ECE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus and Retired Faculty Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Entergy Mississippi, LLC. - Manager, Asset Management and Resource Planning
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Chevron - Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Chairman, President and CEO of Mississippi Power
- Mississippi Power - Chairman, President and CEO
Anthony L. Wilson is chairman, president and CEO of Mississippi Power, which provides clean, safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to southeast Mississippi. It is a subsidiary of Southern Company - one of the nation's largest energy companies.
Wilson has worked his entire professional career for Mississippi Power and the Southern Company system, starting in 1984 as an engineering cooperative education student in Biloxi, Mississippi. He is a statewide advocate for economic development, workforce development and education. He served as the chair of the Mississippi Economic Council (MEC), the state's Chamber of Commerce. During his term, the 2020 MEC "It's Time" campaign garnered more than 1,000 businesses and individuals in support of the legislature's historic votes to change the divisive state flag that had flown since 1894. It was replaced with an inclusive design that has changed perceptions about the state and enhanced its image globally.
Wilson recently served as chair of the Mississippi Aquarium Foundation to support and open the state-of-the-art facility, one of the state's major tourism attractions. In another statewide leadership role, Gov. Tate Reeves appointed him to lead the Energy Impact Committee for the Restart Mississippi Commission on Economic Recovery related to COVID-19. He was also appointed chair of the Economic Development Committee for the governor's Gulf Coast Advisory Committee.
He serves as chair of the Mississippi State University Foundation and on the Bagley College of Engineering Advisory Council. He is also chair for the Mississippi Partnership for Economic Development and he is immediate past chair for the Gulf Coast Business Council. He is also an executive director on the Mississippi Energy Institute board.
Wilson earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University and an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is also a graduate of the Oxford University Advanced Management Program as well as Leadership Mississippi.
A native of D'Iberville, Mississippi, Wilson and his wife Tonya have three daughters - Meghan, Katie and Natalie - and one grandson, Leo.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Rocketdyne - Stennis Space Center - SSC Test Operations Sr. Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus and Retired Faculty Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Design Group, PLLC - Principal
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Neopolis Technology Inc. - President and CEO
Bruce Deer has enjoyed participating in the evolution of technology since graduating from MSU in 1979. Recently, consulting has allowed him to begin the transition into retirement from the fast-paced high-tech innovative world of engineering and communications. Last October he told Trilogy Communications in Pearl, MS, he had done as much as he could as their consultant. Trilogy agreed. That's when he accidentally found himself hired as Trilogy's full-time CEO. He's currently using his entrepreneurial skills to help launch new products and become more profitable.
After graduating MSU in electrical engineering, Deer was hired by Eastman Kodak. Unfortunately for Kodak, he quickly realized the production of film and chemicals would fall way to digital photography. With great engineers being highly sought, General Dynamic moved him to Ft. Worth, Texas, as a project engineer for F-16 fighter jets, working primarily on digital communications systems. This allowed him to excel amongst a cadre of engineers from prestigious schools across the nation, never feeling at a disadvantage.
The most satisfying part of Deer's career was developing new and innovative technologies. He especially enjoyed the benefits of world travel with Lockheed Aerospace and later Skytel where they developed the first wireless two-way messaging service. Both provided him opportunities to design new technology and see its use in the world. It was even more exciting seeing the original design come full circle when it was replaced with something new.
More recently, Deer provided executive services to Spread Networks. Spread built an ultra-low latency fiber network between Chicago and New York City for high-frequency trading firms.
Deer has been married to Teresa for over 42 years where Madison, MS is home. They have two grown children and three granddaughters. He enjoys golf twice a week, mowing his lawn as if it's a golf course, fishing, and taking Winston, their Yorkie rescue, for boat rides. But those granddaughters hold the keys to his heart…even if 4-year-old Anna tells him, "Poppa, you're not very good at singing. I'm just not sure boys should sing."
