Engineering alumna Sharon K. Tinker (BSE 1980 chemical engineering) will receive the College of Engineering Dean's Award for Distinguished Service Thursday, December 1.  In addition to receiving the award, Tinker will deliver a Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professional seminar on process safety at 5:00 p.m. in the Stanley Auditorium, 1505 Seamans Center.

The award is presented to alumni and non-alumni for long-term exceptional commitment and self-sacrifice in advancing the principles and goals of the University of Iowa College of Engineering -- setting an extraordinary example for aspiring students, dedicated faculty and staff, and fellow alumni.

Tinker is retired process safety engineer at ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, