MIKE JOHNS Through his work at Southern Research Institute as vice president of the engineering division, Johns has grown annual revenue to more than $25 million in research volume for a division that employs more than 100 engineers, scientists and support staff. He has directed and managed high-profile research and commercial projects and has been a strong advocate for the key technologies the country needs to develop. He graduated from The University of Alabama in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and would later earn his MBA from UA in 2005. He began his career with Southern Research as a cooperative education student, joining full time as a materials engineer after graduation. He is an active member of the UA College of Engineering Dean’s Leadership Board, the UA mechanical engineering advisory board and the UA STEM Path to the MBA board.
SHEILA CUMMINGS Cummings is the founder, president and CEO of Cummings Aerospace Inc., a Native American woman-owned small business in Huntsville. Since its inception in 2009, she has led all aspects of corporate operations and strategic development for the company as it has positioned itself to be an industry-recognized leader of aerospace engineering solutions and technologies for aerospace system development. In 1995, Cummings graduated with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland. Her service to her profession includes membership on the board of directors for the National Defense Industrial Association, the advisory board for The University of Alabama Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics and the UA College of Engineering Dean’s Leadership Board.
The UA College of Engineering hosted the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa this February. Inductees were also treated to a luncheon in the McAbee Grand Foyer of H.M. Comer Hall earlier in the day. The induction ceremony is hosted by a different university each year. Three additional individuals, Linda DuCharme, Kenneth Kelly and David Mobley, were also inducted in the 2020 AEHOF class.
The 2020 State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame induction ceremony was hosted by UA and held in Bryant Conference Center.
The Hall of Fame is overseen by engineering colleges and schools at Auburn University, Alabama A&M University, The University of Alabama, Tuskegee University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of South Alabama.
DRIVING INNOVATION
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