Leaders and Innovators
Each of the engineering alumni honored here represents a big idea, cultivated in empathy and the desire to serve others. Whether they made a technological development, a health care advancement, or an engineering breakthrough, the alumni featured here have improved countless lives and changed the world. We recognize these innovative leaders for having the courage to think big and collaborate with others as they made the world a better place through their inventions, selfless leadership, and vision.
Sonya Baskerville (BS IE ’89)
Manager of National Relations, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)
Sonya Baskerville paired her engineering education with law. For much of her career, she has worked with BPA, a federal power utility within the US Department of Energy. She serves as liaison to the DOE and other executive branch agencies, Congress, energy trade organizations, and other stakeholders.
She has testified before Congress on a number of energy-related matters on behalf of BPA. In a highly technical workplace, Baskerville expertly deploys her engineer’s mind to retain large amounts of data and process how it impacts her company.
Angie (BS ChE ’81) & Harold (BS CE ’81) Cannon
Founders, CEO and President respectively, Cannon & Cannon Inc. (CCI)
Angie and Harold Cannon followed their engineer fathers’ footsteps by becoming engineers themselves, ultimately opening civil engineering consulting firm CCI in 1996. CCI has multiple locations but began in Knoxville, where the couple met in high school. The firm, which has consulted on more than 40 UT building projects, focuses on “enhancing community life by design,” a service-oriented slogan that reflects the characters of its founders. CCI is known for innovative solutions, thus helping many clients who were told that the design of their project was not possible. The Cannons cherish CCI’s many awards as a best small business workplace.
Joe C. Cook Jr. (BS IE ’65)
Cofounder and Managing Director, Mountain Group Partners LP (MGP)
Joe Cook’s 55-year-plus career has been dedicated to developing human medicines. He spent over 28 years at Eli Lilly and Company, retiring as group vice president of global operations, and served as CEO and chairman of Amylin Pharmaceuticals. After 10 years in the biotech industry, Cook founded MGP, a venture capital firm investing in startup technology companies in health care. He also serves as executive chairman of Appello Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharma company that assists patients with Parkinson’s disease. He has held executive positions in many companies that seek to enhance lives and address diseases and conditions from cancer to diabetes.
Mark Dean (BS EE ’79)
Former Vice President and Fellow, IBM; Professor Emeritus, UT
Mark Dean holds three of the original nine patents for the IBM personal computer on which all PCs are based. One of his landmark inventions, the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, permits add-on devices like keyboards to connect with a computer’s motherboard. He was recognized for this achievement by his 1997 election to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. One of a small number of IBM Fellows, Dean is also a professor emeritus and former interim dean of the college. His impact on UT and the world is nothing short of legendary.
Terry Douglass (BS EE ’65, MS EE ’66, PhD EE ’68)
Founder, Former Chairman, and CEO, CTI Molecular Imaging Inc.; Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Provision Healthcare LLC and Provision CARES Cancer Centers LLC
Terry Douglass founded CTI Molecular Imaging in 1983 and played an essential role in commercial development and patient access for positron emission tomography (PET) scan technology, a groundbreaking innovation in medical imaging and diagnostics. Following Siemens’s acquisition of CTI, Douglass founded Provision Healthcare LLC and related organizations to provide comprehensive cancer care and precision proton therapy treatment, elevating East Tennessee as a medical innovation hub. For these and many other accomplishments, Douglass was named by UT as one of its Top 100 Distinguished Alumni.
Hashem Hashemian (MS NE ’77)
President and CEO, Analysis Measurement Services Corporation (AMS)
After buying out his partner, Tom Kerlin, in 1985, Hash Hashemian built AMS into a globally recognized nuclear engineering consulting firm, serving nuclear power plants through analysis equipment, training, and testing services. AMS has worked to ensure the safe and efficient operation of nearly every US power plant, with significant service to the US government including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense. With some 20 patents and multiple books authored in his field, Hashemian is sought for his expertise and has helped set power plant policies and standards.
