2021 Honorees

The Gold & White Honors are the Georgia Tech Alumni Association’s most prestigious awards, recognizing individuals who embody the Institute’s mission and who demonstrate excellence in all that they do.

For more than 86 years, the Alumni Association has honored individuals who represent the best of Georgia Tech. These eight honorees who we are celebrating this year have truly made the world a better place through their exceptional service to their communities, to the Institute, and to humankind. While we will wait to honor them in person in Atlanta this summer, we hope their stories are an inspiration to Yellow Jackets everywhere.

DON PIRKLE, IE 58

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS, THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY

Dean Griffin Community Service Award: Recognizes alumni who have performed exemplary community service in the following ways: service in a long-term volunteer capacity, impact on the quality of life of others, leadership and creativity in dealing with societal problems, and ability to serve as a source of inspiration for others.

Don Pirkle is in awe of Georgia Tech’s evolution as a technical institution. He has witnessed its growth, its involvement in the progress of Atlanta, and its partnerships across the state that have led to innovative interdisciplinary programs.

If Pirkle is in awe of Tech, it could just as easily be said that Tech is in awe of Don Pirkle.

A man of deep integrity, intelligence, and service, Pirkle embodies the Institute’s mission of progress and service. He has served with multiple nonprofits in North Georgia as well as several Georgia Tech organizations.

When Pirkle learned that his church didn’t have a Habitat for Humanity house—nor the funds to build one nor a project leader to take charge—he met with his church’s top fundraisers to spearhead a campaign that ultimately raised more than $40,000 for their first Habitat home. Since then, Pirkle has helped build 75 homes with Habitat for Humanity and participated in Jimmy Carter’s blitz builds, building homes across the country in communities of need.

Throughout the years, Pirkle has supported numerous causes. He served on the board of directors for the Good News Clinic, a nonprofit that provides free medical and dental care to uninsured patients. He has served on the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, the ISyE Advisory Board, and his 40th and 50th Reunion committees. In 2000, he was inducted into the ISyE Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

In a successful 34-year career with The Dow Chemical Company, Pirkle held various positions within the company before retiring in 1995 as vice president of Global Information Systems.

A Yellow Jacket for life, he is actively involved in growing future student leaders, serving on numerous boards including the Georgia Tech Foundation Board as well as having endowed scholarships.

One of Pirkle’s favorite activities is meeting and interviewing candidates for the President’s Scholar Program. “I find great comfort in knowing these President’s Scholars will become leaders on campus and beyond,” he says.

BRIAN TYSON, EE 10

MANAGER, CLEAN ENERGY PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION, PUGET SOUND ENERGY

Outstanding Young Alumni: Given to a Georgia Tech alum under 40 who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, the community, and his/her profession. Brian Tyson didn’t let “getting out” end his bond to Georgia Tech. While a student, Tyson dove into student life, joining the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, being inducted into the ANAK Society, and joining the Ramblin’ Reck Club—where, he says, he found his passion and love for all things Georgia Tech.

It’s not uncommon for alumni to disengage from their alma mater the
first few years after graduation, but Tyson doubled down on the connections and memories that he had made in school. He not only stayed connected to the Institute himself, but he set out to keep other young alumni engaged as well.

“My goal has always been to help new alumni realize that there’s a community here with resources for you, just like there was a community for you while you were in school,” Tyson says.

After earning his degree, he became a mentor in the Mentor Jackets program and served as president of the Young Alumni Council from 2014 to 2016. As a trustee of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association from 2017 to 2020, Tyson focused on meeting the needs of new alumni and, in turn, helping them recognize the value of giving back. He served on the committee for Tech’s inaugural 40 Under 40 program, which serves to highlight outstanding young alumni.

In addition to his service to Tech, Tyson proves that his degree—and the skill set that comes with it— is highly useful in the professional world. He spent seven years at the Georgia Transmission Corporation as a substation test engineer and then a bulk transmission planner, before moving to Seattle to become a senior engineer with Puget Sound Energy.

His current position is manager of Clean Energy Planning and Implementation.

Tyson received the news of his award from a friend and mentor, Anu Parvatiyar, BME 08. “Being told by someone I look up to and admire made it even more special,” he says. “I think about the outstanding alumni who received this award before me whom I look up to and admire. To be part of that group is very humbling,” Tyson says.

MIKE ANDERSON, IE 79

PRESIDENT & CEO, GEORGIA POWER FOUNDATION, THE SOUTHERN COMPANY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

Joseph Mayo Pettit Distinguished Service Award: The highest award conferred by the Alumni Association, honoring alumni who have provided outstanding support for the Institute and Alumni Association throughout a lifetime and who have provided leadership in their chosen professions and local communities.

Mike Anderson's interest in engineering first sparked in the pages of Scientific American magazine. His father, a letter carrier with the postal service, would bring home leftover copies that customers on his route had given him for his son. Even though Anderson didn’t understand the scientific concepts on the page yet, his curiosity for learning and ambition to become an engineer were ignited.

For as long as he could remember, Anderson and his father were Yellow Jacket fans, so in high school, his decision to become a “helluva engineer” was set.

