College Welcome
Since 2001, the Engineering First Year program has hosted an annual College of Engineering Welcome event featuring our Dean of Engineering and a keynote speaker.
23rd Annual College of Engineering Welcome Event
Keynote Speaker
Ana P. Davis (BS CHE ’91) Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE), North America for Syngenta
Ana Davis heads Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) in North America for Syngenta, a global agriculture company.
She manages Syngenta’s corporate HSE programs, which cover a wide array of business units, including active ingredient manufacturing, product formulation, seeds operations, and commercial sales.
She also serves as the Global HSE Business Partner for the Seeds Development business, responsible for the development of strategic programs to deliver breakthrough HSE performance globally. Her team develops tools to improve safety culture across the company and create a high level of employee engagement. Ana began her career as a process control engineer with Exxon, later working as a facilities engineer for Advanced Micro Devices. Prior to joining Syngenta in 2009, she held a variety of production and HSE management roles with Kao Specialties Americas. Before that, she was a plant manager at Dow and held several positions with Union Carbide Corp., becoming a plant production manager after the Dow Chemical merger.
A native of Spain, Ana was recognized in 2005 with the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award for Professional Achievement in Industry. She serves on the advisory boards of The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), North Carolina State University’s Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and North Carolina A&T Department of Chemical, Biological, and Bioengineering.
In 2019, she was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of AIChE and will be on the ballot as AIChE Treasurer in the upcoming 2023 election. Ana received her BS degree in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University, where she was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2020.
Ana and her husband have three children and established an endowment for chemical engineering undergraduate students.
Past Keynote Speakers*
2022 Chris Olinger (BSCS ’89) D-WISE, AN INSTEM COMPANY 2022 College Welcome (YouTube) | |
2021 Bhavana Bartholf (IMSEI) Chief Digital and Transformation Officer, Microsoft Solutions Worldwide 2021 Video Podcast | |
2020 Edward P. Fitts (BSIE ‘61) | |
2019 Tim Humphrey (BSEE ’96) IBM | |
2018 Quint Barefoot (BSCHE ’85) Entrepreneur | |
2017 Dr. Christine Mann Darden Retired member of The Senior Executive Service NASA Langley Research Center | |
2016 Congressman Chris Collins (BSME ’72) New York’s 27th Congressional District in the House of Representatives | |
2015 Jason Rhode (MSEE ’93 Ph.D. ’95 ) President and CEO Cirrus Logic | |
2014 Suzanne Beckstoffer (BSCE ‘82) Director of Process and Tools Newport News Shipbuilding | |
2013 Mark A. Norcross (BSFMM ‘76) Founder and Consultant Mark David, Inc. | |
2012 Dr. B. Jayant Baliga Distinguished University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering | |
2011 Jake Hooks (MSE ’78) President, Automotive North America, Eaton Corporation | |
2010 Mark Wyatt (CSC ’80) VP, Smart Grid & Energy Systems Duke Energy | |
2009 Tom McPherson (EE ’76, ’77) Managing Member Cluny Aviation LLC | |
2008 Steve Angel (CE ’77) Chairman, President & CEO Praxair | |
2007 Lee Mazzocchi (CE ’90) Vice President Progress Energy | |
2006 Scot Wingo (ECE ’92) President and CEO ChannelAdvisor Corporation | |
2005 Gayle Lanier (IE ’82) Vice President | |
2004 Tim E. Scronce (IE ’87) President Blue Rhino | |
2003 Ross Lampe, Jr. (IE ’77) President SMD Software, Inc. | |
2002 Barbara H. Mulkey (CE ’77) CEO Mulkey Engineers & Consultants | |
2001 Marshall Brain (CSC ’89) Founder HowStuffWorks |
Questions?
Call Brian D. Koehler at 919.515.3263