Source: Mary Rankin, 785-532-6715, mrankin@k-state.edu
Hometown connection: Louisburg, Overland Park and Topeka, Kan.; Bentonville, Ark.; Platte City, Mo.; Charlotte, N.C.; Lima, Ohio; and Sammamish, Wash.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Career kudos: College of Engineering recognizes 10 alumni for professional progress
MANHATTAN -- Professional career accomplishments during the first 20 years following their graduation is earning 10 alumni the Professional Progress Award from Kansas State University's College of Engineering.
The honorees will be recognized at ceremonies on the K-State campus March 31.
Recipients of the award were nominated by their respective department heads and confirmed by John English, dean of engineering. The honorees are:
* Miles Keaton, Louisburg, who earned a bachelor's in biological and agricultural engineering in 1996 and a master's in 1998 from K-State. Keaton is the global manager, portfolio planning, at John Deere Hay and Forage Platform, Olathe, where he prioritizes new product development programs for five factories in four countries and is involved in planning a research and development budget in excess of $45 million. He has been with John Deere since 1999 and holds four U.S. patents. Honors received within the company include the Engineering Managers Innovation Award twice, the Individual Recognition Award for Problem Solving and the Team Recognition Award for Quality Improvement.
* Darren Harvey, Overland Park, a 1996 graduate of K-State in architectural engineering. As vice president of Smith Seckman Reid, Harvey is involved with development of new clients and markets, contract and fee negotiations, staff development and financial performance. His technical background in mechanical engineering for health care facilities, laboratories and higher education includes systems design, master plan studies, facility evaluations, energy audits and overall project management. He is licensed in nine states and holds professional affiliations with the American Society of Consulting Engineers; American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers; and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying.
* Brian Armstrong, Topeka, a1993 graduate of K-State in civil engineering. Armstrong currently serves as vice president for Bartlett & West, Topeka, where he is a local division manager for municipal services, including transportation, traffic engineering and drainage. His design teams are responsible for more than 15 roundabout intersections constructed throughout the Midwest. He is a licensed professional engineer in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa, and a member of the American Council for Engineering Companies, American Public Works Association, the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers.
* John Bridson, Topeka, a 1992 graduate of K-State in mechanical engineering. Bridson is vice president of generation for Westar Energy. He began his career at the Jeffrey Energy Center as a plant engineer and then as the director of operations. He also served as executive director of gas-fired power plants for Westar and as executive director of the Lawrence Energy Center. He was named executive director of generation responsible for Westar's generating fleet in 2010 and vice president of generation in 2011. He serves on the board of directors for the Kansas State Electrical Power Affiliates Program and as vice chairman of the Powder River Basin Coal Users Group.
* Karl Hagen, Bentonville, Ark., 1994 graduate of K-State in information sciences. Hagen is a senior technical expert and infrastructure engineering design lead responsible for network, voice, desktop and RF technologies for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. His duties include site and WAN network design, VoIP infrastructure design, mobile client design and integration, wireless infrastructure design, cellular infrastructure design and satellite network design. Additionally, he is the security liaison between infrastructure and security engineering, ensuring that infrastructure designs meet regulatory, legal and best practice security requirements. He is a certified information systems security professional.
* Kollin Knox, Platte City, Mo., 1992 graduate of K-State in construction science and management. Knox is president of P1 Group Inc., an electrical, mechanical and service contractor. He began his career at the company as a project engineer and held numerous positions before being named president of its health care and life sciences division. The majority of his career has been focused on working in the health care market, but he's also participated in numerous other market sectors. He is a member of the Kansas City Area Healthcare Engineers, a trustee on the pipe fitters' joint apprenticeship training committee and is treasurer of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Kansas City.
* Mark Miller, Charlotte, N.C., 1992 graduate of K-State in industrial engineering. Miller is the lead solution architect for the communications, media and technology segment in the Atlantic and Central regions of North America for Accenture. In this role he works with clients to develop industrialized support models for information technology organizations and has been responsible for more than $1 billion in services over the past five years. He has been with Accenture for 19 years, holding a number of delivery leadership roles in consulting and outsourcing. He has led solution, delivery and transition activities for Accenture's largest client, with two patents under consideration based on that work.
* Robert Rainbolt, Lima, Ohio, 1993 graduate of K-State in chemical engineering. Rainbolt is operations manager for Procter & Gamble in Lima, Ohio, and has been in the manufacturing industry for 19 years. He began his career as a chemical process engineer immediately after graduation, working in all divisions of the Kansas City Procter & Gamble plant in a variety of manufacturing roles, including process engineer, project manager, department manager and site supply chain leader. He progressed to the operations manager level in 2001 in the chemicals division and in 2010 relocated to the Lima, the site of Procter & Gamble's largest manufacturing plant.
* Jesse Schriner, Sammamish, Wash., 1992 graduate of K-State in electrical engineering. Schriner is general manager, manufacturing and supply chain information technology, for the Microsoft Corporation. He leads the ITSolution delivery team responsible for technology and process solutions that enable global supply chain operations for all physical products such as the Xbox and Kinect gaming systems. He began his professional career in product engineering at Texas Instruments, where he led multiple avionics programs that integrated missiles on the F-16, F-18 and EA-6B platforms. He also worked for the General Electric Co., where he held a series of leadership roles within the rail transportation division.
Sabra Schriner, Sammamish, Wash., 1992 graduate of K-State in electrical engineering. Schriner is senior director for quality and business excellence at the Microsoft Corporation, where she implements strategic programs across global sales and services through expansion of the partner ecosystem, increasing deal velocity for enterprise agreements, and enhancing customer experience within teleservices. She recently founded Business Excellence Consulting Inc., which specializes in delivering measurable revenue growth though business analytics and advanced process performance. She began her career at Texas Instruments as a guidance and control engineer, moving on to the General Electric Co. where she was responsible for technical development of safety-critical rail control systems.
