Engineering for life
Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers inducts three new members to class of 2006
April 12, 2006Contact Information:
Dr. Lalit Verma, Department Head, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
479-575-2351 / lverma@uark.edu
By Fred Miller, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
479-575-5647 / fmiller@uark.edu
Richard Penn of Bryant, from left, Robert Chatman of Newport and Phil Tacker of Sherwood were inducted into the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers by the University of Arkansas department of biological and agricultural engineering.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas inducted Robert Chatman of Newport, Richard Penn of Bryant and Phil Tacker of Sherwood into the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineering April 7.
Chatman is vice-president and senior project manager for Miller-Newell Engineers, Inc. of Newport, Arkansas. He has a background in planning, design, and management of transportation projects and site development. He has been with the firm for 33 years and has been project manager for many projects in Eastern Arkansas.
In addition to the typical drainage, flood control, street water and sewer projects that constitute most of the civil and agricultural engineering project workload in Eastern Arkansas, Chatman has extensive experience in airport planning, design and construction. His airport projects include Batesville and Russellville Regional Airports and Newport, Searcy, Brinkley and Manila Municipal Airports.
Mr. Chatman obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Engineering from Arkansas State University in 1971.
Chatman is registered as a professional engineer in the State of Arkansas. He is currently a member of the American Council of Engineering Companies, the Arkansas Water Environmental Association, the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Arkansas Rural Water Association. Chatman is a board member of the Arkansas Airport Operators Association and past president of the Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers.
Penn is a registered professional engineer and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering, Power and Machinery, from the University of Arkansas in 1982. In May 1992, he earned his Master of Science degree in Engineering Management/Industrial Engineering through the U of A’s Distance Education Program.
Penn has utilized his education in a unique variety of work over his 23-year career. His work has included research and development in both on-shore and off-shore oil fields and off shore oil cleanup for Halliburton Services, systems engineer for Falcon Jet Corporation, design engineer at Jacuzzi Bros. Division, design engineer at Orbit Valve Company, energy engineer for Johnson Controls, engineer for North American Marine Jet, and engineer for Jack Tyler Engineering of Arkansas.
He is now city engineer for the city of Bryant, where his recent municipal project won Small Project of the Year 2005 from Arkansas Chapter American Public Works Association (APWA). Penn is President-elect for 2006 of APWA.
Phil Tacker is widely recognized throughout Arkansas for his engineering work specializing in irrigation system design and practices. He has worked with the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service since 1982 and is widely recognized for his expertise in soil and water related engineering and the practical application of efficient irrigation practices.
His work includes the use of publications, computer programs, presentations and actual “hands-on” demonstrations to aid the row-crop, fruit and vegetable producers, and homeowners of Arkansas and surrounding states in the application of solutions for drainage and irrigation issues.
Tacker obtained both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Arkansas. Phil is an active member of the Arkansas Section of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, where he has served in virtually every leadership capacity. The state section of ASAE has recognized him as the Outstanding Young Engineer in 1989 and Outstanding Engineer in 1997. Through ASAE National he has received an Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award in 1992 and an Award for the Advancement of Surface Irrigation in 2004.
The academy was founded Jan. 10, 2002, by the department of biological and agricultural engineering, said Lalit Verma, head of the department. Members are eminent graduates or supporters of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering program of the University of Arkansas.
The academy’s objectives are to strengthen the dedication of students to biological and agricultural engineering through personal and professional example, to recognize biological and agricultural engineers who bring honor to the field as practitioners and as citizens, to provide advisory guidance and counsel at the call of the department head, faculty or students, and to encourage personal, corporate, foundation, and government support to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees for the benefit of the biological and agricultural department.
The department of biological and agricultural engineering is part of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering.