Statewide honors awarded to engineering graduates, faculty member

July 31, 2009 | News, UToday
By Emily Hickey



When Ryan McChesney, a 2009 graduate of UT’s College of Engineering, was selected as the Outstanding Engineering Student for 2009 by the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers, it was a shock.

According to McChesney, Richard Springman, UT engineering technology instructor and director of student support, asked him a few questions and requested his resumé, telling McChesney it was for a scholarship he had already won instead of the application for the award.

“It completely took me by surprise to find out that I was selected. It is a great honor to receive this award,” McChesney said.

“This award will show future employers that I am dedicated to what I do and that I am willing to do what is necessary to complete the task at hand as best I can,” McChesney said.

“What the students learn in the classroom is a great foundation for the real world and sets us up for success in our future engineering careers,” McChesney said of the preparation he received from the UT College of Engineering.

McChesney wasn’t the only College of Engineering representative to be honored recently.

Also recognized were Aaron Thrush, a 2001 UT College of Engineering alumnus; Dr. Douglas Nims, UT associate professor of civil engineering; and the UT College of Engineering.

The Ohio Society of Professional Engineers named Thrush Ohio’s Young Engineer of the Year for 2009 and named Nims the Outstanding Engineering Educator for 2009.

After 19 years of teaching at UT, Nims said it is gratifying to be recognized with a statewide award. Nims said the most rewarding honor was receiving a letter of thanks from his former student, Thrush, reflecting on his positive experiences in Nims’ classrooms at UT.

To top off the 2009 awards from the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers, the College of Engineering and the Toledo Society of Professional Engineers won Best Overall Engineers Week observance.

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