Two Alumni Inducted Into 36th Annual Hall of Distinction

4/21/2017

The LSU College of Engineering honored two new inductees—Del Holland Dugas and Greg Elliott—at its 36th annual Hall of Distinction banquet, held Thursday evening at Patrick F. Taylor Hall.

The Hall of Distinction, established in 1979, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the engineering profession. Criteria for election include distinguished professorial achievement, dedicated service to engineering and outstanding humanitarian activities. With the addition of Dugas and Elliott, there are now 82 total members.

You can learn more about these two outstanding individuals below.

 

Del Holland Dugas

Del Holland Dugas is a Louisiana native who graduated from LSU in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. She has been acknowledged as the first African-American female to graduate from LSU’s College of Engineering.

Dugas is a Project Business Planner at ExxonMobil and is responsible for developing major capital investments. In the early 80s, she began her engineering career at the Baton Rouge Refinery and progressed through a variety of assignments. She developed expertise in engineering development/design, deployment of new technology, budget planning, economics, safety, and assessments of long-term capital investments. With her extensive knowledge of capital project management and refinery operations, she continues to effectively lead teams that are executing multimillion-dollar projects consistent with the site’s business objectives. Her strong work ethic and commitment to engineering are demonstrated through numerous technical contributions over a 35-year professional career. Her influence extends beyond ExxonMobil Baton Rouge to other areas in the Gulf Coast.

Dugas is a champion for recruiting and cultivating the next generation of STEM leaders. She mentors countless engineering interns and newly-hired employees, providing guidance to help them achieve their personal and professional goals. In addition, she devotes efforts to promoting engineering at both the high school and college levels. She can be found speaking at high school career fairs, pre-college camps, and college seminars, offering insight to students about engineering and other science professions.

For over 25 years, Dugas has been involved with academics and diversity initiatives in the LSU College of Engineering. She served as Chair of the Engineering Diversity Advisory Board and continues to actively support it. She also serves on the LSU Diversity Scholars Program Advisory Board as the lead mentor and coordinator for ExxonMobil. Her collaboration with LSU on strategic initiatives helped to progress objectives focused on increasing student recruitment, retention, and graduation in engineering.

Her history of leadership, dedication, and service includes not only LSU, but extends to the greater Baton Rouge community and beyond through many social and civic endeavors. She provided leadership for nonprofit organizations, including the former Baton Rouge Speech and Hearing Foundation (now Emerge Center), Quota International, the YMCA, Junior Achievement, and Volunteers in Public Schools.

Dugas has received numerous awards and accolades throughout her career, including technical excellence awards, the LSU Minority Engineering Program Corporate Recognition Award, the LSU Chancellor’s Sesquicentennial Service Award (2010), the 2016 Inspiring Women in STEM Award by INSIGHT into Diversity Magazine, and recently the 2017 LSU Women’s Center Esprit de Femme Award. She is also a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Louisiana Engineering Society.

When she isn’t working or volunteering, Dugas enjoys music, travel, home projects, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.

 

Greg Elliott

Gregory D. Elliott is President and Founder of Workstrings International, LLC. It was acquired by Superior Energy Services (NYSE-SPN) in 2001, though he continues to manage his company.

Elliott received his Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from LSU in December 1981. He worked for Chevron Corporation in January 1982 as a Drilling Engineer in the Gulf of Mexico and the Deep Gas Tuscaloosa trend of South Louisiana. In 1986, he transferred to Chevron overseas headquarters located in San Ramon, California. He served as a Well Test Engineer, frequently traveling to Africa, Europe and Asia before joining Chevron’s International Drilling team in 1989 where he planned and drilled wells in Africa, Europe, Asia, Former Soviet Union and South America through 1996.

In 1997, he founded Workstrings International, a premium drill pipe oilfield rental tool company headquartered in Lafayette, La. His company was the first to create and develop, on a large scale, a certain market sector in the oil industry that had not existed in the past. Now Workstrings has become a global leader in providing highly engineered special purpose rental tubular goods for the worldwide oil and gas industries well construction. They currently have 39 offices located in six of the seven continents of the world with 400 employees.

Elliott is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE), and the LSU Alumni Association. Also, he is a member of various sporting and wildlife conservation organizations.

He is married to the former Melissa (Missy) Evans, a 1991 Graduate of LA Tech University in Health Information Management. Greg and Missy enjoy traveling the world and are avid hunters. Together, they founded a Safari Club International (SCI) chapter in 2015, LA Acadiana SCI chapter. This nonprofit organization promotes hunter advocacy, wildlife science based conservation, public and youth education, and local humanitarian initiatives.

The Elliotts reside in Beaver Creek, La., located in Northwest Evangeline Parish, just a few miles from Pine Prairie, their childhood hometown. The Elliotts own and manage several thousand acres of land in the Beaver Creek area. On this property they sponsor hunting and fishing trips for Wounded War Heroes (WWH) annually.

To read each inductee's reflections, please visit our Hall of Distinction page.

 

In addition to honoring the two inductees, the College also presented the Donald W. Clayton Excellence Awards for outstanding undergraduates, graduates and mentors.

The Clayton Fund was established through a generous donation from 1959 graduates Donald W. and Gloria Pichon Clayton. The Clayton family’s endowment supports the College’s quest for sustained excellence in student education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Clayton is also a 1993 Hall of Distinction inductee.

Clayton Engineering Excellence Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student:
• Joshua Campbell, senior in chemical engineering
• John Lacey, senior in chemical engineering
• Harrison Longwell, senior in mechanical engineering
• Christine Morris, senior in industrial engineering

Clayton Engineering Excellence Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Graduate Student:
• Giuseppe Feo, graduate student in petroleum engineering
• Mohammad Izadi, graduate student in petroleum engineering

Clayton Engineering Excellence Mentor Award:
• Wesley Williams, manager of PERTT Laboratory
• Seung Kam, associate professor in Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering

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