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Garwood, Holmes honored with Distinguished Engineering Alumnus award

Jeffrey R. Garwood (l) and Irwin R. Holmes Jr.
Jeffrey R. Garwood (left) and Irwin R. Holmes Jr.

The College of Engineering at North Carolina State University honored two of its alumni with Distinguished Engineering Alumnus awards at a ceremony on Sept. 25.

Jeffrey R. Garwood and Irwin R. Holmes Jr. received the awards from Engineering Dean Dr. Louis A. Martin Vega at the Park Alumni Center on NC State’s Centennial Campus.

Garwood earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from NC State in 1984. He is the founder and managing member of Liberation Capital, a global private equity firm specializing in CleanTech solutions like alternative energy and waste water treatment and reuse. He also served as president and CEO of GE Water & Process Technologies and held positions with DuPont, McKinsey & Co., Commerx and Youcentric.

Garwood is a generous supporter of NC State who established the Garwood Family Scholarship and is a member of the NC State W.C. Riddick Society. He has served on the Board of Directors for the NC State Engineering Foundation and has been active with the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Holmes earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from NC State in 1960. The first African-American to earn an undergraduate degree from the university, he stands among a distinguished group of trailblazers who had the courage to integrate institutions of higher learning in the South.

Holmes also integrated NC State and Atlantic Coast Conference athletics as a member of the university’s tennis team. After earning his NC State degree, he received a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University and then worked for several companies including IBM, where he spent 19 years as a senior manager of computer development.

Holmes has been an active supporter of the NC State Engineering Foundation and the university’s Minority Engineering Programs.

The Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award was established by the faculty of the College of Engineering at NC State in 1966 to honor engineering graduates who have been recognized for outstanding achievements in planning and direction of engineering work, fostering professional development of young engineers, contributing to knowledge in the field of engineering or bringing, in other ways, distinction to the University through engineering achievement.

Nominations for this prestigious award come from members of the Engineering faculty, and a vote by faculty representatives determines the recipients of the award.