Engineering Hall of Fame inducts new members

The Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame will induct six individuals and one corporation during a ceremony on Feb. 25 at the Huntsville Marriott. The following members join dozens of others already inducted in the Hall of Fame, located at the University of Alabama.

• Charles D. Griffin, a resident of Leander, Texas, near Austin, served as head of engineering, and later vice president and president, at CarboMedics, a leading company in cardiac surgery. Under his direction the company became the world's second largest producer of mechanical heart valves, according to the Hall of Fame.

Griffin is a graduate of Auburn University and began a career in civil engineering before studying biomaterials. He earned his master's degree in materials engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and joined Zimmer USA as an orthopedic implants researcher before joining CarboMedics.

• Coultas D. "Colt" Pears has been with Southern Research Institute since 1957 and was instrumental early on in developing the facility's mechanical and materials engineering department. Since then, through his work in aerospace and materials testing, his work is responsible for creating more than 100 technical jobs in the state and bringing millions of research dollars to Alabama.

Pears earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Tulane University in 1949. Before joining SRI, he researched coal gasification for the Bureau of Mines and then led Alabama Power Co.'s underground coal gasification project. He holds five patents and was elected to the Alabama Academy of Science.

• William B. Reed joined Southern Company Services as an executive vice president in 1969, after a 19-year career with General Electric Co., and was credited with raising the operation of power plants and transmission systems to new standards. He was later appointed president and retired in 1984. He went on to found Reed Consulting and for two decades consulted the field of electric power engineering. Also, during this time he served as CEO of the Selma, Ala., based American Fine Wire Co. and Systems Controls Inc.

Reed earned his bachelor's degree from Auburn University in 1950 and currently serves on the Auburn University Alumni Engineering Council, is a lifetime member in the school's alumni association and is a 1856 Society donor.

• Charles H. "Hack" Sain used his engineering skills early on to educate infantrymen in World War II, serving first as a lieutenant and then as an engineer office for the U.S. Army. Following the war, he entered the railroad industry and later went to work for Southern Railway as an expert on blasting and vibration analysis. His solution of pre-splitting for the railroad industry led to its becoming standard practice for transportation departments nationwide.

Sain founded Charles H. Sain Associates, now known as Sain Associates Inc., in Birmingham in 1969. At the age of 82, he participates in daily office routines and oversees the company's leadership development program.

• David W. Scobey Jr., a resident of Alpharetta, Ga., started his career with BellSouth Corp. in 1978 after graduating from Auburn University. In earlier years, he served in numerous positions including network engineer and manager of the company's operations including sales, marketing, publishing, strategic planning and new ventures. In 1998, he was named president of BellSouth Long Distance, and he was asked to oversee BellSouth Small Business Services in 2001, leading the company to receive three J.D. Power and Associates awards. In 2005, he was named president of retail markets for BellSouth.

Scobey is active in his church and is an instrument-rated pilot, volunteering medical flights for Angel Flight America. He also serves on the Auburn University School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Alumni Advisory Board and to Harding University's President's Council.

• Dwight L. Wiggins spent 25 years with Exxon Mobil Corp. before joining Tosco Corp. as president of its Bayway Refining Co. In one year, he was able to turn the company around and was soon named executive vice president for Tosco. By the time of his retirement in 2001, the company had grown to refine nearly 1.3 million barrels of oil daily with 5,000 employees and logged annual capital expenditures of nearly $500 million.

As a graduate of Auburn University, Wiggins is still active in his alma mater, supporting and advising the school's Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Team and serving as a member of its Samford Society and Alumni Engineering Council. He currently is leading a campaign for new facilities for its mechanical engineering program.

• LBYD Inc. was founded in 1973, and after several mergers and several years became known as Lane Bishop York Delahay Inc., or LBYD Inc. The engineering company currently employs 51 people and has established itself as a leader in engineering design, garnering state and national recognition. Award-winning projects include the arch replacements at Martin Dam, the Mobile Convention Center and the Mobile Government Plaza, which one year was named one of the top eight engineering designs in the United States. Other notable work includes Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Federal Reserve Bank of Birmingham, federal courthouses in Montgomery and Birmingham, the Kirklin Clinic and the expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Engineers in the company are registered in 35 states. The company has completed services for more than 6,500 projects with a combined value of more than $5 billion. The company provides annual scholarships to Auburn University, the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and has provided endowed scholarships in civil engineering to Auburn University and the University of Alabama.