Printer Friendly VersionAlumni Academies
Distinguished Alumni Academies
Each year, the College inducts new members into its distinguished alumni academies. To see all academy members, visit: http://www.cemr.wvu.edu/alumni/academy/. In the spring of 2009, the academies inducted the following members:
ACADEMY OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
Emer OBroin Gunter, BSChE ’80, is a native of Scotland and a citizen of Ireland who came to the U.S. in 1966. Since then, she has worked for Monsanto, a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, rising to her current position as vice president for environmental safety, health, and human rights. Under Gunter's leadership, injuries at Monsanto have been reduced by more than 50 percent in the past six years, the company's eco-efficiency has improved, and conditions for migrant workers have improved. She is a charter member of the WVU Foundation Mountaineer Executives, and is active in global conservation and sustainability efforts. She earned a master of business administration in international business from St. Louis University in 1993 and lives in Missouri.
Paul D. Payne, BSChE ’87, is a native of West Virginia who began his career at Exxon Chemical Company as a process engineer. Following a series of technical assignments, he moved into operations management and became the company's engineering manager for the Baytown Area in 1995. Payne next became the Americas planning manager for Exxon's polyethylene business and product manager for the high-density film business. Following the merger with Mobil, Paul moved to the Univation Technology Joint Venture with Dow Chemical as the director of the global catalyst business. In 2002, Paul became the Beaumont polyethylene plant site manager. In 2006, he assumed his current position as ExxonMobil Chemical's global manufacturing manager for the films business, based in Luxembourg.ACADEMY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
Chester L. Allen, MSCE ’72, is a native of Buckhannon. After graduation, Allen began working at Gannett Fleming, an international consulting engineering company, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is a 37-year veteran of Gannett Fleming and continues working there today. At Gannett Fleming he oversees the firm's Facilities Division as well as the national structural, transportation planning, and vertical transportation practices. He is a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and six other states. Allen belongs to a number of professional organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Highway Engineers, the Engineers Society of Pennsylvania, and the National Society of Professional Engineers. 
Roland P. Davis, PhD, former dean of WVU's College of Engineering, received his B.S. in civil engineering from MIT in 1906. He also received both his M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Cornell University in 1908 and 1914, respectively. Davis was active in WVU's College of Engineering for 33 years, serving as dean from 1932 to 1955. Prior to that, he served as professor, head of structural engineering, and associate dean. Over the course of his career, Davis helped design more than 2,500 bridges in West Virginia and served as a consultant engineer for the design and construction of the Thatcher Ferry Bridge across the Panama Canal, completed in 1962. Davis passed away on December 11, 1974, at the age of 90.
Ray E. Martin, PhD, earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from Virginia Tech in 1964 and 1968 respectively. He has served as president, CEO, and chairman of Schnabel Engineering Associates. His expertise lies in the areas of foundations, waterfront structures, industrial facilities, and groundwater issues. Martin served as a member of Virginia Tech's College of Engineering Advisory Board for more than 20 years, including two stints as chair. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in nine states, a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials and the U. S. Society on Dams, and past president of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers. Martin is a former adjunct faculty member at the University of Virginia.
David R. Martinelli, PhD, is professor and former chair of civil and environmental engineering at WVU. He received his B.S. and M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University and his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, all in civil engineering. During his tenure at WVU, Martinelli has conducted research and taught courses in the areas of transportation engineering and transportation economics, earning the honors of West Virginia Young Civil Engineer of the Year and the ASCE Collingwood Prize. Martinelli served as chair of WVU's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering from 1996 through 2007, presiding over the growth of the department's academic programs. He is also a pioneer in the field of holistic engineering, a whole-systems approach to engineering education.
Roger K. Seals, PhD, received his B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from the University of Florida in 1961 and 1963, respectively. He also received a Ph.D. in civil engineering from North Carolina State University in 1967. Seals joined the WVU faculty in 1965 as coordinator of the Soils and Materials Group, rising to the rank of professor in 1976. He received the J. C. Burchinal Outstanding Teacher and WVU Outstanding University Teacher Awards in 1978 and was elected a Chi Epsilon Chapter Honor Member in 1980. He served as chair of civil engineering at Louisiana State University from 1980 to 1989 and as a program director in the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education. He retired as professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering in August 2005.ACADEMY OF THE LANE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Frank Schneider, BSEE, MBA, earned his B.S. and MBA from WVU and Northwestern University, respectively. He also did post-graduate work at Stanford and at the Wharton School of Business. He is currently vice president of MKS Instruments, and a member of the board of directors for Micrel. Previously, he was the CEO of Ion Systems, GHz Technology, and Diablo Optics. He also served on the technical advisory board of Neomagic, a display controller chip company, and was a member of the board of directors of GMT Microelectronics. He also was a vice president of Sharp Microelectronics and held many senior positions at Philips Semiconductor, then know as Signetics Corp. 
Dennis Toothman, BSEE ’75, MSEE ’76, founded CipherOptics in 2000. His career has spanned hardware, software, and large-scale networking experience with a variety of organizations. He was featured on the cover of Communication News in March 2000. As chief technology officer for CipherOptics, Toothman designed and managed the implementation of encryption devices in use throughout the world by many government, financial, and manufacturing institutions. As a graduate student at WVU, Toothman was awarded a stipend by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in recognition of his software engineering contributions to the mine monitoring project. Toothman is a member of IEEE, Pi Mu Epsilon, Eta Kappa Nu, and Tau Beta Pi engineering honoraries.ACADEMY OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERS
Keith L. Funkhouser, BSAE ’82, is the vice president of operations at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) in Mineral County, West Virginia, operated by ATK, a major supplier of aerospace and defense products. A Mineral County native, Funkhouser has worked at ABL for most of his career in both the Engineering and Programs departments, working on numerous missile and rocket systems. In 2005, he transferred to the ATK facility in Elkton, Maryland, and became director of tactical and composite programs. Two years later, he returned home to become the first Mineral County native to head the ABL facility there. Funkhouse is a member of Sigma Gamma Tau and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
John W. Rustenberg, BSAE ’59, has spent most of his career analyzing and testing aircraft, primarily for the U.S. Air Force. He developed innovative testing, calibration, and analytical methods for a variety of factors influencing aircraft performance. He published numerous technical reports and papers and has many awards and commendations to his credit. Since 1995, Rustenburg has been a distinguished research engineer with the University of Dayton Research Institute, where he continues his research into the impact of a number of factors on the performance of commercial aircraft.
