By Jackey Locke

Engineering alumni Kim Keating and Earl Ludlow are the recipients of the faculty’s Distinguished Alumni Award for 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The award recognizes outstanding alumni who have had exceptional career achievements and have made significant impact on an employer, society, community and/or industry.

Proud advocate

Ms. Keating, who is the vice-president fabrication, Technical, Construction Central and Western Canada, Cahill Group, graduated from Memorial in 1998 with a bachelor of engineering degree and earned her master of business administration from Athabasca University in 2003.

She has 20 successful years of experience in the province’s offshore oil and gas industry. Throughout her career, Ms. Keating has worked with integrity and drive to ensure the companies she has worked for, their projects and the employees they represented has been successful on the provincial, national and world stages.

She provides her knowledge in various capacities for business, societal and advisory groups. She is past vice-chair of Memorial University’s Board of Regents, a member of the Engineering and Applied Science Advisory Council, and chair of the Rhodes Scholarship in Canada regional selection committee. She is past chair of the St. John's Board of Trade, past president of WISE NL, a founding member of the International Women’s Forum (Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter) and a board director with the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation and Opera on the Avalon. She sits on the NL Oil and Gas Industry Development Council. She is a Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering – the first female inductee from Newfoundland and Labrador – and serves on the Academy's board of directors.

“I am truly honoured and humbled to receive this award and to be among the nearly 3,000 graduates who now call themselves engineering alumni of Memorial University’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science,” said Ms. Keating. 

Memorial engineering graduates are some of the best and brightest making their mark on the global stage and I am very proud to be part of such world class talent. There are so many deserving alumni of this award who through their amazing work and leadership continue to not only advance our profession, but be influential thought leaders leaving a positive impact on society. I thank Dr. Naterer and Memorial for this award and I accept on behalf of all the engineering alumni who inspire me to be best engineer I can be.”

Giving back

Mr. Ludlow graduated from Memorial with a bachelor of engineering degree in 1980 and a master of business administration degree in 1994. He retired from his position as executive vice-president, Eastern Canadian and Caribbean Operations, Fortis Inc. in 2017 after more than 40 years with the company, having worked in several Canadian provinces, Central America and the Caribbean.

Mr. Ludlow promotes a culture of volunteerism and giving back in his professional and personal life. As a business leader, he believes that corporate, social and individual responsibility is paramount. This includes the safety of fellow employees and the general public, the support of charities and social agencies, and the mentoring of the youth of today.

He is an active volunteer in the community. He is currently vice-chair of the Rooms, Governor of Commissionaires NL, a member of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador advisory council and the RNC Historical Board. He served two terms on Memorial’s Board of Regents and is a past member of the Engineering and Applied Science Advisory Council, past chair of the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Foundation and past vice-chair of St Luke’s Homes. He served two terms as the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, 1st battalion. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and was awarded the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. He was inducted into the Atlantic provinces CEO Business Hall of Fame by Atlantic Business Magazine. He was designated as the Humanitarian of the Year by the Canadian Red Cross in 2010 and is a Paul Harris Fellow.

“I am honoured to receive the Dean’s Distinguished Alumni Award for 2018,” said Mr. Ludlow. “We should all be proud and privileged to have access to such an outstanding university as Memorial and, in particular, a Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science that is world-class!

“As a new graduate in 1980, I had the opportunity to work with trailblazers in this field such as Dr. Angus Bruneau, Aidan Ryan, Charlie Henry and John Evans to name a few. They instilled in me a sense of pride in my profession, a love of continuous learning, a responsibility for community health and a need to think on a global basis. It was evident at the recent reunion that these values are alive and well today. The Paradigm Hyperloop Team is proof that the profession and society are in excellent hands. The presence of such creativity, imagination, entrepreneurship and engineering talent would lead one to that conclusion. MUN engineering alumni continue to positively impact all parts of the globe. To borrow a motto dear to my heart, we have certainly ‘launch(ed) forth into the deep’.” 

Dr. Greg Naterer, dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, was very pleased to honour Ms. Keating and Mr. Ludlow for their outstanding achievements.

“Ms. Keating and Mr. Ludlow have given back to Memorial, our program and our students in numerous ways,” said Dr. Naterer. “They serve as role models for the entire university community by helping our students discover their full potential and partnering with us to address important community needs.”

Ms. Keating and Mr. Ludlow received their awards on Friday evening at the faculty’s annual reunion.