2010 Awards Gala

April 1:  Reception is at 6 p.m. with dinner and the program at 6:30 p.m.

Renaissance Dallas Richardson Hotel 900 East Lookout Drive, Richardson, Texas

Tickets: $60 each. Registration is available online. Corporate sponsorships are also available.

Past award recipients: alumni.utdallas.edu/netcommunity/alumniawards.

More information: Office of Development and Alumni Relations, (972) 883-2586.

UT Dallas has announced the recipients to be honored at the University’s annual Awards Gala on April 1. Eight alumni will be honored with the traditional Distinguished Alumni Award and the Green & Orange Award for Alumni Service.

New this year is the Gifford K. Johnson Community Leadership Award , bestowed on non-alumni who have evolved as passionate supporters and advocates for UT Dallas. The award honors the memory of the first president of the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies, the institution he helped transform into UT Dallas in 1969. Gifford Johnson, 91, died on July 26, 2009.

“From a member of India’s Parliament to the CEO of one of the world’s leading telecom companies, UT Dallas has never recognized such a large, diverse group of honorees,” said Dr. Aaron Conley, vice president for development and alumni relations. “This is a remarkable group of alumni and friends. The only thing that exceeds their level of career achievement is their enthusiasm for UT Dallas and our future success,” Conley said.

Distinguished Alumni Award Honorees

  • Christian Belady (MA ’90). Attending the School of Management part-time to pursue a master’s degree in international management studies was easy for Christian Belady. His day job was just a few Christian Beladymiles down Central Expressway at Texas Instruments. After completing his degree, Belady served two years on the board of UT Dallas’ former alumni association, including one year as president. Belady eventually landed at Hewlett-Packard, where he earned the honor of being named an HP Distinguished Technologist for his work in server hardware architecture. He joined Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., in 2007 as  its principal power and cooling architect, focused on the efficient design and management of large data centers, as well as the development and design of mobile data centers. Belady was recently named a partner in the company and promoted to lead the hardware architecture team in Microsoft Research. Belady was an early architect of the Green Grid, a group of  more than 200 companies that look at data center energy efficiency and power usage. He also is treasurer of the Green Grid. Belady holds 77 U.S. patents in computer and data center design and has dozens more pending.

Dr. Gary A. Frazier (PhD ’84). Though it was 25 years ago that Gary Frazier earned his PhD in physics from the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the lure of UT Dallas still keeps him coming back to campus. In addition to being a Raytheon Senior Engineering Fellow in the Advanced Products Center in Gary FrazierDallas, Frazier is a longtime adjunct professor, teaching a variety of physics courses in mechanics, electronics and electromagnetism. At Raytheon, he works on advanced optical displays, counter-explosives technology and applications for high-speed signal processors. Frazier helped develop advanced device and system electronics through projects with the Office of Naval Research, U.S. Air Force, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. His recent work includes developing see-through-clothing terahertz imagers and RF spectrometers for use in first-responder chemical sensors. In earlier work at Texas Instruments, where he achieved the distinction of being named a TI Fellow, he was a key technical contributor to the early development of Speak-and-Learn, a popular learning tool for children. Frazier holds more than 55 patents in nanoelectronics, neural networks, computer architecture and fiber optics.

Dr. Morton Ann Gernsbacher (MS ’80). A faculty member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Ann Gernsbacher holds the distinction of two named professorships: the Vilas Research Professor and the Sir Frederic Bartlett Professor of Psychology. She is a leading researcher in the cognitive processes and mechanisms that underlie language comprehension, an area she first studied at UT Dallas while pursuing a master’s degree in human development through the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Her most recent research has focused on autism, and she has received multiple research awards from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and private foundations. Before joining the University of Wisconsin, Gernsbacher was a faculty member at the University of Oregon from 1983 to 1992. A recognized leader in her field, she has served as president of both the Association for Psychological Science and the Division of Experimental Psychology in the American Psychological Association. She has published more than 120 journal articles and invited book chapters, and has served as editor, associate editor, or editorial board member for numerous academic journals and books.   

Elizabeth Ann Graves (BA ’83). Ann Graves graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from the School of Arts and Humanities in 1983 and has been volunteering for dynamic causes and organizations ever since. Her interests are diverse, but her impact is evident, especially Elizabeth Gravesamong organizations where she lives in Tulsa, Okla. Her involvements include serving on the board of directors for Girl Scouts of the USA and as a member of the board of trustees for the University of Tulsa. A supporter of the arts, she was vice president of development for the Tulsa Ballet, on the National Committee for the Performing Arts and volunteered with the Oklahoma Arts Institute.  Although donating her time keeps her busy, Graves has also worked professionally in communications, public relations and fund development for Texas Oil and Gas, Gaston Episcopal Hospital and Jane Phillips Medical Center. After the death of her husband, she served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Calumet Oil Co., Green Country Supply and JMG Oil Company. Graves is not the only UT Dallas graduate in the family:  Her son, Michael Redeker, earned an Executive MBA in the School of Management.

