ME-EM Academy Inducts New Members
The ME-EM department inducted the following six new members March 31
into the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Academy, which honors
outstanding graduates.
Carl E. Avers (BSME '62) is CEO and chairman of Thermal Ventures Incorporated,
a company he co-founded in 1989. Thermal Ventures owns and operates energy
systems in four cities and is based in Youngstown, Ohio. With revenues
in excess of $30 million in 1998, they employ over 100 individuals. He
is also the chairman, president,and CEO of Thermal Venture II, LLC.
Dean J. Diver (BSME '65) is president of the major engineering consulting
firm AVCA, in Toledo, Ohio, which provides engineering services throughout
the United States and eight other countries. AVCA sales were $25 million
last year, and they have 350 employees.
John Drake (BSME '64 cum laude, MSBA '69) is president and CEO of Drake
Manufacturing Services Company, a manufacturer of grinders and a provider
of remanufactured and CNC retrofitted thread grinders, cylindrical grinders,
and surface grinders.
Gary Lawrey (BSME '79) was named vice president of Automotive Systems
within Dow Automotive in March 2000. He represents Dow Automotive interests
with OEM customers on a global basis, their joint-venture relationships,
and is responsible for growth in the parts and modules businesses. He
is also responsible for the support of initiatives that continue future
applications and growth for the materials side of Dow Automotive.
Merle Potter (BSME '58, MS Engineering Mechanics '61) continued his graduate
education at the University of Michigan and earned a second MS in Aerospace
Engineering and a PhD in Engineering Mechanics. Potter began an thirty-plus-year
career with Michigan State University in 1965, retiring as a professor
in 1994 with the title of professor emeritus and assisting the university
as a visiting professor until 1998.
John Hallquist (MS Engineering Mechanics '72, PhD MEEM '74) left the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1987 to found Livermore Software
Technology Corporation, a firm that produces world-class computational
mechanics software. Its customers include many industry leaders in the
automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, metals, electronics, construction,
defense, and consumer products industries.