Job Titles:
- ABET Coordinator and Associate Professor
- Undergraduate Education
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Improbable US Defense & National Security - President & General Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Mercury Systems - VP / Chief Technologist of Microelectronics ( Retired )
Job Titles:
- President of Quanta Technology
Damir Novosel is president of Quanta Technology (now a subsidiary of Quanta Services), a company he co-founded in 2006 to provide practical and advanced solutions for modernizing electric grid infrastructure. Under his leadership, Quanta Technology has emerged as a major technology, consulting, and testing company providing industry-leading services to the energy industry. He was also president of Quanta Energized Services, which achieved a perfect safety record during his tenure.
Before that, in 2003, he established KEMA's North American T&D Consulting arm to provide engineering and strategic consulting services. Previously as VP of Technology and Product Management at ABB, Novosel led a team of approximately 1,200 people in developing a portfolio of new products and systems for the global market.
Dr. Novosel has been a lifelong volunteer of IEEE with a range of leadership and service activities, including standards. As president IEEE Power & Energy Society, he formed the IEEE PES Industry Technical Support Leadership Committee, which expanded outreach to industry executives, government, and regulatory bodies (e.g., US DOE, US FERC, and US NERC). While he was the PES President, the membership exceeded 40,000 members. Novosel is regularly invited to be a keynote speaker and a plenary panelist at global industry conferences. Throughout his career, he has also held 18 national and international patents, authored over 200 articles and reports, and contributed to seven books.
He was a Fulbright scholar at MSU and owns his business success and leadership approach to lessons learned at MSU. One such lesson was that an individual could accomplish much more through teamwork. That experience translated to his first job, where he built a team that developed new power system protection and automation methods, resulting in numerous patents and implementations in commercial products. This entrepreneurship approach helped him build larger organizations that embody that same MSU spirit.
After earning his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina and his master's degree at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, he earned his Ph.D. in 1991 at Mississippi State University. Dr. Novosel is passionate about leadership development and mentoring. Throughout his career, he has developed and mentored technical experts and business leaders. Dr. Novosel has been an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University since 1997 as part of his commitment to teaching and mentoring.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Clinical Professor and Manager High Voltage Laboratory
- Undergraduate Education
David completed his Bachelor's and the course work for his Master's degree and moved to Florida to work for E-Systems, St. Petersburg Division as a communications systems engineer. He became lead systems engineer on an Air Force UHF SATCOM tactical terminal program that produced a series of UHF SATCOM radios used by segments of all U.S. Military services. During this time he completed his thesis requirement for his Master's degree. His exposure to the business elements of these projects created a path to being promoted to Program Manager. He successfully managed several multi-million dollar programs and was lead in the business development and capture of an international SATCOM terminal program.
In 1998, David left E-Systems and joined a startup called SmartSAT as Director of Programs. SmartSAT's primary business is supporting the communications requirements of the U.S. warfighter with an emphasis in UHF SATCOM and related products. He managed both the program management and engineering of numerous projects in UHF SATCOM, guided missiles and communications protocols for the U.S. Government. In 2001, SmartSAT was selected to provide the Danish Navy with UHF SATCOM as part of NATO directives. David spent several months in Denmark providing installation and training support to Danish Naval personnel. In 2011, David became President and an owner of SmartSAT. In this capacity he has continued to actively participate in the engineering and design efforts required to produce high quality products and services at SmartSAT.
David has worked with engineers from many different countries. He says that his education at MSU was excellent at preparing him to work with a wide diversity of engineers and in many engineering disciplines. David is one of a line of MSU graduates in his family, his father, mother and oldest brother are all graduates of MSU. His father, Dr. Jim Akers, taught in the Electrical Engineering Department for over 20 years. His mother, Dr. Sara Akers was the Director of Nursing at the Mississippi University for Women.
David has two children Connor and Kenton. Connor is currently studying Computer Science at the University of Saarland, Germany. Kenton is studying Computer Aided Design and Computer Programming at the St. Petersburg College. David is an avid cyclist and swimmer and has been swimming with a local community aquatics team for the past 20 years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Alabama Power Company - Customer Renewables Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline - Principal Engineer
Dr John B. Noblin has been retired since 2012 and enjoys his time playing golf and tennis in Spring, Texas.
Dr. Noblin graduated from MSU in 1968 with his BSEE and joined IBM in Jackson, MS, as a Systems Engineer. With an Educational Leave of Absence from IBM, he returned to MSU earning his MSEE in 1970 and his PhDEE in 1972. He returned to IBM working primarily on process control computers in the fall of 1972. In 1974 Dr. Noblin was transferred to Owego, NY, in support of IBM's Federal Systems Division.
In 1983 IBM moved Dr Noblin to manage the field team at Eglin AFB, FL, supporting the development of a drone guidance and station tracking system called GRDCUS (Gulf Range Drone Control Upgrade System). The system was implemented in 1986 at Tyndall AFB, FL, near Panama City.
Drayton Boozer currently lives with his wife Beverly Beatty Boozer at the La Vida Llena Retirement Community in Albuquerque, NM. He retired as a technical manager from Sandia National Laboratories in 2002 having served the Nation in a variety of engineering roles during his 27 years of service.
Drayton excelled in science and mathematics during high school and became fascinated by space technology following the Sputnik satellite launch in 1957. He entered MSU as a cooperative education student, working at Redstone Arsenal, AL. After receiving his B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1966 he accepted a NASA Traineeship that funded his graduate work at MSU.
He worked as a Ballistic Missile Defense systems analyst at Teledyne Brown Engineering, Huntsville, Al, after graduating with his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 1970. After working at Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS, he joined Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. He served in various roles at Sandia, but his most notable achievements were in terrain aided navigation system design and development. In recognition of his contributions to this field he served on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD) Guidance and Control Panel.
Job Titles:
- ABET Coordinator and Associate Professor
Ed Blakeslee is retired from Mississippi Power Company and lives in Gulfport, Mississippi.
After graduation from MSU in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, Blakeslee reported to Fort Belvoir, Virginia for two years of active duty in the U. S. Army. He was then assigned to the 169th Engineering Construction Battalion at Fort Steward, Georgia. After completing his military responsibility, he went to work for Mississippi Power Company. Over a thirty-nine-year career, Blakeslee worked in various positions including engineer, comptroller, compliance officer, division director and retired as the vice president of power delivery and customer service.
Blakeslee says that the education and experiences gained as a result of attending MSU were the basis for much of his business success. He received a quality education while an undergraduate student at MSU. He made lifelong friends. He met his wife who graduate from MSU with a degree in math. The ROTC program at MSU gave him the opportunity to learn about leadership and responsibility as a platoon leader and company commander. He and his wife have continued their support for MSU with the Ed and Marilyn Blakeslee/Mississippi Power Company Endowed Scholarship for engineering students.
Blakeslee is married to the former Marilyn Lois Moore of Starkville and they have two daughters and four granddaughters. He is a member of Windance Country Club, the Kiwanis Club of Gulfport, and Trinity United Methodist Church.
Dr. Eric Welch is a Starkville native and second-generation engineering graduate from Mississippi State University, having graduated with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1991. His father, George Burns Welch, graduated with a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering in 1947. After completing his graduate education, his father returned to Mississippi State and was an engineering faculty member in the Agricultural Engineering Department. (Later renamed the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department).
Dr. Welch has many wonderful memories of growing up on the Mississippi State campus. He was fortunate to be able to visit the MSU library regularly, enjoy delicious milkshakes at the old "DI," more formally known as the Dairy Industries Building, and spend his summers swimming in the old MSU pool.
Dr. Welch lives in Memphis, Tennessee. He is currently a tenured professor and Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Christian Brothers University. Dr. Welch has served as an electrical engineering faculty member in the Christian Brothers University School of Engineering for thirty years. He has twenty years of experience in university administration in various capacities. During his time in administration, Dr. Welch has successfully worked with the faculty and administration on multiple ABET reaccreditation reviews.
Recently, he has focused on unmanned aerial systems or drone, and has developed several new electives on drone applications and design. Additionally, Dr. Welch has developed a course in ancient engineering in conjunction with the international studies program, which includes a trip to sites of ancient engineering marvels, such as the Pantheon and the Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome, Italy.
Dr. Welch is married to Susan Middleton Welch, and they have a teenage daughter, McKenzie. He has a variety of interests, including aviation, travel, history, particularly history of engineering, and of course, engineering. When he is not on the CBU campus or at home, he can generally be found spending time with his wife and daughter at the horse barn, flying, or doing judo.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Adtran, Inc. - Vice President of Engineering ( Retired )
Following graduation from Mississippi State University in 1970 with a master's degree and after serving three years in the U.S. Army performing electronics research, Everette Beers travelled around Europe and Asia for two years. During this time, he resolved to use his electrical engineering for medical purposes, recognizing that the body is bristling with electrical impulses.
Completing work on his Ph.D., Dr. Beers re-entered the U.S. Army in 1982 to perform neurophysiological research for the medical defense against nerve agents at a time when concern for possible nerve gas poisoning was high. Selected in 1988 to be the first U.S. Army Research Exchange Officer to the United Kingdom, he was assigned to the renowned Chemical Defense Establishment, Porton Down, to perfect medical prophylaxes against nerve agents, a critical function leading up to the 1991 Gulf War.
Retiring from the Army in 1993 as a Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Beers joined the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Division of Ophthalmic Devices as an expert reviewer in the areas of toxicology and biomedical engineering, becoming Deputy Division Director in 2006. In addition to work on various first-of-a-kind intraocular liquids, he was instrumental in the FDA's first approval of, and subsequent approvals for, lasers for refractive eye surgery, improving vision for many individuals. As the FDA's only Professional Engineer and Certified Toxicologist, the FDA recognized Beers as the FDA's national and international expert in several areas of toxicology and biomedical engineering, including intraocular devices, intraocular fluids, telemedicine, and surgical lasers.
Beers states that he has been able to utilize his electrical engineering background in every endeavor of his career, asserting that there is no question that his education at Mississippi State University prepared him for success in a wide variety of areas, including electronics, neurophysiology, and biomedical engineering.
Dr. Beers is currently retired and lives in Martinsburg, WV and Washington, DC. He is married to Marija Futchs Fine-Beers and has one son, a graduate of West Point and currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Cooperative Energy - Senior Vice President / COO
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Raytheon Technologies - Associate Director, Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Southern Company - Principal Research Engineer
Harold Moore graduated from Mississippi State University in 1951 with a degree in electrical engineering. He began his engineering career at Westinghouse Electric Corporation in its Transformer Division. His employment with Westinghouse at this location resulted from his work on Westinghouse transformers while at Mississippi State University.
He was involved in the design of large power transformers for generating stations and substations. Harold was transferred to the Large Power Transformer Development Group in 1957.
His primary responsibilities were in the development of transformer insulation structures for extra high voltage 550 and 800 KV insulations. He became the Manager of Large Power Transformer Development in 1963.
Harold Moore continued management of development activities until 1981, when he became the Manager of Transform Design for Westinghouse Medium and Large Power Transformer. He was transferred to the Transformer Components Division in 1985. He was the manager of all Technical Design and Manufacturing Activities.
Harold left Westinghouse in 1989. He formed Harold Moore & Associates, Inc. in 1989. Through this company, he and associates provided consulting services in the areas of transformer design, operation and analysis. Some of the larger electric power companies in the United States, Europe, South Africa and Australia became clients.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Technologies LLC - Founder / Consultant
Huey J. Ngo lives in Brandon, Mississippi, with his family. He is currently operating his own consulting agency, GEN8 Technologies, and as COO for BloomBridge and DopplerHealth.
After graduating from MSU in 1999 with bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering, he went to work for SkyTel in Jackson, Mississippi. He worked as lead engineer for a department that led the design and development of an OEM product line for Telemetry and Telematics applications utilizing SkyTel's nationwide network. He worked on some of the first wireless residential power meters and Fleet-based GPS Tracking products. He was awarded the Circle of Excellence award for his contributions to SkyTel's successes.
