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Oregon State University
College of Engineering
2012 Oregon Stater Engineering Awards
By Scott A. Ashford (CE ’83)
Council of Early Career Engineers
Interim Dean
College of Engineering
I’m fortunate to have lots of opportunities
to talk with College of Engineering alumni,
many of whom fondly recall their days at
Oregon State University. Sometimes it’s a
fellow classmate or the friendly Corvallis
atmosphere that turns an alum into a
lifelong Beaver. But often it’s a professor
or a class that opens the door, introduces
a new perspective, and launches a pre-
viously unimagined career trajectory.
Many times I’ve heard alumni say that a
single professor was the most influential
dimension to their professional
or personal development.
Among the alumni we are honoring at
the 2012 Oregon Stater Awards are those for
whom a class, a mentor, an adviser, or a pro-
fessor inspired them to aspire. An example
is Hall of Fame winner Robert Chapman, a
retired senior vice president of CH2MHILL.
Chapman studied under Fred Merryfield,
the enthusiastic civil engineering professor
who co-founded CH2M HILL. Because
of Merryfield’s close mentoring — both
on and off campus — Chapman gained
the skills and confidence to launch his
career at one of the world’s leading
engineering firms.
Another Hall of Famer, Edward Yao-Wu
Yang, went to a conference and met Robert
A. Short, an early chair of Oregon State’s
computer science department, who helped
him appreciate his educational potential.
Yang retired as vice president and chief
technical officer at Hewlett-Packard.
As a final example, Hall of Fame honoree
Jerry Florey said his technical degree from
Oregon State allowed him to compete
with engineers from some of the coun-
try’s most prestigious universities. Florey
later became the senior staff manager
of the Space Transportation Division at
McDonnell Douglas.
We are glad to have taken part in the
successes of our honorees. But we must
keep looking to the future. Our task is
to continue building upon the academic
excellence that produced these dynamic
individuals, and the quality of teaching
A Recognition of
Engineering Impact