Engineering Alumni Wall of Honor Inducts Four New Honorees

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s (UL Lafayette) College of Engineering celebrated the 8th installation of its Alumni Wall of Honor on Friday, March 1, 2019. Dr. Joseph E. Savoie, President, UL Lafayette and Dr. Ahmed Khattab, Interim Dean for the College of Engineering, recognized Mr. Toby Begnaud; Ms. Wendy Lopez; Brig. General Patrice Melancon; and Ms. Bach Williams as Alumni Wall of Honor recipients by presenting individual Wall of Honor plaques and unveiling their plaques on the College Wall of Honor that features a portrait and a statement of their contributions to the field of engineering.

Recipients are selected based on their advancements to the engineering profession, significant contributions to the field of engineering and/or technology and service as strong ambassadors for UL Lafayette’s College of Engineering. 

“Each of these honored Alumni impacts thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people, throughout the globe by improving water quality and public health in the San Antonio River Basin to improving drilling safety around the world from our own backyard here in Louisiana and Texas to Europe, Africa and the Middle East,” said Dean Khattab.

Attending the ceremony were Dr. Jaimie Hebert, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, John Blohm, UL Lafayette Foundation CEO and Vice President for University Advancement, Dr. Bryan Maggard, Director of Athletics, previous alumni Wall of Honor inductees,  several College of Engineering department heads, faculty, staff, students, and family and friends of the honorees.  The ceremony is coordinated by Ms. Rebecca Doucet, Director of Development, UL Lafayette who also serves as master of ceremonies.

Pictured from Left to Right: Dr. Joseph E. Savoie, President, UL Lafayette, Mr. Toby Begnaud, Ms. Wendy Lopez, Brig. Gen. Patrice Melancon, Ms. Bach Williams and Dr. Ahmed Khattab, Interim Dean, College of Engineering.

Alumni Wall of Honor Inductees…..

Toby J. Begnaud, a native of Lafayette, LA, began his career with Baker Hughes and has worked for more than 24 years in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and United Arab Emirates with responsibilities spanning over North America Offshore, Southern US Land, Africa, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Yemen, Pakistan, Europe, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. In July 2017, Toby transitioned into his current role as President of Completions and Well Intervention, leading global business for Baker Hughes.  Toby serves on the Industrial Advisory Board for the Petroleum Engineering Department was a member of Baker Hughes’ winning team, the 2018 Special Meritorious Awards for Engineering Innovation. Mr. Begnaud earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology in 1995

Wendy A. Lopez, PE, FASCE, a native of Jeanerette, LA, began her career with the prestigious Lafayette firm of Domingue Szabo and Associates as an environmental engineer serving many of the firm’s food manufacturing clients.  In her true entrepreneurial spirit, Wendy formed Wendy Lopez & Associates, Inc. out of Dallas in 1988. She grew the firm organically, adding offices in Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and Colorado Springs.  After several acquisitions and mergers, with the most recent being purchased by AECOM, a global network of experts working with clients, communities and colleagues to develop and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most complex challenges, Wendy now leads AECOM’s $400M transportation business across the central United States with over 1,300 staff reporting to her in over 22 states from Arizona to Alabama, and Mexico/Gulf of Mexico to Canada.  Wendy volunteers for many excellent causes and has received numerous local and national honors for her commitment to entrepreneurialism, math and science education and community services.  She was elected to the esteemed American Society of Civil Engineers Grade of Fellow (FASCE) in 2016, a distinction held by fewer than 3.5 percent of ASCE members. She currently serves on the Industrial Advisory Board for the UL Lafayette, Civil Engineering Department. Ms. Lopez earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1980 and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering in1984

Brigadier General Patrice A. Melancon, PE, FSAME, a native of Slidell, LA, was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps Program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (USL) in 1988 and graduated with honors. Patrice spent nine years on active duty prior to entering the Air Force Reserve in 1997. She has been a commander twice, has experience at base-level, major command, combatant command, field operating agency, and air staff levels and has been activated for three extended active duty tours since Sept. 11, 2001. She has served stateside, as well as in Europe and Southwest Asia, and has experience in both peacetime and wartime contingency operations.  In her civilian career, Patrice served as a Senior Project Manager and Engineer with DBM Smith, an engineering and construction consulting firm for 15 years and as Manager for the Watershed Engineering Department for the San Antonio River Authority.  In 2019, Patrice returned to active duty and will lead a team to rebuild the Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida following the October 2018 devastation of Hurricane Michael. Brig. Gen. Melancon earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1988

Bach Williams, a native of Saigon, Vietnam, began her career with Dow Chemical in Plaquemine, LA as a process engineer where she received several technical awards for improving processes in Chlor-alkali, Polyethylene Technology throughout her 12 year career there.  In 1996, Bach joined Fluor, an engineering and construction company, as a process engineer. As process lead, she executed chemical base projects ranging from $500 million to $2 billion. Bach was part of a team that drastically improved the company’s efficiencies by developing a database called “Knowledge-On-Line” that collects technical knowledge and shares it globally within Fluor.  Bach’s greatest accomplishment is mentoring junior engineers, helping them become good process engineers and evolve as process leads. Ms. Williams earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in1982 and a Master of Science in Engineering in Chemical in 1984. She also serves on the UL Chemical Engineering Advisory Board.

“The Wall of Honor highlights the best of our college, inspiring our students to strive for success. We are proud to celebrate four engineering alumni whose names, photographs and biographies will be permanently etched into Ragin’ Cajun history,” said Dean Khattab as he thanked each distinguished alumni for their great work and representation of UL Lafayette around the globe.

The Engineering Alumni Wall of Honor was donated by Delmar Systems, Inc. and the Scott Family in honor of the UL Lafayette Engineering Alumni who have had remarkable careers and have led the way for future generations. Currently the Wall of Honor has 31 distinguished honorees.