Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, 1980 Ruth Dyer joined the faculty at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., in 1983. Throughout her tenure, she has built an impressive career as a professor, associate provost and now senior vice provost; but perhaps the most distinguishing aspect of her career is her substantial contributions to helping students and faculty members from underrepresented populations advance their education and careers.
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1974 The son of a small-town family physician, Joe Halcomb grew up around medicine. From an early age, he was fascinated by the miracle of life—and the inner workings of the human body. When he came to the University of Kentucky, he looked for ways to put medicine and engineering together. Since one of his goals was to become a physician, he took pre-med courses alongside his engineering courses. This enabled him to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1974 and his M.D. degree in 1978.
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1983
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1968 David B. Ratterman is a member of the Construction Service Group at Stites & Harbison, PLLC. A general construction law expert specializing in the fabricated structural steel industry, Ratterman has developed a national legal practice and advanced the study and practice of construction law in the United States. He has also become an internationally recognized writer and speaker on a wide variety of legal and engineering topics.
B.S in Mechanical Engineering, 1987 C. Gregory Harper has spent his entire 29-year career in the energy sector. Currently, president of Gas Pipelines and Processing for Enbridge’s natural gas business, Harper brings deep and proven operational, commercial and developmental experience, thanks to an extensive background in the natural gas industry.
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 1984
In his long career, Steve Polston has served as plant manager, senior vice president, chief operating officer, president and CEO for various nuclear energy and engineering companies. For nearly the last decade, however, he has put all of his leadership ability toward battling homelessness. Polston earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1970 from the University of Kentucky.
By keeping his head down and focusing on leveraging his executive talents, Gordon S. “Stonie” Glenn spent over 35 years transforming small but promising businesses into highly profitable, publicly traded companies.
Until his retirement earlier this year, Richard Simpson was the vice president, global supply chain for GE Gas Power. He has been a part of the General Electric family of businesses since graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1984. During that time, he served in numerous executive and leadership roles with a focus on global supply chain that accelerated his development as an operations leader.
For over 30 years, Rob Beeler has provided strategic and technical leadership for software development organizations. A technological executive and entrepreneur, Beeler is currently chief technology officer and co-founder of Trava Security, a startup in the cybersecurity and cyber insurance space.
