The Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame welcomed five new members in its 2016 induction ceremony.
Out of the five inductees, four were in love with the same entity: their alma mater, Auburn University.
Charles E. Gavin III, Robert “Bobby” Keith, Authur Frazier Christy and Nelda Lee joined the likes of Samuel Ginn, for which the College of Engineering is named after, when they were accepted into the Hall of Fame on Feb. 22.
Gavin graduated in 1959 with a degree in textile management and quickly began work as a dyer trainee for Cabin Crafts, where he developed recognition within the industry for his technical expertise and innovation, according to the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame website.
After returning home to Columbus, Georgia, and creating the first successful acid dyed filament carpets, Gavin formed MFG Chemical Inc. to develop chemical auxiliaries for carpet dyeing. Today, MFG serves a broad section of the chemical industry’s top Fortune 100 companies.
Recently, Gavin made an $8 million gift to the College of Engineering.
According to Austin Phillips, communications specialist with the College of Engineering, the gift will allow an update and renovation to the college’s textile building, renamed the Carol Ann and Charles E. Gavin III Engineering Research Laboratory.
“It’s going to let us build on a long tradition that we have in the textile industry that served our country and specifically the Southeastern region for decades,” Phillips said. “What the Gavins’ generous gift has allowed us to do is build on this history of the program and vault into the 21st century to make it one of the premier polymer and composite programs in the nation.”
Keith graduated in 1963 with a degree in mechanical engineering and, upon joining Northrop Space Laboratories in Huntsville, was named team leader in the development of the guidance program for the Saturn V rocket system used during the Project Apollo lunar landing program, according to the College of Engineering’s website.
However, in 1970, Keith returned to Hoar Construction, which specializes in commercial markets.
Starting as a summer worker during college, Keith climbed the ranks to chief executive officer, where he had the company ranking among Alabama’s largest construction companies.
Christy graduated in 1968 with a degree in civil engineering before joining the U.S. Navy, where he excelled at the top of his class in the Mine Warfare School.
Frazier was assigned as the engineer officer to the USS Jacana, but after it was decommissioned, he joined Paragon Engineering, according to the website.
Upon joining Paragon, where he worked on projects involving massive grading operations, highways, stormwater handling, sewage collection and treatment, along with surveying, mapping and control.
Frazier eventually became president with direct responsibility for projects with construction costs over $500 million.
In 2007, Paragon was acquired by Hatch Mott MacDonald, where Frazier continued to serve the company as a division manager until his retirement in 2012.
Lee followed her father’s legacy and earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn in 1969, becoming the second woman to graduate from Auburn with such a degree, according to the engineering website.
While some would buckle under adversity, Lee said she never considered the statistics but merely set out to accomplish her goals as she was taught to do.
“I didn’t pay attention to the statistics,” Lee said. “I grew up in a family where if you wanted to be a truck driver, you could be a truck driver and do whatever you wanted. Therefore, I wanted to be an engineer, so I went to Auburn to be an engineer.”
After graduation, she began a career with McDonnell Douglas, now part of Boeing.
She joined the company as an associate engineer at a time when few women worked in the aviation industry.
After nearly 45 years of working with Boeing, Lee retired in 2014.
With a list of accomplishments, such as being the first woman to fly an F-15, earning the Boeing Pride Award 13 times and being inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2004, Lee said the induction is an opportunity for her to give back to the state of Alabama.
“It means a lot [that] something I did in engineering and started a long time ago has made a difference,” Lee said. “ I didn’t do all of that just to be in the Hall of Fame, but I am very honored, pleased and humbled to be in the Hall of Fame.”
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