Alabama

Derek P. Sharp has joined Superior Mechanical Inc. as a project manager. His responsibilities include the coordination and administration of Superior's plumbing contract at St. Vincent's Hospital's main campus.

Prior to joining Superior, Sharp was a consulting engineer for Pinnacle Engineering and C.R.S. Engineering, both of Birmingham. He is a Certified Plumbing Engineer as certified by the American Society of Plumbing Engineers and is skilled in the use of AutoCAD and other engineering design software.

A native of Greeneville, S. C., Sharp attended Samford University and the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He is currently pursuing a business degree at UAB and intends to become a professional engineer thereafter.

"Derek will add significant depth to Superior's growing leadership staff," said President Richard H. Drennen. "He is able to enhance our design-build capabilities, is training our apprentices, can effectively develop as-built drawings and will be able to inspect work in the field as an added dimension of quality control."

Headquartered in Birmingham, Superior Mechanical is a commercial plumbing contractor.

Mississippi

At the Asphalt Institute's (AI) recent 2004 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla., two distinguished industry leaders were recognized for their outstanding achievements by being named to the Institute's Roll of Honor.

M. Jay Hensley began his career in 1960 as a research engineer with the Arkansas Department of Transportation. In 1967, Hensley went to work for the Asphalt Institute and stayed with the association for 33 years as an engineer, achieving the position of chief engineer in 1999.

Throughout his career, he served on many committees and technical panels, including Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists Board of Directors (Life Member), the Civil Engineering Academy at the University of Arkansas and chairman of the Arkansas Highway Research Advisory Committee.

Dr. Jon A. Epps and Jay Hensley were each named to the Roll of Honor for their outstanding contributions and commitment to the asphalt industry. Both recipients have dedicated their extensive knowledge of asphalt to industry publications, studies and the promotion of asphalt for decades.

"The Roll of Honor is our most prestigious award," said Pete Grass, president of the Asphalt Institute. "These men have shown unmatched dedication to the advancement of asphalt and we are grateful for their countless contributions."

Each recipient received a framed certificate in recognition of their award. The Institute also awarded each recipient the Asphalt Institute award medallion - a polished brass medallion with engraved AI logo and images of the liquid asphalt supply industry.

Dr. Jon A. Epps began his professional career as a professor with Texas A&M University in 1968. He moved to the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Nevada - Reno in 1982, serving as the dean of the College of Engineering from 1986 to 1993. He currently works as engineering services manager for Granite Construction and is responsible for the company's quality control, training and engineering services.

Epps is known in the asphalt industry for his work as a research engineer during the Strategic Highway Research Program. Together with Dr. Claine Petersen (a past Roll of Honor recipient), Epps served as a consultant to prepare the first technical amplification of the $50 million national research program on asphalt composition and physical properties, a component of the Strategic Transportation Research Study (STRS).

The Asphalt Institute is a U.S.-based association of international petroleum asphalt/bitumen producers, manufacturers and affiliated business.

Tennessee

The full-service consulting engineering firm of Ellers Oakley Chester & Rike of Memphis, Tenn., has hired Meg Johnson as marketing coordinator and Tracy Williams as administrative assistant. Johnson will be responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies and standardizing the firm's corporate identity.

Williams will provide support for staff in the business office and front desk and will assist the firm's engineers.

Regional

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recognized 50 people for their contributions to ASHRAE and the HVAC&R industry at the society's 2005 Winter Meeting held here Feb. 5-9.

Fellow ASHRAE is a membership grade that recognizes distinction in the arts and sciences of environmental technology. The honor is earned through achievement as a researcher, designer, educator or engineering executive.

The society elevated 22 members to the grade of Fellow ASHRAE:

• Michael R. Bilderbeck, chief mechanical engineer, Pickering Firm of Memphis

• Nance C. Lovvorn, principal, Lovvorn Consulting Services of Birmingham

• Ronald L. Shelton, P.E., program manager, Oak Ridge National Laboratory of Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The ASHRAE Hall of Fame honors deceased members of the society who have made milestone contributions to the growth of HVAC&R technology.

This year, in honor of the centennial anniversary of The American Society of Refrigerating Engineers (ASRE), two refrigeration pioneers were selected - Henry Galson and Gardner Voorhees.

Rental Service Corporation, a construction equipment rental provider, recently announced several new promotions within its Prime Energy group.

Larry Wiedemann has been appointed to human resources generalist and safety manager, located in La Porte, Texas. Wiedemann holds a bachelors degree from Louisiana State University and brings many years of human resources and safety management experience to the position.

Frank McMahon has been promoted to the position of district manager south, located in La Porte. In his new position McMahon will have responsibility for the Rental Customer Centers in La Porte and Beaumont, Texas; Gonzales, La.; and Covington, Ga. McMahon has many years of operational and sales management experience.