As a four-year letterwinner in track and field, Anderson set three school records while at Georgia Tech. Now, as president and CEO of Georgia Power Foundation and the Southern Company Charitable Foundation, Anderson’s focus is on removing hurdles for others.

He has led countless projects throughout his career, including his involvement in the founding investment of the nation’s first museum of African American history in Washington, D.C., revitalization projects in East Atlanta, and a recent pledge from the foundations of $1.5 million to Covid-19 relief efforts.

He credits his deep belief in service to his faith. “We were in church every Sunday and we were brought up to always think about others before ourselves,” Anderson says. His advice to students is: “Be bold, dream big, and start thinking now about how you’re going to give back.”

Anderson’s personal giving to Tech includes the endowment of two scholarships. He serves on the Alexander-Tharpe Board and the Georgia Tech Foundation Board. He has also served on the Athletic Association Board, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, and the ISyE Advisory Board.

Among many recognitions, he has received the Dean Griffin Community Service Award, the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the Atlanta Area Council of Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver and Whitney M. Young Award, and Tech’s Total Person Alumni Award.

RICHARD L. BERGMARK, IM 75

Former Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of Core Laboratories NV

Dick Bergmark made a promise to himself after college to become a CFO of a publicly traded company with an international presence. It was an ambitious goal for a twenty-something at the time. But using the analytical mindset that he gained at the Institute, Bergmark set out over the course of the next 30 years to grow his skills, and in turn, grow Core Laboratories from a small business into a 5,000- person company with locations in 50 countries.

In 1994, Bergmark participated in a management-led buyout of the company and as its CFO in 1995 led the company’s IPO, reaching his goal.

“If it wasn’t for Tech, I wouldn’t have had the tools and opportunity to be as successful as I was,” Bergmark says.

Living internationally for work gave Bergmark a global perspective that he wants all Yellow Jackets to have the opportunity to experience. “Think outside your borders,” Bergmark advises students. Toward that goal, he and his wife, Toni, have supported international scholarship opportunities. The Bergmarks have maintained close ties with these scholarship recipients, staying in touch over the years and traveling together as a group to New York City and Ireland. “We all went to Dublin to explore the city and the best part, watch Tech beat Boston College!” Bergmark says. “It’s been truly rewarding to see those students think about a professional career and then take the steps to accomplish it.”

Bergmark’s many contributions to Tech include a commitment to the Peterson Scholarship Endowment and support of the Scheller College of Business with a Dean’s fellowship, six Dean’s scholarships, and a bequest for an endowed chair. A swimming letterwinner from 1972 to 1975, today he is an avid supporter of Tech Swimming and Diving, endowing four athletic scholarships, committing to endow the head coach position, and naming the aquatic center after his former coach, Herb McAuley. Bergmark serves on the Alexander-Tharpe, Georgia Tech Foundation, and Scheller College advisory boards.

RUSSELL CHANDLER III, IE 67

FOUNDER AND FORMER CHAIRMEAN, WHITEHALL GROUP, LTD

In 1987, Russ Chandler went to lunch with then Georgia Tech President John “Pat” Crecine and left with an Olympic-sized mission that would change the face of the Institute.

“He told me about the Summer Olympics coming to Atlanta and thought we might be able to get more dorms from it,” Chandler recalls.

Chandler went away from that meeting expecting a two-year volunteer commitment. That eventually turned into eight years and an instrumental role in bringing the Olympic Village to Georgia Tech’s campus as well as serving as mayor of the Village during the 1996 Games. In the end, Chandler’s planning and operation of the Atlanta Olympic Village not only made a lasting mark on Georgia Tech’s campus but also earned the Institute and the city of Atlanta international recognition.

Running the Atlanta Olympic Village—which housed more than 14,000 athletes in buildings that spanned 270 acres across Tech campus—was no easy task. The lessons Chandler learned at Tech served him many times over.

“Tech was like marine boot camp. It created this desire in you to push things through to completion,” Chandler says.

Over the course of his career, Chandler has co-founded and led several companies including Qualicare, a hospital management company, and Whitehall Group, a private investment firm.

In addition to a busy and successful career in the professional world, Chandler has been an active supporter of Georgia Tech, serving on the Georgia Tech Foundation Board and his 40th and 50th Reunion committees, the Alexander-Tharpe Board, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, and the ISyE Advisory Board. In 1983, Tech’s baseball stadium was named in his honor. In 1995, the College of Engineering inducted him into its Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

Most recently, he made a $1 million gift for the reconstruction of the Edge Center and ensured that a new chapel is built within to support students.

RICHARD TRULY, AE 59, HON PhD 09

FORMER ASTRONAUT, NASA ADMINISTRATOR, GTRI DIRECTOR

Astronaut. NASA administrator. Test pilot. Director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The list of Richard Truly’s accomplishments goes on and on.

But even in a life filled with remarkable moments, Georgia Tech has always remained close to Truly’s heart. “I remember at graduation in the Fox Theatre thinking to myself, ‘If I can do this, I can do anything,’” Truly says.

