On November 12th, the ISE Department had the great honor and pleasure of inducting five new members into its fraternity of Distinguished Alumni. The Distinguished Alumnus Award is the highest honor that the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering can bestow upon any alumnus. It’s given to department alumni whose contributions to their profession, community, and the department, college and/or university are notable and merit special recognition.
This year’s class consisted of Wilmer “Will” Boykin, class of 1985; Edward Frazelle, class of 1983 and 1985; Robert Koger, class of 1984; Jacqueline Reynolds Mozrall, class of 1989; and William Sigmon, class of 1971. Surrounded by their families, friends and former professors, the inductees shared their perspective on what it takes to pursue your dreams and achieve success. The ISE Department would like to welcome its newest members and wish them continued success in the future.
Wilmer “Will” Boykin, Director of Respiratory Production for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), provides strategic and operational leadership for the GSK North American Respiratory Value Stream. Prior to his current assignment, he served as director of business improvement, embedding continuous improvement methods into the GSK North America Sales and Marketing organizations to create conditions for consistent and sustained business performance improvement. Will received his BSIE from NC State University in 1985. He started his career at Data General Corp. where he worked in manufacturing assembly board production process development. In 1987, Will accepted a position with GSK, where he has worked for more than 25 years, developing a broad base of pharmaceutical industry experience. During his tenure at GSK, he has been involved in a number of national and global initiatives.
Edward H. Frazelle is president and CEO of Logistics Resources International, a supply chain consulting firm with offices around the world; executive director of RightChain™ Institute, a supplier of supply chain education resources; and one of the world’s foremost authorities on supply chain strategy. He was founding director of The Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech. As an educator, Dr. Frazelle has lectured at universities all over the world and trained more than 50,000 professionals in the principles of logistics. As a consultant, he has assisted more than 100 corporations and government agencies around the world in their pursuit of world-class supply chains. As an author he has authored, co-authored, and/or contributed to seven books and over twenty articles on logistics. Edward received both his BSIE (1983) and his MSIE (1985) from NC State University and his PhD from Georgia Tech.
Robert K. Koger is president of Advanced Energy Corporation and North Carolina GreenPower. A large portion of his career was spent with the North Carolina Utilities Commission serving as both interim commissioner and chairman of the commission during his tenure. In 1991, Robert was named Energy Executive of the Year by the International Association of Energy Engineers and in 2006 was presented with a National Public Leadership Service Award by the U.S. Energy Association and Johnson Controls. In 2008, he was named the Green Non-Profit Leader of the Year by the Triangle Business Journal. Robert received his BSIE degree from the University of Tennessee, his master’s in economics and his Ph.D. in industrial engineering from NC State University (1984). He is a member of numerous professional organizations and active in his church and civic clubs.
Jacqueline Reynolds Mozrall is a professor and associate dean in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), previously serving as department head in Industrial and Systems Engineering. She has published more than a dozen articles on ergonomic-related design and development topics. Most recently, Jacqueline has been engaged in research and activities related to the recruitment and advancement of women students and faculty in STEM-related areas. She has a keen interest in undergraduate education and has been significantly involved in program assessment and evaluation. She currently serves as a program evaluator and training mentor for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). She has also been involved in the coordination of a multi-disciplinary senior design experience and honors program for undergraduate engineering students at RIT. Jacqueline received a BSIE from RIT, an MSIE from NC State University and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the University of Buffalo.
William L. Sigmon is senior vice president at American Electric Power (AEP) where he is heavily engaged in the development and execution of the environmental compliance program and at the same time serves on AEP’s Subcompany Board, Risk Committee, and Wellness Steering Committee. Before joining AEP, He worked for the Duke Energy family of companies where he worked his way from a junior engineer up to senior vice president of project management and technical services. William is the past chair and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Central Ohio American Heart Association, a member and former generation committee chair of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, and serves on the executive committee of the Electric Power Research Institute’s Research Advisory Board. He received his BSIE from NC State University (1971) and completed an advanced management program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Executive Education.