Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- The Kansas State University College of Engineering Hall of Fame will induct three new members Saturday, April 6: Mark Hutton, Wichita; Dr. James Duncan, Bethesda, Md.; and Thomas Paulson, Katy, Texas.

Induction to the hall is the highest honor bestowed on its alumni by the college. The honorees will be recognized for their professional success and accomplishment, involvement with and support of the College of Engineering, dedication to the university, and professional and public service.

Hutton is a 1977 graduate of Kansas State University in construction science and management. He is the founder and CEO of Hutton Construction Corp., an enterprise of 120 employees with an annual business volume of more than $100 million. The company has been recognized with numerous awards, including multiple years as a finalist in the Best Places to Work competition. In 2010, Hutton Construction was honored as Company of the Year and Hutton was named Man of the Year by the College of Engineering. That same year Hutton Construction was also one of three companies to receive the Wichita Business Journal's Best in Business award. Hutton is a past president and serves on the board of directors of the Associated General Contractors of Kansas, is a national director of the Associated General Contractors of America and a trustee of the Kansas Construction Education Foundation. At Kansas State University, he serves on the College of Engineering Advisory Council, chair of the Construction Science Advisory Committee and as a trustee of Kansas State University Foundation. Hutton is on the board of directors for the Wichita Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas Turnpike Authority, and is a past board chair of Youth Horizon, a faith-based youth mentoring organization.

Duncan, who is being honored posthumously, was a 1974 graduate of Kansas State University in nuclear engineering. He served as deputy chief medical officer of the Space Life Sciences Directorate at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He began his career with NASA in 1999, holding such positions as flight surgeon, deputy crew surgeon, lead crew surgeon, manager of medical operations and chief of space medicine. He led the NASA team that traveled to Chile in September 2010 to support the rescue of 33 trapped miners. For their efforts, he and the team were awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the 2011 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America National Security and International Affairs Medal. Duncan also received the Johnson Space Center Superior Achievement Award and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease. Duncan was a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics, having been elected by his peers in 2010. He was also an Federal Aviation Administration senior aviation medical examiner, a fellow in the American College of Chest Physicians and an instrument-rated private pilot. He presented an Eyestone Lecture for the College of Engineering on the miners' rescue effort in the fall of 2011. Duncan, who died in May 2012, was to have joined the Dean's Advisory Council in fall 2012.

Paulson is a 1973 graduate of Kansas State University in civil engineering. He retired in 2008 as vice president, Canadian capital projects, ConocoPhillips, where he had executive responsibility for planning and execution phases for major projects in Canada covering arctic gas developments, pipelines and oil sands developments. In his 33-year career with ConocoPhillips, he worked in refining, chemicals, and exploration and production at multiple U.S. and international locations in project management. His accomplishments included management team member on the Ekofisk deck elevation project in Norway, project manager of the Houston chemical complex rebuild in Houston, project manager of the Judy/Joanne development in the United Kingdom, manager of chemical projects in the U.S. and internationally, project manager of the Qatar chemical complex in Qatar, manager of infrastructure engineering and project management in the newly merged ConocoPhillips organization in Houston, and project manager for the QatarGas 3 LNG project through sanction in Qatar. Paulson currently serves on the Kansas State University College of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council and the industrial advisory board for George Fox University. He is a registered professional engineer in Oklahoma and he has been involved in Engineers Without Borders since retirement.