February 21, 2019
The Chemistry Department's Alumni Ambassador for 2019 is Mr. Richard (Dick) Owens of Wolfe City, TX who owns R.W. Owens & Son Funeral Home.
Mr. Owens received his Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in Chemistry from East Texas State University and was the recipient of the Bill Pierce Award from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service where he received a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer certification.
Richard “Dick” Owens has lived in Wolfe City for many years and has been a part in many organizations and activities throughout his lifetime. In high school Mr. Owens participated in various activities including basketball, student council, and key club. Mr. Owens was the president of student council and key club. Mr. Owens has also participated in many local outreach programs including, but not limited to being the president of the school board, being the president of the Wolfe City Youth Sports Association, being in various positions in the Kiwanis Club, being a member of the chamber of commerce, and being the mayor of Wolfe City. He is also known for being the chairman of the Mt. Carmel Cemetery Association, and for being the founder of the Main Street Project. As for county outreach, Mr. Owens has served on the YMCA Hunt County Board, The Hunt County Committee-on-Aging Board, and the Excelsior Lodge 505. Mr. Owens has also participated in various state and national organizations including Kiwanis International, Texas Banking Commission Board, North Texas Funeral Directors Association, and many more. He has been the recipient of the “Texas Family Business of the Year Award - Family Values” from Baylor University College of Business.
March 1, 2018
The Chemistry Department's Alumni Ambassador for 2018 is Ms. Ora Jane Johnson, a retired Program Engineer with a Chemistry degree and a software development background who worked 36 years in the defense industry on intelligence and information systems for the US Government.
She received her BS in Chemistry and Math from East Texas State University and an MS in Computer Science from UTD-Richardson. She worked for E-Systems/Raytheon and was responsible for engineering aspects, including cost, schedule, and technical, on a $216 million dollar Intelligence and Information System program, with personal responsibility for over $31M in annual sales, managing a multi-discipline team of 80 engineers in 4 states developing and supporting systems deployed in three countries.
Ms. Johnson was a three-time recipient of Technical Honors designation. This award level is voted by peers within the engineering discipline and is given to less than 5% of the population. She was awarded the 2013 Achievement Award for outstanding effort leading a prototype demo to a government customer.
Ms. Johnson was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and grew up in Smyrna, Texas in rural Cass County, on farm land which has been continuously worked by her family since 1870. Her father was a rancher and a farmer and she credits the many summers working with him in the hot Texas sun in the watermelon patch with instilling a desire to go to college and seek a job where there was air conditioning. She graduated as valedictorian from Atlanta High School, where her proudest achievements were being a majorette and winning the science award. She graduated from East Texas State University with a degree in Chemistry and Math, and there, too, she was on the majorette line.
February 23, 2017
The Chemistry Department's Alumni Ambassador for 2017 is Mr. Britt Scott, a pharmaceutical analytical chemist retired from a 38 year career with Alcon Laboratories in Fort Worth, TX.
Britt Scott was raised in Red River County near Bogata and graduated from Rivercrest High School. He received a BS in chemistry in 1974 from A&M-Commerce (then named East Texas State University) and a master's degree in organic chemistry from UT Arlington in 1977. Scott and his wife of 43 years, Jackie, live in Burleson, Texas. Scott enjoys gardening, golf, traveling, and spending time with friends and family, including his three
sons' families and six grandchildren.
Scott retired in 2013 after 38 years as an R&D pharmaceutical analytical chemist with Alcon Laboratories in Fort Worth. Scott held various positions including laboratory chemist, manager of the analytical chemistry product support group, team captainships of the R&D product support team and a team for the development and global registration of a drug product. Lastly, he was R&D global product support projects manager.
Over the years he qualified new drug substances, packaging components, and drug products, developed and validated analytical methods, identified impurities, conducted analytical investigations, wrote technical and regulatory filing documents, and provided support for Alcon's products. Scott had contact with practically all of Alcon's pharmaceuticals over his career, as well as many of the vision care solutions, contact and intraocular lenses, and surgical instruments.
February 25, 2016
The Chemistry Department's Alumni Ambassador for 2016 is Billy J. Parkhill, Jr., Ph.D., M.D., a radiologist whose specialty is Diagnostic Radiology, with subspecialties in Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. He practices in Paris, Texas. His CV is available here.
Dr. Parkhill graduated from East Texas State University with a B.S. in Chemistry and then entered John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland to receive his Ph.D. in Chemistry. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Biosynthetic Organic Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley until 1974 when he attended UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas and received his M.D. in 1978. He performed his residency work at Parkland hospital in Dallas, Texas in Radiology and moved on to work in Paris, Texas at Red River Valley Radiology Associates, where he practices today.
Below are some photos of his visit to our Chemistry Department. Dr. Parkhill is the gentleman in the light gray jacket, accompanied by our Department Head, Dr. Thomas P. West, in the black jacket.
