By Jamie L. Freedman
More than 400 celebrants gathered in Washington’s magnificent Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium Oct. 29 for the SEAS 125th Anniversary Gala. The festive dinner, hosted by Dean David S. Dolling, capped a year of special events commemorating 125 years of engineering education and research at GW.
“This is a transformational moment in the school’s history, as the new Science and Engineering Complex moves closer to becoming a reality,” President Steven Knapp said in his welcoming remarks.
The evening blended a serious look at SEAS’ achievements through the years with a number of lighthearted touches. An actor impersonating William Corcoran, the school’s founder, greeted and mingled with guests and bantered with Dr. Dolling at points throughout the evening. Dr. Dolling tested the audience’s knowledge of SEAS’ history in “Trivial Pursuit, SEAS Edition,” advising participants to use the "learning aids" distributed to them for the game: horn-rimmed glasses and pocket protectors.
A highlight of the evening was the GW Engineering Hall of Fame 2009 induction ceremony, honoring six prominent SEAS alumni for their contributions to the engineering profession. This year’s inductees were W. Scott Amey, M.S. ’75, chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Amyx Inc.; Sidney O. Dewberry, B.S. ’51, chairman and founder of Dewberry LLC; his former business partner, the late Richard N. Davis, B.S. '50 (inducted posthumously); Michael D. Griffin, M.S. ’98, eminent scholar at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, and former administrator of NASA; David C. Karlgaard, D.Sc. ’74, co-founder of PEC Solutions; and Allyn E. Kilsheimer, B.S. ’63, founder, president, and CEO of KCE Structural Engineers, PC. The Hall of Fame, established in 2006, now has 21 members.
“These accomplished alumni bring distinction to GW through their significant achievements and contributions to their professions, the University, and society-at-large,” said Dr. Dolling. “Amidst all the change that has taken place at SEAS, and is taking place, one constant stands out: the success of our alumni. And that is what we are recognizing and honoring tonight through the GW Engineering Hall of Fame. "
The celebration of SEAS and engineering history also looked ahead to the future. In his keynote address, Dr. Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering, spoke about engineering challenges of the 21st century—a period that he called the most exciting time in human history to be an engineer.
At the conclusion of the program, the dean addressed the crowd on the vital role that creativity and confidence have played and will continue to play in supporting and sustaining transformations through the years. Marveling at engineering’s accomplishments, he pointed out that advances in flight and aerospace engineering took us from the Wright Brothers first flight in 1903 to landing a man on the moon in 1969. “It was just 66 years from the hills of North Carolina to the rugged surface of the moon,” he said. “With teamwork and a relentless pursuit of a vision anything is possible.”