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Three Alumni to Be Honored at Commencement
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(April 28, 2003) Michigan Technological University will present awards to three distinguished alumni during Spring Commencement, set for Saturday, May 10.
Carlos E. Jorda and John Benaglio will receive MTU's Board of Control Silver Medal, and Octave Du Temple will be given the University's highest honor, the Melvin Calvin Medal of Distinction.
Du Temple, a native of the Copper Country, received bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech in 1948 and 1949. His studies were interrupted by military service during World War II, when he taught flying and navigation. He also studied at Northwestern University, where he earned a master's degree in business administration in 1955.
Du Temple worked at the Argonne National Laboratory for several years, and in 1958 he was appointed executive director of the American Nuclear Society, a position he held for 32 years. He has travelled and lectured extensively around the world on the peaceful applications of nuclear energy.
He is a member of the International Nuclear Energy Academy, an honorary fellow of the Institute of Nuclear Engineers in London, an honorary life member of the Chinese Nuclear Society and is the former secretary of the Pacific Nuclear Council. Currently he is executive director emeritus of the American Nuclear Society. The society's headquarters, in LaGrange, Ill., is dedicated in his name.
Du Temple lectures periodically on campus to Army and Air Force ROTC cadets and business school students. He has received the University's Board of Control Silver Medal, the Distinguished Alumni Award and an honorary doctorate of engineering. In 1995 he was inducted into Michigan Tech's Distinguished Academy of Chemical Engineering. His support of the University has earned him membership in the Second Century Society, the Presidents Club and the McNair Society.
Jorda, a native of Venezuela, graduated from Tech with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1971. Ever since, he has worked in the petroleum industry.
He began his career as a process engineer at a refinery owned by Creole Petroleum Corporation, a subsidiary of Exxon, and he quickly moved into management. After the Venezuelan petroleum industry was nationalized, he worked in many technical and managerial positions for the state-owned oil company, Petroleum of Venezuela, which owns CITGO Petroleum. In 2002, he led Petroleum of Venezuela's US interests, becoming chairman of the board of CITGO and president of Petroleum of Venezuela. He retired this year.
Jorda has headed strategic associations among several international oil companies that undertook investments in Venezuela, which is the largest oil supplier outside of the Middle East. He provides leadership to Michigan Tech's International Advancement Program, which seeks to reconnect with alumni around the world. He also is on the National Advisory Board for MTU's School of Business and Economics.
Benaglio is a native of Marquette and was raised in Iron River. He graduated from MTU in 1970 with a BS in Business Administration. He is married to the former Eileen O'Connor, of Hancock.
He joined the Heitkamp & Thumann Group in 1985. Headquartered in Germany, the company is a global leader in manufacturing high-tolerance metal and plastic components for the portable energy, health and automotive markets.
After serving as managing director of H&T's Asia Pacific operations and chairman of the managing board of H&T's Battery Component Group, in Waterbury, Conn., he was named a general partner of the H&T Group in 2002.
Benaglio lends his expertise to Michigan Tech's International Advancement Program and has established a co-op program at Heitkamp and Thumann for Michigan Tech students to work in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He is a member of the School of Business and Economics Academy. |
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