In 2006, Ngo joined Bomgar Corporation, an early-stage Mississippi-based technology startup. Through his leadership of the Products, Engineering, Support and Services departments, he led the development of a new generation of products that enabled the business to become the market leader for the Remote Support and Access market and a leader in the Cyber Security solutions market. As a member of the executive team at Bomgar, Ngo helped grow the business to a $2 billion business by the time he left at the end of 2018. During his tenure, he was also heavily involved in merger-and-acquisition activities, successfully acquiring four technology companies and three successful exit events to Private Equities.
Since leaving Bomgar at the end of 2018, Ngo has been sharing his knowledge and experiences by helping Mississippi-based entrepreneurs bring their ideas to market, providing operational mentoring, and assistance to their startups.
Ngo says the lessons and skills learned at MSU have been critical to his career accomplishments and is very proud of MSU's Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) program. Ngo and his wife have multiple scholarships and endowments established to help support future ECE Department needs and future generations of students.
Ngo is married to Lucia Intan, and they have two children. Ngo also serves on the advisory board of the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Mississippi State University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Spire - Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, Research and Development
Jack Bradley spends his time between Gulfport, MS, Birmingham, AL, and Starkville, MS. He retired in 2008 after a distinguished career of accomplishments in the power industry at Georgia Power, Savannah Electric, and Mississippi Power.
After completing his associate's degree at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, he began work on his engineering degree at Mississippi State University before joining the navy in 1968 where he received the rank of Aviation Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Petty Officer. Upon his honorable discharge from the Navy, he went to work at Mississippi Power as a maintenance helper before taking a leave to return to Mississippi State to complete his electrical engineering degree in 1977. While at Mississippi Power he held various roles including construction engineer for Plant Daniel, overseeing the completion of the baseload units that would serve Mississippi Power for many years. While at Mississippi Power, he held roles of increasing responsibility including maintenance superintendent and assistant plant manager at Plant Watson before advancing to plant manager of the Plant Daniel facility that houses two coal-fired units and two combined cycle gas units.
In 2004 Bradley left Mississippi Power for the opportunity to manage the Savannah Electric Generation fleet as a general manager. In this role, he oversaw multiple facilities in the Savannah Electric territory prior to the merger with Georgia Power. He finished his career at Georgia Power in 2008, retiring to spend more time fishing at their Lay Lake home near Birmingham, golfing, and spending time with his grandchildren.
Bradley took a non-traditional role to completing college, but his time away with the Navy and later return to Mississippi State after starting a family helped him appreciate the value of his education, motivating him to encourage and aid students through scholarships to support future generations of Mississippi State engineers.
Bradley is married to Sylvia Gartman Bradley, and they have three children and five grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of Boy Scouts of America, Habitat for Humanity, and the United Methodist Church. He also enjoys watching as much Mississippi State baseball as possible.
James "Jim" Worth Bagley, born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, called Mississippi, Texas, California, and Japan his home throughout his life. From humble beginnings, Bagley found success in the semiconductor industry throughout his career.
Graduating from Mississippi State University in 1966 with a Masters degree in engineering, Bagley began his career with Texas Instruments where he served as an engineer, manager, and executive. After 16 years with Texas Instruments, Bagley began to work for
Applied Materials, a small player in the semiconductor industry, where he eventually served as President and Chief Operating Officer. In 1996, Bagley left Applied Materials to become Chief Executive Officer and, later, Chairman of the Board of Lam Research, a competitor to Applied Materials. Under Bagley's leadership, Lam Research also went from a modest company to a heavyweight competitor in the semiconductor industry. Equally as important to Bagley were his philanthropic contributions in pursuit of expanding opportunities for education through the J.W. Bagley Foundation, which he founded in 1994 and continues to provide financial assistance for all levels of education, medical research, and other charitable ends. The J.W. Bagley Foundation continues to consider Mississippi State a top priority and an example of the power of higher education. On a personal level, Bagley donated to Mississippi State's engineering school to help students in his home state receive a world-class education. Initially hesitant to attach his name to the donation, Bagley and his family now find pride in the fact that the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University now carries on his legacy.
Bagley's passion for education was felt most strongly when he spoke of Mississippi State University. From his financial contributions to the University to his involvement with the University's "Car of the Future" initiative long after his retirement, Bagley was proud of his connections to Mississippi State and spent considerable time ensuring he could give back to his alma mater.
