlieb (BS NE ’71), Colonel Hank Hartsfield, Jr. (MS ES ’71), Jerry Johnson (BS ChE ’94), and John Stevens, Jr. (BS ME ’86)