Engineering and Applied Science Honors 2009 Hall of Fame and Distinguished Engineer Recipients

October 5. 2009 -

The College of Engineering and Applied Science will hold its annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, October 10, during which time one new member will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The College will honor Randy Eresman, B.S. petroleum engineering 1984 as the 2009 recipient of this lifetime achievement award.

Additionally, the Hall of Fame Committee will recognize Barbara Scott, B.S. civil engineering, as the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Engineer Award.

After graduation, Randy became a professional engineer and gained exposure to technical and leadership roles within the environment of an independent oil and gas producing company. He was widely recognized as an early adaptor of new technologies to solve problems and create opportunities. He advanced quickly in the organization, taking on ever increasing roles and responsibilities.

On January 1, 2006, at the age of 47, Randy was appointed to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of EnCana Corporation, Canada’s largest energy company. Under his strategic leadership, he transformed EnCana into the leading producer of unconventional natural gas and bitumen resources in North America. This focused strategy enabled EnCana to become the largest producer of natural gas in North America and the leading producer of bitumen using enhanced recovery technologies. His unconventional natural gas strategy, which was also employed by other producers, has been so successful that it has significantly increased North American natural gas supplies.

Recognizing the implications of an abundant supply of natural gas, Randy quickly became one the leading advocates for the conversion of electrical generation and transportation fuel to cleaner burning natural gas, reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants and achieving greater energy security while at the same time creating well-paying jobs in North America.

As a result of his own experience, Randy has also been an advocate of higher education. As such, he, his wife, Shelly, and their two children, Trisha and John, provide multiple bursaries each year to high school graduates from the Medicine Hat area. The bursaries are designed to assist those students who otherwise might not have been able to attend university.

In 1969, after working as the first landscape engineer for the Wyoming Highway Department, she located proposed rest area sites and worked on new site designs. Two of the early newly designed sites were the Lincoln Monument rest area at the Summit between Laramie and Cheyenne, and the rest area at the Pine Bluffs interchange.

Barbara then left the highway department for the City of Cheyenne, and served as the planning engineer for the Model Cities Program. Following that program’s completion, she traveled to Texas where she was recruited by the Texas Highway Department District 12 to develop their environmental section. While in Texas she developed the Comprehensive Planning Course for Engineers. The course was submitted and she was given the opportunity to teach it, along with other courses while pursuing her master’s degree in engineering. By doing so, she has the honor of being the first woman to receive an M.S. in UW’s engineering program in addition to being the first woman instructor in the UW College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Barbara has many professional affiliations and as a member of the Society of Women Engineers she was designated Wyoming’s official delegate to the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists which was held in New York City. She is a life member in the American Society of Civil Engineers and member of the Engineering Honor Society Tau Beta Pi. She retired in 1988, carrying with her the distinction of being the first woman professional engineer to be employed for 26 years and retire from the Wyoming Highway Department.

After retirement, Barbara spent a year traveling the State of Wyoming, conducting a survey of certain commercial properties such as hotels, motels, restaurants, churches, and other public facilities to ensure compliance with the American Disabilities Act.

Congratulations to the 2009 College of Engineering and Applied Science Hall of Fame inductee and 2009 Distinguished Engineer.