Charles (Chad) O. Holliday Jr. (BS IE ’70)
CEO, DuPont; Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell Corporation
Following graduation, Chad Holliday joined DuPont with a short-term job. He rose through the ranks, holding engineering and supervisory roles around the world as he went from temp to CEO. He led the company’s shift from chemicals to science-based products and services and reduced its environmental impact. He has served as chairman of Bank of America and is the current chairman of Royal Dutch Shell. A champion of philanthropy and sustainability, he helps lead numerous organizations, including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Kenneth Huntsman (MS CompSci ’77)
Cofounder and Fellow, America Online (AOL)
A pioneering engineer, Ken Huntsman established one of the first successful commercial email systems, developed at Telenet Corporation, and an early dial-up online gaming system called GameLine. He cofounded AOL, which became the best-known online service of its time, offering dial-up service, a web portal and browser, email, chat, instant messaging, and other features to millions of users. Huntsman worked as a systems programmer and director of systems architecture until 2007, when he retired as an AOL Fellow.
Dwight Hutchins (BS ChE ’86)
Asia Pacific Managing Director, Accenture PLC
Dwight Hutchins built his own bridge from engineering to business, starting out as a manufacturing engineer for Procter & Gamble. His engineer’s understanding of the technical process to bring a product or service to market has aided his impressive business career of over 30 years. From his home in Singapore, where he serves as Accenture’s Asia Pacific managing director of strategy and management consulting, he helps Accenture’s largest Asia-based clients improve their competitiveness and performance. For four years, Hutchins championed American businesses in Asia and their contribution to US and global prosperity as chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.
Raja Jubran (BS CE ’81)
Founder and CEO, Denark Construction Inc.
In 1985, Raja Jubran founded Denark, a Knoxville-based construction management and general contracting company. Denark has completed over $1.6 billion of contracted projects, many in Knoxville—including construction of the Knoxville Convention Center, improvements to World’s Fair Park, and renovation of the historic Tennessee Theatre. His leadership extends to multiple companies, including investment company Strategic Acquisitions Group LLC and multi-restaurant operating company Capstone Concepts LLC. He has served on boards for banks, businesses, numerous community development organizations, and UT, including service as vice chair of the Board of Trustees. Jubran’s leadership has literally changed Knoxville’s landscape and improved countless lives in Tennessee.
Min-Hwan Kao (MS EE ’74, PhD EE ’77)
Cofounder and Executive Chairman, Garmin
A quiet creativity marks Min Kao, but his impact speaks volumes. A native of Taiwan, he received a graduate fellowship at UT, where the foundations of his future formed. After earning his PhD, Kao gained experience in numerous navigational systems and technologies from various companies, including Teledyne Systems, Magnavox, and King Radio. This prepared him to launch Garmin, co-founded with Gary Burrell, where he currently serves as executive chairman. Garmin brought GPS technology to the masses, producing navigation and communication equipment for outdoor, fitness, automotive, aviation, and marine markets.
H. Lee Martin (BS ME ’78, PhD ME ’86)
Owner and Founder, TeleRobotics International Inc. (TRI)
Author, Torchbearer, professor of practice, and creator and director of the college’s Engineering Entrepreneurship program, multifaceted H. Lee Martin has held leadership positions in numerous organizations including the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation and Trinity Health Foundation of East Tennessee. Martin founded TRI, which went public as Internet Pictures Corp. (iPix) in 1999, after working as a development engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Through iPix he helped develop the first technology to produce 360-degree photography and videography. Martin has used his mechanical engineering know-how for innovations in telepresence, remote imaging, and battery charge sensing, resulting in more than 20 US patents.
Misty Mayes (BS IE ’88)
Founder and President, Management Solutions LLC (MSLLC) and Product Controls Solutions LLC (PCS)
Misty Mayes, a successful entrepreneur, is founder and CEO of MSLLC, a boutique consulting firm specializing in project strategy and execution, as well as PCS, a project controls assessment, training, and advisory firm. Beginning with just one contract, MSLLC and PCS now serve government and commercial clients in the US and Europe. Mayes’s leadership has resulted in numerous awards, including the US Chamber’s Top 100 Small Businesses and the SBA’s National Subcontractor of the Year. Additionally, Mayes serves as the leader of several nonprofits devoted to women, education, and entrepreneurship.
