WHO’S WHO

Christopher von Alt chairman of the board Hydroid.

Duane Fotheringham president Hydroid.

Graham Lester vice president of sales and marketing Hydroid.

Hydroid
Hydroid Inc. a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime announced changes to its leadership team. Christopher von Alt one of the company’s founders has elected to resign from his position as president effective January 1 2014.

Hydroid’s board of directors has selected Duane Fotheringham Hydroid’s vice president of operations as his successor. Fotheringham assumed the role of vice president of operations in 2008.

Von Alt will retain his position as chairman of the board and will undertake special long-range technology-centered projects that will focus on the advancement of REMUS technology.

In the late nineties von Alt led the team of engineers at The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that invented the REMUS technology base and later founded Hydroid in 2001. REMUS – Remote Environmental Measuring UnitS 100 is a compact light-weight Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) designed for operation in coastal environments up to 100 meters (about 328 feet) in depth.

Hydroid also announced the appointment of Graham Lester as vice president of sales and marketing. A Hydroid veteran of eight years Lester was previously the director of Hydroid’s European office. In his new role he will oversee the company’s U.S. and international sales and marketing.

Lester began his career in the aerospace and defense industry where he specialized in avionics. For the past twenty years he has focused on sales and marketing in the international marine industry.

“Graham has been an integral part of Hydroid’s extraordinary growth” said Christopher von Alt Hydroid founder and chairman of the board. “He has a unique combination of extensive technical and marketing experience. In his new role Graham is poised to continue making significant contributions to the company’s long term success.”

Lisa Metheney deputy district engineer for programs and project management for the Corps of Engineers Charleston District.

Charleston District
Lisa Metheney is the new deputy district engineer for Programs and Project Management for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District. This is the highest civilian position in the Charleston District and a Corps division-level panel chose her out of 105 initial applicants.

In this role Metheney will be responsible for programmatic oversight of the planning design and construction of military civil works environmental and interagency and international support projects for the Charleston District.

Metheney has been serving as the assistant chief of the Programs and Project Management Division at the Charleston District since 2009 where she has been responsible for the execution and management of funds for the district’s civil works military construction and interagency and international support programs. She also has been directly overseeing the project management of the district’s civil works projects including the Charleston Harbor Post 45 Deepening Feasibility Study. (See related article in this issue pg. 6)

Metheney joined the Charleston District in 1999 after working for the Corps’ Huntington district for six years. She has her bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degree in business administration both from Marshall University. She succeeds Bill Stein who held the position since 2003 and who retired on January 6.

Franchelle Craft a supervisory project engineer in the Corps of Engineers Houston Resident Office.

Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award
Corps of Engineers Galveston District Civil Engineer Franchelle Craft was selected as a Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award recipient by the 28th Black Engineer of the Year Science Technology Engineering and Math Global Competitiveness Conference an honor bestowed upon minority men and women who actively create new paths for others in science research technology and development.

Hired by the district as a summer hire during her senior year at Prairie View A&M University she was selected as a Department of the Army intern and assigned to the district’s Engineering and Construction Division. Now a supervisory project engineer in the Houston Resident Office working on dredging construction contracts for the Houston Ship Channel Craft offers the following advice for rising stars in the engineering field “work hard believe in what you do and make every decision in the best interest of your organization.”

Craft also thanked the district for recognizing the importance of the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Program.

According to Commander Col. Richard Pannell USACE Galveston District Craft was instrumental in the execution of the district’s STEM Awareness Program – an aggressive community outreach and public information campaign which seeks to build relationships between the employees and underrepresented middle and high school students to encourage an interest in STEM courses and the pursuit of engineering and science career fields. The innovative campaign included partnering with nationally recognized STEM organizations higher education institutions and using social media to maximize outreach efforts to encourage current and future generations of students to pursue careers in STEM fields.

As one of the youngest supervisory engineers in the district Craft oversees contract construction administration and leads the technical support effort for the Resident Management System to administer construction operation and maintenance projects valued up to several millions of dollars. Despite her challenging schedule she remains active in supporting the professional development of others who are pursuing a STEM education.

Craft earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Prairie View A&M University in 2006 and a master’s degree in Engineering Management from Missouri Science and Technology University in 2012. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society and the Society of American Military Engineers.

Craft will be recognized at the 28th BEYA (Becoming Everying You Are) STEM Global Competitiveness Conference Feb. 6 2014 in Washington D.C. for this achievement.

Reab Berry GIW engineer with his wife Joy accepts the 2013 SME Hero of the Industry award.

Hero of the Industry Award
GIW Industries announced that long-time GIW mechanical engineer and industry expert Reab Berry was awarded the 2013 SME Hero of the Industry award at the 28th Annual Phosphate Conference.

The Florida Section of the Society for Mining Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) presents this award at the Annual Phosphate Conference held each year in Lakeland Florida. The officers of the SME Florida Section review a list of exceptional nominees submitted by its members. Nominees are individuals who have made a significant impact on the mining industry through technical advances education and strong character. Berry was the unanimous choice for the 2013 Hero of the Industry.

“This is all special to me because the phosphate industry is very special to me” Berry says. “My first full-time job with GIW after graduation from Georgia Tech in June of 1966 was in Bartow Florida where I worked for Harvey Hardy the VP of Florida Operations. I have been involved in the phosphate industry my entire career.”