Naveen Jindal (MBA ’92). As an MBA student at UT Dallas, Naveen Jindal sought not only a business education, but also an opportunity to develop his political skills, which he did as president of the UT Dallas Student Government. Today, he uses both sets of experience in his home Naveen Jindalcountry of India, serving since 2004 as an elected member of India’s Parliament, while also leading one of India’s largest business ventures. As vice chairman and managing director of Jindal Steel & Power Limited, he leads a business that Forbes magazine ranks among Asia’s Fab 50 Companies. Jindal is largely credited with transforming what was a struggling family business into a steel and energy powerhouse, and a key part of the O.P. Jindal Group.  Moved by the common sight of both the American and Texas flags during his time in Dallas, Jindal successfully campaigned for the right of all citizens of India to fly their nation’s flag. When he’s not working or engaged in the political process, Jindal captains his polo team and holds a national record in skeet shooting. 

Rob Simpson (MS ’91). It was fitting that at one point during his 26-year-career at Texas Instruments, Rob Simpson  returned to school to earn a master’s degree in engineering science at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, which bears the name of a Rob Simpsonfounder of both TI and UT Dallas. Simpson is vice president of worldwide procurement and logistics at TI, and his team is responsible for the global management of materials, equipment and services to support all of the company’s locations. Additionally, his team handles all the incoming goods and outbound product movement to TI customers. These customer purchases make up almost half of the company’s revenue. Simpson also has been part of TI’s new fab expansions, including the first 300mm Analog Wafer Fab in Richardson. As a board member of the DFW Minority Supplier Development Council, Simpson works to provide increased opportunities for minority businesses in North Texas.

Dr. Paul Waddell (PhD ’89). As a professor of city and regional planning at the University of California-Berkeley, Dr. Paul Waddell teaches and conducts research on metropolitan planning in relation to housing, economic geography, transportation and the environment. He is widely regarded in his field for leading the development of UrbanSim, a unique open-source urban Paul Waddellsimulation software system for metropolitan planning. The system has become the most widely used platform among metropolitan planning organizations in the U.S., and is also being used for sustainability planning in Europe, Asia and Africa. The program helps users make informed decisions on infrastructure and policy choices affecting transportation accessibility, housing affordability and environmental impacts. Prior to joining UC Berkeley in 2009, Waddell was a professor at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs, where he served since 1997. He has published more than 50 research articles in academic journals and completed more than $8 million in research grants from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Highway Administration. Another $3.8 million is in progress. At UT Dallas, he earned his doctorate in political economy through the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences. 

Green & Orange Award for Alumni Service Honoree

Vincent E. Morgan (BA ’95). As an attorney with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Houston, Vince Morgan focuses primarily on insurance law and risk management. Morgan has successfully obtained coverage for corporate policyholders in a wide variety of insurance Vincent Morgancoverage disputes. A significant part of his work focuses on advising clients on risk management issues. Morgan is an officer of the Insurance Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and a co-author of two leading reference authorities on insurance coverage, one of which is the sole legal writing focused on insurance issues involving catastrophe losses. His achievements recently resulted in Morgan being named in the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Morgan is an active supporter in Houston for UT Dallas through his extensive volunteer leadership. He has played a vital role in alumni mentorship and networking program there for UT Dallas pre-law graduates.  Morgan earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance and returns to campus to speak to to current pre-law students.

 

 

Gifford K. Johnson Community Leadership Award Honorees

▪ Sara T. Martineau first became involved with UT Dallas after serving in 1993 as the chair for the Crystal Charity Ball, one of the most successful volunteer organizations providing large charitable grants in Dallas. That year, the ball awarded a grant of more than $650,000 to the Callier Center for Communication Disorders, part of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences Sara Martineauat UT Dallas. After learning more about the Callier Center’s work, Martineau joined its foundation board in 1994 and served as board president from 2006 to 2008. Her passion for the center’s mission also led her husband, David, to endow a professorship in her name at the Callier Center. Martineau serves as a life member of the UT Dallas Development Board, in addition to serving in leadership roles for many other educational, arts and civic organizations. A few of these organizations include the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, Junior League of Dallas, March of Dimes, Dallas Summer Musicals, Trinity River Mission, UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts. Martineau is a graduate of Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University – Kingsville) with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

▪ Angel Ruiz is the president and chief executive officer of Ericsson Inc.’s North American operations, a position he has held since 2001. The market unit based in Plano, Texas, serves Ericsson customers in the United States and Canada. Ruiz joined Ericsson in 1990 and has held a variety of sales and managerial positions, including heading up the global account teams for Cingular Wireless/SBC Communications Inc./BellSouth (now AT&T). Ruiz earned a bachelor’s Angel Ruizdegree in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in management science and information systems from Johns Hopkins University. UT Dallas and Ericsson have enjoyed a longstanding collaborative relationship over the past three decades. In 1986, the company endowed a chair in recognition of its founder. The chair is designated to the dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, and is formally recognized as the Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair in Electrical Engineering. Through his leadership, Ruiz has directed Ericsson into an even stronger partnership with UT Dallas. Collaborative activities can be found today between Ericsson and nearly all of UT Dallas’ seven schools. These activities include research with UT Dallas faculty and engagement in numerous advisory boards by Ericsson executives. Student-focused interactions involve internships and scholarships benefiting undergraduates in several UT Dallas schools.