The Heritage Award
Established in 1973, this award honors alumni or friends of the Johns Hopkins University who have contributed outstanding service over an extended period to the progress of the University and the activities of the Alumni Association. The following two individuals were awarded this honor in 2002.
A. James “Jim” Clark, a trustee emeritus of both Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine, serves on the Whiting School’s campaign committee. His generosity to Hopkins is manifested in Clark Hall, the home of the Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Institute. Clark is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Clark Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), which manages a variety of business interests including real estate and commercial and residential construction. CEI includes The Clark Construction Group, one of the nation’s largest general contractors; it has built some of the Baltimore-Washington area’s most recognizable landmarks, including Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Clark is a member of the PGA Tour Golf Course Properties Advisory Board and serves on the board of CarrAmerica. A long-time philanthropist and volunteer, he is a trustee of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation. The University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering was named in his honor. In 1999 Hopkins awarded Clark an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
William F. Ward, Jr. ’67, a Hopkins trustee, chairs the Whiting School’s National Advisory Council and cochairs the School’s campaign committee. Over the years, he also has served in other leadership roles. While he was owner of The Ward Machinery Company, his firm funded a scholarship for Engineering students and was involved with the Senior Design Project course in Mechanical Engineering. Ward was appointed to the Maryland State Trade Council, was a trustee of the St. Paul’s School Boys School and a trustee of the St. Paul’s Girls School, served as president of the Maryland Academy of Sciences, and recently resigned from the board of the Baltimore Community Foundation.
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Established in 1978, this award honors alumni who have typified the Johns Hopkins tradition of excellence and who have brought credit to the University in their personal accomplishment, professional achievement, or humanitarian service. The following Engineering graduate received this honor in 2002.
Theodore O. “Ted” Poehler ’56, ’58 MSE, ’61 PhD, vice provost for research at Johns Hopkins, promotes the commercialization of Hopkinsbased research. A research professor in the Whiting School’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Poehler has authored or co-authored more than 140 papers and has been awarded 10 patents in optical information and storage. In 1996, he and his colleague, Peter C. Searson (now chair of Materials Science and Engineering), developed an all-plastic battery, which Popular Science magazine named one of the year’s top 100 new products, technology developments, and scientific achievements.