News Archives

Eight honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards from School of Engineering

December 5, 2022 - by Kim Delker

photo: Distinguished alumni
Winners from the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Awards (from left) at Hotel Albuquerque on Dec. 1: John Hight, Robert K. Whitman, Christopher Wilcox, Wade P. Carroll and Doug Campbell. Photo by Kate Rodriguez Duran.

The University of New Mexico School of Engineering honored eight of its graduates Dec. 1 as recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award.

The event, which was held at Hotel Albuquerque, featured a welcome by UNM President Garnett Stokes.

Honorees are from each of the School’s six departments and one young alumnus, which can be from any department. Each honoree was nominated, then selections were made by a committee of alumni, faculty, and past winners of the award.

This year’s honorees are:

  • Alok Maskara, Chemical and Biological Engineering. Maskara, of Dallas, received his master of science degree in chemical engineering in 1994 and is the CEO of Lennox International.
  • Doug Campbell, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. Campbell, of Louisville, Colo., received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from UNM in 2001 and 2002, respectively. He is the former CEO and co-founder of Solid Power.
  • John Hight and Maria Ingold, Computer Science. Hight, of San Clemente, Calif., received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from UNM in 1985. He is executive produce and vice president at World of Warcraft, part of Blizzard Entertainment. Ingold, of London, England, received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from UNM in 1991 and is the global vice president of solution engineering at Synamedia.
  • Robert K. Whitman, Electrical and Computer Engineering. Whitman, of Boulder, Colo., received his bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from UNM in 1977. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Denver.
  • Kenneth Thor Christensen, Mechanical Engineering. Christensen, of Chicago, is interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UNM in 1995.
  • Wade P. Carroll, Nuclear Engineering. Carroll, of Fairfax Station, Va., received his master of science degree in nuclear engineering from UNM in 1975 and was a senior program manager for the U.S. Department of Energy.
  • Christopher C. Wilcox, Young Alumni Award. Wilcox, of Albuquerque, received his master’s and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from UNM in 2005 and 2009, respectively. He is currently an electrical engineering with the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Videos of the honorees who were unable to be present in person, as well as photo slideshows of each honoree, are available at the School of Engineering’s YouTube channel.

Prospective Students

Alumni and Supporters

Current Students

Faculty and Staff

Academic Advising & Support

SOE on social media