Texas Tech Names 2011 Distinguished Engineering Student

The Texas Tech University Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering has named Joelle Fuhrmann the recipient of the McAuley Distinguished Engineering Student Award for 2011.

This award, provided by members of the Whitacre College of Engineering Dean’s Council, is named in memory of James A. McAuley, an active member of the Dean’s Council, and a Texas Tech Distinguished Engineer.

Fuhrmann, of Muenster, competed for this honor and was selected because of her outstanding academic achievements, honors, activities, interests and aspirations. Academically, she has been on the Texas Tech President’s List or the Engineering Dean’s List each semester that she has been at the university.  She will graduate with a 3.9 GPA in May 2011 with master’s and bachelor’s degrees in environmental engineering with honors.

After graduation, she will be commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force working in the 60^th Civil Engineering Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, specializing in environmental engineering. She hopes to help bring clean, safe drinking water to communities around the world.

Furhmann held leadership positions in many student organizations at the university, including the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, most recently as long range planner; the Society of Professional Engineers as vice president; Engineers Without Borders as treasurer; as a representative of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Student Advisory Council; and other organizations.

In recognition of her scholarship, she has been named a member of five honor societies, including the National Society of Scabbard & Blade, Kappa Mu Epsilon (mathematics), Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Lambda Delta and Gamma Beta Pi.

She has received numerous awards and honors, including the Outstanding Engineering Scholar Award, the Texas Tech in Human Form Award, and the Air Force ROTC Field Training Superior Performer award.

In addition to her classroom instruction, Furhmann has been a graduate assistant, student assistant, or teaching assistant in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering since 2008, assisting with courses and conducting research on water recovery efficiency for prolonged NASA space flights.

She has volunteered with Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminars, Guadalupe Kids, the Boys & Girls Club of Lubbock and the T-STEM Summer Engineering Program.