Class Acts

Texas A&M former student and U.S. Marine Kyle Lobpries is one of the world’s best at wingsuit flying, a new extreme sport in which people “fly” to earth after jumping from an airplane or mountain perch wearing a wingsuit and a parachute.

Bob Segner, a beloved Texas A&M professor of construction science whose legions of former students occupy leadership positions throughout the building industry, is retiring at the conclusion of the spring 2016 semester ending a stellar 46-year teaching career.

Harold Adams ’61, will discuss the multi-decade effort to design and build the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, a project he oversaw as chairman of RTKL, in a public lecture set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10 in the Bush Library and Museum Orientation Theater.

A research station on Palmyra Atoll, a remote, 680-acre South Pacific wildlife refuge 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, is operating primarily on wind and solar power thanks to efforts by David Sellers ‘02, a former environmental design student at Texas A&M.

Nurses with access to private break areas could experience significant stress reduction and raised job satisfaction, potentially leading to improved care for the patients they serve, said Adeleh Nejati '15, a former Ph.D. architecture student at Texas A&M, in her Ph.D. dissertation.

Scott Marble ‘83, an Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Architecture, is emphasizing creative collaboration, diversity, and the use of new technology at the Georgia Tech School of Architecture, where he began as the school’s chairman July 1, 2015.

A ‘human-sized’ birdhouse temporarily on display at a San Antonio park in 2014, designed by former Texas A&M design student Patrick Winn, delighted park visitors and racked up numerous honors including a design award from the Texas Society of Architects.

A former student and a fellow designer raised $50,000 in a crowdfunding campaign to continue developing a durable, low-cost flooring system they designed to improve the lives of the millions of refugees who live in camps throughout the globe.

For the second consecutive year, Kunhee Choi, assistant professor of construction science at Texas A&M, has been named an outstanding reviewer of academic papers submitted to a leading construction engineering and management journal.

Sand sculptures depicting dinosaurs, dragons and Dr. Seuss characters built with help from former students at snagged the top two awards in an annual sandcastle building competition hosted by the Houston chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

James Patterson, a former architecture student and faculty member who helped launch Texas A&M’s graduate architecture program in the 1960s died May 29, 2015 in Norman, Okla. after a sudden illness. He was 77.

Six former students from Texas A&M’s College of Architecture who have risen to the top of their respective fields while making significant public service contributions were honored as outstanding alumni during an Oct. 23, 2015 banquet at the Miramont Country Club in Bryan.

John Only Greer ’55, a celebrated architectural educator, industry leader and mentor to generations of aspiring Texas A&M architecture students, passed away June 12, 2015.

Jim Smith, who elevated construction education at Texas A&M by establishing partnerships with leading builders and providing award-winning classroom instruction as a professor and former head of the Department of Construction Science, passed away April 20, 2015.

An exhibit of images by Michelle Robinson ’91, portraying the urban journey of the Los Angeles River, is on display from April 28 - June 5 at the Wright Gallery.