Bagley was married to Jean Bagley, with whom he had three children: Sharon, Mark, and Susan. Bagley and Jean both died in February of 2020 but are survived by Sharon, Mark, and their nine grandchildren.
Dr. James Bert Nail terms himself an obsolete engineer, but he still spends time at The Idea Shop with younger entrepreneurs, developing tools to combat honeybee pests for a startup LLC.
Dr. Nail barbered to pay his way through his Mississippi State University B.S. and received a graduate fellowship for his master's, which he completed in 1968. James Bert Nail and Betty Janice Allen were married the same year. He began his Ph.D. as she finished her B.S. in zoology, graduating while he endured military training. The couple then moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where Dr. Nail worked in the Flight Dynamics and Control section at Boeing. This work was very interesting and cyclic enough to allow involvement with new ventures.
As Dr. Nail was interviewing for his next job, Dr. Jerrel Mitchell suggested he return to Mississippi State University to work on a research contract while completing the Ph.D. He did, and that contract folded during the move back to Starkville. Dr. Nail gives the Lord credit for that career change; teaching never made his short list, but he was now fortunate to have a temporary teaching position. He spent the rest of his career in teaching and research, enjoyed interacting with students and helping in their development. Mississippi State graduates have a well-deserved reputation for accomplishing the near-impossible, sometimes with very limited resources. He notes that reputation is largely inherited, as seen in the following history: Electrical Engineering at Mississippi State nearly died five years prior to Dr. Nail's enrollment in 1962. Dean Harry Simrall refused to fold, hired Dr. Billie Ball as head of the department, and promised to help him succeed despite limited funding. Years later, Dr. Ball confided that he would not have come if he had he known anything about budgets. His budget to buy essentials and pay his faculty that first year was … $15,000. The stalwarts that stood with him deserve credit, too: Paul Jacob, Bob Guyton, Karl Carlson, Bill McDaniel, Jimmy Dodd, and John Herring. They were soon joined by Claude Irby, Frank Ingels, and others. Imagine the loss to the world had they failed! With his best smile, Dr. Ball would often assure a prospective student that the department at Mississippi State would provide them opportunity for failure. Successful people face that opportunity often - but just will not quit.
Dr. Nail insists he is not in the same class as the corporate leaders receiving a similar award, but they may have been in his class at one time. He simply ran a lap with the baton. It was a good race. Betty was supportive throughout his career; he reciprocated by guest lecturing occasionally in her second grade class. They have two children, David and Carole, and two grandchildren, Zoe and Malcolm. Betty died in 2017 after nearly 49 years of marriage. Only the Lord can provide a purpose in life after that loss, and He has.
Jim Flanagan was born August 26, 1925, in Greenwood, Mississippi. He graduated from high school in 1943 and completed his first year at Mississippi State University before joining the U.S. Army at age 18. He returned to MSU after three years of service and graduated with a B.S degree in electrical engineering.
Jim served 33 years in research at Bell Labs, retiring as Director of Information Principles Research in 1990. His book, "Speech Analysis, Synthesis and Perception," became the foundation for modern speech and audio processing. He later served 15 years at Rutgers University in dual roles as a research center director and as the university Vice President for Research. After he "retired" at age 80, Jim consulted for Avaya Communication Research and taught in Mississippi State University's Department of Electrical Engineering. He is remembered for his contributions to speech-compression technologies that enabled voice mail, Internet phone calls, MP3 music files and voice interaction with cell phones. Additionally, he's remembered for his acoustic investigations into the JFK assassination, Apollo 1 tragedy and the Watergate tapes.
Jim's career was marked by professional recognition far beyond his most imaginative dreams of a boy from a farm in the Mississippi Delta. Among these honors are both national and international events, such as the National Medal of Science, presented at the White House by the president of the United States, the Medal of Honor of the engineering professional society IEEE, the L.M. Ericsson prize in telecommunications, presented in Stockholm by the king of Sweden, the Marconi International Fellowship, presented in Madrid by the Crown Prince of Spain, election to the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.
