Office of Development

Ceremony celebrates alumni achievements

Ken Ford, Tommy Meehan and Dr. Angela Rose Black are honored for their work. 

Ken Ford (left), Dr. Angela Rose Black (center) and Tommy Meehan (right) pictured with their awards from the School of Science and Engineering's ceremony. 

May 2, 2012

Michael Ramos
mcramos@tulane.edu  

The Tulane University School of Science and Engineering celebrated the diverse achievement of alumni at an awards ceremony in the Lavin-Bernick Center on April 12.   

Ken Ford (Ph.D., Computer Science, ’87) received the Outstanding Alumnus award, the highest form of alumni recognition given by the school. Ford is founder and CEO of the Institute for Human & Machine Cognition, a nonprofit located in Pensacola, Fla. recognized as one of the country’s premier research enterprises dedicated to building technological systems to amplify and extend human cognitive and perceptive capacities.   

Ford, a member of the School of Science and Engineering’s advisory board, is critical to the future of computer science at Tulane, said Nicholas Altiero, dean of the school. Expanding the field of computer science is one of the dean’s top fundraising priorities. His goal is to develop a comprehensive computer science program within five years, including both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Alumni experts like Ford will help spark the interest and support to make that happen, said Altiero.   

Tommy Meehan (BSE, Chemical Engineering, ’83), a member of the school’s advisory board, won the Outstanding Service Award. Meehan, a senior polymer engineer for Harahan-based Intralox, serves Tulane on numerous boards and committees, including the Associates board, Alumni Association board, Strategic Planning Committee and Louisiana Council.   

Dr. Angela Rose Black (BS, Psychology, ’98) received the Outstanding Young Alumna award. Black, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is currently pioneering research on the influence of stress on African American women’s preventative health behaviors, and she has twice earned a health disparity loan repayment program award for rising research scientists from the National Institutes of Health.   

In June, Black will initiate training in meditation at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University. She plans to study whether meditation is an effective means for managing stress and promoting healthy lifestyles among African American women.   

“It’s time to bring in this tool as a method to reduce health disparities among black women,” she said.   

The awards ceremony, attended by numerous alumni and faculty, lasted into the night.   

“This event is now a tradition in the School of Science and Engineering,” Altiero said. “We’re looking forward to recognizing the remarkable achievements of many more of our alumni in the years ahead.”   

Michael Ramos is a senior writer in the Office of Development Writing.