The 2024 J. Michael Stone Leadership and Professional Practice Awards Banquet hosted by the Office of Engineering Professional Practice at the Knoxville Downtown Mariott Hotel experienced record attendance with over 200 guests on April 3rd. The banquet celebrates TCE students who have completed a co-op or internship experience and recognizes recipients of the Dr. John W. Prados Scholarship.
Through the generosity of J. Michael Stone, the Prados Scholarship recognizes students who exhibit academic excellence in Chemical Engineering, have completed at least two co-op or internship rotations and pursue a business minor or electives. This year’s recipients are Samuel Andrews, Autumn Cox, Joseph Gallivan, Justin Le, Matthew Newman, and Abbie White.
Awards were also presented to the Engineering Professional Practice Ambassadors graduating during 2024 for their dedication to the professional development of TCE students. Lead Ambassadors, Chris Leonard and Xavier Johnson, received the Jerry Stoneking Co-op Engineering Award and the Henry Goodrich Service Award respectively for their outstanding leadership of the Ambassador Program.
The banquet featured keynote speakers Travis Keever and Jeff Bohanan. A 2016 graduate from the Chemical Engineering Department, Keever received the Prados Scholarship and spent 11 years working at Eastman, where he currently serves as a Circular Product Manager. Bohanan (BS/ME ’86, MS/IE ’89) spent 12 years working for the Department of Energy in the Nuclear Weapons Program before becoming the founder and CEO of Protomet in 1997. Protomet works with the marine industry to develop new products and capabilities and has experienced sustained growth under Bohanan. The Tickle College of Engineering has benefited from this growth as Protomet was the first company to join the newly created Tennessee Engineering Network (TEN) Program as a top-tier, Checkerboard member. Other members in the TEN Program, include American Accessories International, LLC, Altec, Brasfield & Gorrie, Siemens Molecular Imaging, Strongwell, and STV. This annual banquet was made possible through the sponsorship of J. Michael Stone and his family.