Alumni News

James V. Bickford III ’61 was recently selected as a recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. Bickford is recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a distinguished executive for his work in the land development field and in acknowledgment of his work at Midlantic Builders LLC in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. He has been providing services in residential and commercial real estate since 2003 and has more than 50 years of experience working in land development. In other aspects of his career, Bickford worked on the Mercury Program at NASA in Langley, Virginia. In his work as an engineer for the U.S. Army, Bickford served as a second lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He is the founder and owner of Midlantic Builders LLC, a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Marine Artists, and the former president of the OBX Builders Association. Bickford previously served on the vestry of Christ and St. Luke’s Church in Norfolk and is on the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Southern Virginia. Bickford matriculated from Norfolk. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from VMI and a master’s degree in regional planning from the University of North Carolina.

Howard R. Chapman ’68 recently graduated from the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government. Participants in the program learn about the relationship between local, state, and federal levels of government and gain a strong foundation for operating local governments. Chapman was elected to the town council for the Town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in November 2019, following his tenure as chairman of the Mount Pleasant Planning Commission. In addition to his duties as a town council member, Chapman is a registered professional engineer in South Carolina and Florida and serves as the liaison between the South Carolina State Guard Professional Services Command, Engineering Detachment, and the National Guard 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. In December 2021, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the South Carolina State Guard. Chapman is the recipient of the South Carolina State Guard Meritorious Service Award for his work as a member of the four-person Spartan 6 Team during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chapman matriculated from Fairfax, Virginia, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from VMI. He then earned a master’s degree in engineering from the University of South Carolina.

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia named Richard O. Mines Jr. ’75, Ph.D., Engineer of the Year. Mines is a professor of environmental and civil engineering at the Mercer University School of Engineering. He has served in academia for 34 years and consulting for seven years, specializing in the design of water and wastewater treatment facilities. He also serves as startup coordinator for the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in civil engineering degrees at Mercer, where he has taught since 1998. He was previously on the faculty of the University of South Florida, where he was named Civil Engineering Professor of the Year twice. Mines is the author of two textbooks, “Introduction to Environmental Engineering,” published by Pearson, and “Environmental Engineering: Principles and Practice,” published by Wiley. He has published 94 refereed publications and proceedings, 20 other publications and reports, and made 63 presentations. Mines matriculated from Hot Springs, Virginia, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from VMI. He went on to earn a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Virginia and a doctorate in civil engineering from Virginia Tech.

Brian A. Lipscomb ’18 joined the team at Amazon Music as a software development engineer in December 2021. In his role, Lipscomb works on the Amazon Music iOS app, finding solutions for bugs found by the test team, programming new features, submitting code reviews, and reviewing other software development engineers’ code. In addition, he provides documentation and collaborates with designers on new feature implementation. Lipscomb matriculated from Hampton, Virginia, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from VMI.

Eric A. Munro ’21 has been selected as part of the 2022 class of Gates Cambridge Scholars at the University of Cambridge. Established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, the scholarship covers all costs for graduate study at the University of Cambridge. Munro is pursuing a doctoral degree in engineering and is researching the development of next-generation miniaturized spectrometers using novel nanomaterials. Munro is a cyberspace officer in the Air Force Reserve and has been working at Kyrus Technology, a computer security company headed by Dan Hall ’97. Munro matriculated from Waynesboro, Virginia, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering from VMI.

Howard R. Chapman ’68 recently graduated from the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government. The American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia named Richard O. Mines Jr. ’75, Ph.D., Engineer of the Year.