Throughout Jim's professional life, his awareness of and penchant for encouraging educational attainment were always present. No doubt a trait he inherited from the educators that helped to shape his destiny. He fostered inspiration in scientific education, particularly for youths and young women. The H. G. Flanagan Endowed Scholarship and the James L. Flanagan Endowed Graduate Scholarship were established with that spirit in mind.
Jim's wife of 57 years, Mildred Bell, currently lives in Warren, New Jersey.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- University of Arkansas Grantham - Vice - Chancellor of Information Technology
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Program Coordinator
Dr. Jeannette Herring Russ lives in Jackson, Tennessee, where she serves as Professor and Department Chair for the Department of Engineering at Union University. She is delighted to still be a "Bulldog," since Union and Mississippi State share that mascot!
After graduating from Mississippi State in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, Dr. Russ moved to Loveland, Colorado, to work for Hewlett-Packard's Manufacturing Test Division. She held several positions in new product development, corporate training, and manufacturing, and finished her career at Hewlett-Packard as lead engineer for her group.
While at Hewlett-Packard, Dr. Russ attended Colorado State University and earned her M.B.A. in 1994. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Vanderbilt University, earning her Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1999. Her research focused on biomedical applications of signal processing, and she developed an algorithm for image-guided minimally invasive back surgery that involved the extraction of a three-dimensional surface from a pre-operative CT scan that could be aligned with an ultrasound image taken during surgery.
Dr. Russ joined the Union faculty in 2002, where she has been instrumental in establishing the engineering program. The first Union engineering students graduated in 2005 and have been successful in both industry and graduate school. Dr. Russ enjoys sharing the knowledge gained from her industry experience and her academic research with the next generation of engineers. She was named "Faculty of the Year" at Union in 2008 and became Department Chair in 2012.
Dr. Russ greatly values the foundation provided by Mississippi State University during her undergraduate years. She is a second-generation electrical engineering graduate, following in the steps of her father, John W. Herring, Jr., who served Mississippi State as an electrical engineering faculty member for many years.
Jeannette is married to Bobby Russ and has two children, Rachel and Timothy. She is an active member of West Jackson Baptist Church and is heavily involved in the many activities of her children and her students at Union University.
Job Titles:
- Graduate Program Coordinator and Professor, Bobby Shackhouls Endowed Professorship
Job Titles:
- Member of the Emeritus and Retired Faculty Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- COSM - Air Force Electrical and Electronics Engineer
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor and Robert D. Guyton Chair
- Undergraduate Education
Job Titles:
- Building Services Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Sylvamo - Manager of Technical Services, North America
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Westminster Christian Academy - COO / CFO
Job Titles:
- Assistant Teaching Professor / EOC University
Charles Cullis Wade, renowned antique clock collector of Newton, Mississippi and Bogalusa, Louisiana, graduated from MSU in 1940 with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
Following graduation, Wade worked in cotton gins and built tung oil mills. He also was a Navy Seabee in World War II. He moved to Bogalusa in 1948 and built the Wade Tung Oil Mill. In 1955 he and his partner Randolph Cassidy formed C & W Construction Company and built the local airport and many cemeteries in Louisiana and Mississippi.
In 1967 Cullis married Gladys Valentine of Laurel, Mississippi, and they began to collect antique clocks. Both Wades worked on the clocks and enjoyed finding new and different clocks from all over the United States. The Cullis Wade Museum and Depot was built in 2006, and over 400 clocks were shipped from Bogalusa to Starkville. Wade loved going to the Clock Museum on Saturdays before the game and delighted in talking to young and old who would come through looking at the clocks...and taking a photo with "Bully Dawg!"
Cullis and Gladys enjoyed having 22 friends and family members in their sky box on game days. He continued to attend each game until his 94th birthday in July of 2012. After a brief illness, Wade missed the 2012 football season, and left us on October 15, 2012.
