Note to the Editor: Photos to accompany this release are available from Mary Wymer at mwymer@coe.eng.ua.edu.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama College of Engineering recently announced Dr. John Wiest, associate professor of chemical engineering, as the 2004 T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership Award recipient.

The T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership Award honors a faculty member who exemplifies the leadership qualities that advance and add to the stature of the College of Engineering.

This award was created as a tribute to T. Morris Hackney for his leadership of the Citation Corp. As president of Citation, Hackney supported The University of Alabama with a $1 million endowment to provide student scholarships and fund renovations of UA’s foundry. This award is made possible by contributions from Mr. John H. Josey and his son, Mr. Howard Josey.

Wiest has served the College of Engineering for nearly 10 years. He has authored more than 40 publications and articles throughout his career, and he has been actively involved in several professional organizations.

Wiest’s engineering research deals with transport phenomena in polymeric and structurally complex systems with emphasis on molecular theories. He is an interdisciplinary researcher with ongoing projects through the Center for Materials for Information Technology (MINT) and the Alabama DOE/EPSCOR program. He co-managed the Alabama DOE/EPSCOR program the first three years and was chiefly responsible for the renewal process that enabled funding for an additional three years.

Wiest has actively been involved to enhance the quality of education offered at the Capstone by serving on numerous committees, from being the College’s representative on the University’s Graduate Council to working on the MINT executive committee.

In addition to his teaching and research duties, Wiest coordinates the chemical engineering graduate program. He successfully recruits top-quality students and works with them from the application process to teaching assistant assignments and thesis and dissertation committee details.

In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 1,900 students and more than 95 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.