Receiving the Joseph Mayo Pettit Distinguished Service Award is particularly special to Truly, who met Pettit.

In 1981, Truly brought two Tech football jerseys on his first space flight. “After, I got to hand the jersey to Pettit on the floor of a basketball game during halftime,” he says.

Truly enrolled at Tech on an NROTC scholarship. After graduating, he soon became one of the Navy’s top test pilots. “I had never flown in an airplane before I went to Tech,” Truly says. “Flying seemed like a great adventure.”

In 1965, he became one of the first military astronauts selected to the U.S. Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory. Truly, who was still a student in test pilot school at the time, was surprised to be one of only two Navy pilots selected. “Our commander decided to include the student class in the selection, so I didn’t even know it and had never applied,” he says.

In 1969, he transferred to NASA just a month after the Apollo moon landing. In 1981, he took his first space flight on his birthday, Nov. 12. “Looking out the window, which was up at the stars or down to Earth, was incredible,” Truly says. “I still remember sights that I saw: Italy, Greece, the colors of the earth and the sea. It was just amazing.”

He became the first commander of the Navy Space Command. Three weeks after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, Truly returned to NASA to lead the investigation and return the Space Shuttle program to space. He became administrator of NASA in 1989, serving until 1992, when he became director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute. In 1997, he became director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory until retiring in 2005. Truly remains active as one of the many Tech engineers volunteering with the National Academy of Engineering.

BILLLIEE PENDLETON-PARKER

FORMER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT'S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Honorary Alumni: Honors non-alumni who have devoted themselves to the greater good of Georgia Tech.

There's a Buzz and the Ramblin' Wreck, but the Institute’s third mascot could easily be the compassionate and caring Billiee Pendleton-Parker. Fondly known as BP-P to her Techies, she has left a lasting mark on students, faculty, and staff over the course of her 30 years of service to Georgia Tech.

Pendleton-Parker joined Tech in 1985 as a teacher trainer at the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning.

Later, she became the assistant director of the President’s Scholarship Program. Students
knew they could always come to her office and be greeted with an open door, a bowl full of candy (“the good stuff”), and an open mind and open ears. She offered a safe environment where students could voice their cares and concerns. She would listen deeply and then often deliver one of her famous “BP-Pism,” which her students adored, such as: Strive for significance, not success and Commit spontaneous, not random, acts of kindness.

"I never gave advice,” she says. “These are brilliant people who can think on their own.” What she offered instead was gentle guidance and the space for students to make their own choices.

The number of Georgia Tech programs and awards named after Pendleton-Parker is a testament to her impact. Since the 1980s, she has worked behind the scenes to build a more inclusive and welcoming campus. When she noticed there wasn’t a space for women to gather on campus, she became an advocate for the Women’s Resource Center, which opened in 1998. For her support to LGTBQIA Yellow Jackets, the Billiee Pendleton-Parker Award for Outstanding Allyship was named in her honor. Housing’s Freshman Experience Award is also named in her honor. A lifelong volunteer, she was recognized in 2016 by Hands On Atlanta with the Volunteer of the Year Award.

When Pendleton-Parker learned she would become an honorary alumna, she was speechless, she says. But to the students, faculty, and staff of Tech, she has always been part of the Yellow Jacket family.

The Georgia Tech Alumni Association is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Billiee Pendleton-Parker, a champion of Georgia Tech and an honorary alumna. She died Jan. 14, 2021.

G.P. "BUD" PETERSON

PRESIDENT EMERITUS, REGENTS PROFESSOR, 11TH GEORGIA TECH PRESIDENT

Honorary Alumni Award: Honors non-alumni who have devoted themselves to the greater good of Georgia Tech.

With a first name like George P., “Bud” Peterson may have been destined to become a Yellow Jacket. Surely, after two of his children “got out” of Tech, and his wife, Val, was named an honorary alumna last year, Peterson is more than ready to join his Yellow Jacket family and fulfill that destiny. “Georgia Tech has a special place in my heart, Val’s heart, and with our whole family,” he says.

Peterson served as the Institute’s 11th president from 2009 to 2019. Under his leadership, Tech became one of the top five public universities in the country. He oversaw the development of a 25-year strategic plan, which was instrumental in the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship across the Institute. When he became president, Tech had just made the leap into Midtown Atlanta. Over the next decade, Tech’s presence evolved the area into one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems in the Southeastern United States.

“One of the reasons there’s been such dramatic growth in Midtown is because of all the technology and talent that exists at Georgia Tech,” Peterson says. During his presidency, Tech also reached $1 billion in research funding and became a member of the Association of American Universities.

After stepping down as president in 2019, Peterson has remained active at Tech. He was named President Emeritus and Regents Professor of Mechanical Engineering. His current research focuses on phase change heat transfer, which includes projects looking at the storage and transport of cellular materials and one focused on stopping epileptic seizures in children.

Peterson’s passion for science and technology is also evident in the community. He is past chair of the NCAA Board of Governors and he served on the National Science Board. He was chosen by Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan to co-chair a Georgia task force that led to the creation of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, a public-private partnership that includes the state of Georgia, private industry, and the Institute.