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Academy of Civil Engineers Inducts Three

The West Virginia Academy of Civil Engineers inducted three new members at its meeting on Saturday, April 26, in Morgantown.

James E. Laier and David S. Taylor were present for induction into the Academy’s third class at the Erickson Alumni Center. Richard T. Feller was inducted posthumously.

The Academy was founded in 2005 by the West Virginia University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to recognize graduates and others who have had distinguished careers, bringing honor to the profession of civil engineering, or who have been of outstanding service to the state of West Virginia.

Laier is the chief executive officer of Southern Earth Sciences, a geotechnical, environmental and construction materials testing company in Mobile, Alabama. He also is a registered professional engineer in eleven states. He received his B.S. in civil engineering from The Citadel in 1964, his M.S. in civil/geotechnical engineering from West Virginia University in 1965, and his Ph.D. in civil/geotechnical engineering from the University of Florida in 1973. Laier founded Southern Earth Sciences in 1976.

Taylor attended Cornell University in New York and graduated in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. After graduation from Cornell, Taylor spent four years in the Air Force flying F-86 Saber Jets in Europe and Africa. In 1958, Taylor moved back to West Virginia and began his engineering career with Union Carbide Corporation in Charleston as a design engineer. Taylor was instrumental in forming the West Virginia Utility Contractors Association, the state branch of the National Utility Contractors Association.

Feller, a native of Fairmont, West Virginia, graduated from West Virginia University’s College of Engineering in 1942 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. While at the University, he was drum major for the WVU Marching Band and served as president of Kappa Alpha fraternity. In his professional life, he worked for many years on the staff of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. He was named to WVU’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni and received many other honors during his life and career. He passed away in 2002 and is buried at the National Cathedral.

04/28/2008