Cavanaugh Mims (BS NE ’86)
Founder and President, Visionary Solutions LLC (VSL)
Cavanaugh Mims, an established leader in business, founded VSL in 2000. During his 38 years of experience managing projects in the nuclear energy and waste industry, Mims depended on the thoughtful intention and strategic planning skills learned during his studies at UT. Mims grew VSL into a family of five companies, providing high-quality solutions in transportation and logistics, nuclear material disposition, manufacturing, and waste-to-energy projects to US and international governmental and commercial clients in the nuclear energy and remediation industry. His service to UT includes chairing the Alumni Board of Directors and the college Board of Advisors.
Warren Oliver (BS MSE ’77)
Cofounder and President, Nanomechanics Inc.
Warren Oliver spent his career studying materials with tiny dimensions, but his impact has been massive. His UT undergraduate career was spent in the department his father once headed, carrying on a family tradition. After graduate studies at Stanford and a decade working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he founded Nano Instruments Inc. and later cofounded Nanomechanics Inc., which specializes in nanotechnology and techniques. Oliver holds multiple patents in nanoindentation technology and techniques, which measure the mechanical properties and strength of materials at the nanometer scale, and has earned significant honors including induction into the National Academy of Engineering.
Jessie Roberson (BS NE ’81)
Member, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Jessie Roberson has provided impressive corporate leadership and government service to the nuclear energy industry. She began work at DuPont and Georgia Power before becoming the youngest and first female manager for the US Department of Energy’s Rocky Flats field office. She helped restore multiple nuclear energy production sites, including Rocky Flats and Savannah River. She was appointed a member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) by President Bill Clinton, assistant secretary of DOE by President George W. Bush, and vice chair of DNFSB and commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by President Barack Obama.
Kimberly Scheibe Greene (BS ES ’88)
Chairman, President, and CEO, Southern Company Gas Inc. (SCG)
Kim Greene has spent her professional career serving in roles from engineering to finance at Southern Company, an energy industry leader. She is currently the chairman, president, and CEO of Southern Company Gas. She oversees clean, safe, reliable, and affordable delivery of natural gas service to 4.3 million utility customers in Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, and Virginia, including non-utility businesses providing retail products and services, wholesale gas service, and gas midstream operations. Greene is a recognized industry leader in advancing new technologies and STEM education, having chaired the Electric Power Research Institute and currently chairing the Gas Technology Institute Board.
Nasrin Thierer (BS EE ’81)
Technologist, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
Nasrin Thierer’s UT education laid the foundation for her rewarding career, which started with a co-op position at Motorola. For 22 years at Motorola in R&D and product management, she built her expertise in the fields of communication and software engineering, earning multiple patents and awards. She later started Revenew Inc., a software company that grew to become a leading provider of distributed marketing automation. In 2015, Thierer found purpose for her knowledge in technology by establishing the Thierer Family Foundation to bring technology solutions to nonprofits that combat poverty.
John D. Tickle (BS IE ’65)
Chairman, Strongwell
A first-generation student, John Tickle worked throughout college to pay his own way. With a strict work ethic and shrewd business sense, he rose through the ranks of several companies before becoming president of the company he would come to own and rename Strongwell. Once there, he took a strategic risk by buying back a patent for a lightweight but strong composite material he had previously developed and patented, knowing he could create a global market demand. Today his company is the world’s largest producer of structural fiber-reinforced polymer composites, manufactured by both pultrusion and unique in-house technology.
Eric Zeanah (BS IE ’84)
Owner and President, American Accessories International LLC
In 1983, Eric Zeanah began his career as an intern with American Accessories Inc., a product development and manufacturing company founded by his IE professor, Dan Doulet. Zeanah assumed leadership 10 years later. By using the principles of applied industrial engineering, he established and grew American Accessories International LLC, a leader in product design and commercialization serving many large corporations, including Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, Amway, and Sony Electronics, among others. Zeanah has given 12 years of service to the college’s Board of Advisors, and with his wife, Elaine (BSN ’82), has provided UT with numerous endowments as well as significant support for the Zeanah Engineering Complex.