COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The Board of Regents of The Texas A&M University System has honored Texas A&M Engineering’s Dr. Jay Humphrey and Dr. W.D. "Dan" Turner with Regents Service Awards for their service to the A&M System and the state of Texas. The board honored recipients of the regents service awards at its monthly meeting Jan. 26 at Texas A&M University. Humphrey, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and holder of the Carolyn S. and Tommie E. Lohman Professorship in Engineering Education, was one of 12 recipients named Regents Professor at the meeting. Since coming to Texas A&M in 1998, Humphrey has been instrumental in helping establish the biomedical engineering department; recruiting and mentoring young faculty members; building an internationally recognized group in cardiovascular mechanics and mechanobiology; and developing research and training programs in biomedical engineering, mathematics, medical physiology and veterinary physiology. Humphrey has been author or co-author of two textbooks, 103 journal papers and 13 book chapters. He has been principal investigator for grants and contracts totaling more than $9.5 million and co-principal investigator on efforts totaling $1 million. He is co-founder and co-editor of the international journal Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology and serves on the editorial board of two other bioengineering journals. He has reviewed papers for 40 professional journals and has given 10 invited plenary lectures at national and international meetings and 65 invited seminars at leading academic institutions in the United States, Canada and Europe. He has received numerous awards for teaching, research and service. Humphrey holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology, all in applied mechanics. He also did post-doctoral studies in cardiovascular science at Johns Hopkins University. Turner was one of six A&M System agency employees named a Regents Fellow. Turner is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M and directs the Energy Systems Laboratory of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, the engineering research agency of the State of Texas and a member of the A&M System. Turner joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1981. In 1985, he helped create the Energy Systems Laboratory (at that time the only facility of its kind in the south) to conduct applied research and provide energy management services to the state. Today, the laboratory has a staff of 110 and annual contracts through the Texas Engineering Experiment Station that exceed $4 million. More than 10,000 people have attended conferences, workshops and seminars taught by Turner or organized through the Energy Systems Laboratory. In 1988, when the State of Texas received more than $300 million in federal funds from oil company fines, Turner helped write the guidelines for a statewide energy efficiency program, LoanSTAR (Loans to Save Taxes and Resources), a $98.6 million revolving loan fund for energy efficiency retrofits in public buildings. To date, LoanSTAR has saved Texans more than $160 million. Turner also led a team that created and implemented energy-saving technologies across the A&M System, resulting in more than $40 million in savings since 1996. In 2001 Turner founded a new conference, the International Conference on Enhanced Building Operations, to focus on improving building operations. More than one-third of the papers at the fall 2005 conference in Pittsburgh originated outside the United States, and the 2006 conference will be held in China. He is active in national organizations, including serving as vice president of the American Society for Engineering Education, which named him one of the 100 educators in the United States who had made significant contributions to engineering education in the organization’s first 100 years. Turner has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than $40 million in research contracts, and has written numerous scholarly publications, including a book and a handbook. Turner holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, all in mechanical engineering. The regents service awards honor professors and senior-level researchers and service delivery professionals who have provided exemplary service not only to their university or agency but also to the community, the state, the nation and the world. Eligibility requires a minimum of five years employment at an A&M System university or agency; a distinguished record of public service, research, teaching and creative or scholarly activity; recognition within his or her field; and a demonstrated commitment to his or her institution. Each recipient is given a $9,000 stipend, an A&M System medallion and a commemorative certificate.
