ABET Announces 2010 Linton E. Grinter Distinguished Service Award

4/4/2013 Written by Susan Mumm

AE Emeritus Prof. Allen I Ormsbee has been named the 2010 recipient of ABET, Inc.'s prestigious Linton E. Grinter Distinguished Service Award.

Written by Written by Susan Mumm

ABET Announces 2010 Linton E. Grinter Distinguished Service Award

 AE Emeritus Prof. Allen I Ormsbee has been named the 2010 recipient of ABET, Inc.’s prestigious Linton E. Grinter Distinguished Service Award.

Professor Allen I Ormsbee
Professor Allen I Ormsbee
Professor Allen I Ormsbee

 Ormsbee has been cited for dedication to the principles of ABET that went above and beyond the normal call of duty and for shepherding the fiscal policies and procedures of ABET as Treasurer and Member of the Finance Committee through the governance changes of that period; his assured and responsible control of ABET's finances created and maintained an aura of trust between ABET and its members.

 ABET is the recognized accrediting body for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. This award, the organization’s highest honor, is named for Linton E. Grinter, a pioneer in engineering and technology education and the first individual to receive the Distinguished Service Award from ABET’s predecessor, the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development (ECPD). The award recognizes ABET volunteers who follow in Grinter’s footsteps and surpass even the highest service expectations of the organization.

 Ormsbee began his ABET service in 1970 as a program evaluator for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), joined the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) in 1985, became a member of its Executive Committee in 1990, and was EAC Chair and Past Chair in 1993 and 1994. He became a Fellow of ABET in 1995.

 After service in the EAC, AIAA chose Al to be its Representative Director to the ABET Board from 1994 to 2000. During that period of service, he was on the Finance Committee, which he also chaired (1996-1998), Public Member Committee (1997-1998), and Secretary of the Board (1998-2000). At that time, the Secretary simultaneously served as a Representative Director.

 In 2000, he was selected to be the ABET Treasurer, an Office that he held until he retired from the Board in 2006. As Treasurer, he also served on the Finance Committee, the Executive Review Committee, and, naturally, the Executive Committee.

 Earning a bachelor’s degree in 1946, Ormsbee was the second person to graduate from the AE Department. He earned a master’s degree in mathematics from the Urbana campus in 1949, then earned a PhD in aeronautics and mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 1955.

 Ormsbee worked for the AE Department from the time he earned his bachelor’s, starting as an instructor and working his way up to full professor in 1957. He retired in 1992.

 Throughout his career Ormsbee did consultant work for a number of aeronautics companies. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the Sigma Xi National Scientific Honor Society. He is a 1974 winner of the AE Distinguished Alumni Award, and a 1994 winner of the ASEE Distinguished Service Award.

 Ormsbee concentrated his research work on aerodynamics. Among his students, Ormsbee advised alumnus Robert Liebeck, BS 61, MS 62, PhD 68, on his work with airfoils. Liebeck, now a Professor of the Practice of Aerospace Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was cited for that work in his recent selection as the recipient of the Daniel Guggenheim Medal.


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This story was published April 4, 2013.