Larry Templeton, Athletic Director, delivered his eulogy and said," Cullis Wade was my friend. He put his money where his heart was, and helped make a better athletic program at MSU. I know this unversity's best days are yet to come because you cared. I am so thankful that our paths have crossed, no one can take this special relationship away! Goodbye to our Big Dawg." Templeton rang the cowbell loud and clear to signal his passing, and for others to step up, do their part, and give back to Mississippi State!
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Undergraduate Education
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories - Sales & Customer Service Director
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- MSU - Retired ECE Department Head
Job Titles:
- Professor and GRI / NGI Director, Billie J. Ball Professorship
- Professor and GRI / NGI Director, Billie J. Ball Professorship / Geosystems Research Institute
- Undergraduate Education
Job Titles:
- Department Head, Professor, and James Worth Bagley Chair
- Head and James W. Bagley Chair Professor / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Avenuhs - Strategic Consulting & Program Management
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Army Combat Capabilities - Development Command - Division Chief of PM SHIELD Modeling and Simulation ( a ), S3I TM Missile Defense Division
A native of Winston County, Kemp graduated from Nanih Waiya High School and earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. Kemp believes that the trajectory of his entire career has been propelled by his educational experiences at Mississippi State University.
His professional career began with TVA's transmission planning and engineering division in Chattanooga, Tenn., followed by a position at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama. In 1978, he moved to Tupelo, Mississippi, to work in TVA's rates, contracts and power supply division. He later became general manager of TVA's Mississippi District, a position he held until he retired from TVA.
Beginning in 2010, Terry Kemp served as general manager of Starkville Utilities following a 36-year career at the Tennessee Valley Authority. In 2015, Kemp managed a merger that centralized electric, water and sewer services under one entity and expanded his scope of responsibilities. The reliability of the utility, which also serves Mississippi State University, consistently remains in the top quartile while operating on the lowest rate structure in the area.
Under Kemp's leadership, Starkville Utilities launched the Renew Principle, a performance-improvement initiative rooted in building stronger relationships with customers and the community. Additionally, Starkville Utilities' Future FOCUS program to upgrade water and electric infrastructure without significantly impacting rates reflects Kemp's commitment to strategic investments and has been part of the utility's forward-thinking approach, which earned the City of Starkville statewide recognition from the Mississippi Municipal League in 2021.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Dynetics - Deputy Department Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Rapid Silicon - Director, Open Source Program Office
Job Titles:
- Associate Teaching Professor
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Authority - Executive Vice President and Chief External Relations Officer
Job Titles:
- Professor and Billie J. Ball Professorship ( NSF Program Director - on Leave )
Billy is a nationally recognized electric power system leader and experienced board member. He served 35 years in the electric utility industry and retired in 2019 as Executive Vice President and Chief Transmission Officer of Southern Company Services. He was responsible for all aspects of Southern Company's multi-state electric transmission system. He previously served in executive roles over Transmission Design and Construction, Transmission Planning and Operations, Technical due diligence on business development projects, and Safety and Health policy.
Billy helped form and served as Chairman of the Board of the North American Transmission Forum (NATF) and the Eastern Interconnection Data Sharing Network (EIDSN). He was a member of the Board of SERC, Mirant Asia-Pacific, and Jamaica Public Service Company. Billy served on the U.S. Department of Energy Electricity Advisory Committee, National Institute of Standards and Technology Smart Grid Federal Advisory Committee (SGFAC), Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS) Industry Leadership Council, and Chaired the NERC Members Representative Committee. Billy has testified in state and federal regulatory hearings and before a U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee.
He holds a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from Mississippi State University (MSU) and an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is a member of the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame, a Distinguished Fellow of the Mississippi State University James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, and serves on the MSU Engineering Dean's Advisory Council.
Billy and his wife, Cindy, reside in Birmingham, Alabama, have four children, and are very involved in various ministries of Briarwood Presbyterian Church. They sponsor the Billy and Cindy Ball Legacy Scholarship at MSU and the Southern Company Diversity Scholarship in the Bagley College of Engineering is named in his honor.
Job Titles:
- Professor ( NSF Program Director - on Leave )
Job Titles:
- Professor and Tennessee Valley Authority ( TVA ) Endowed Professorship
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi - Quality Engineering Manager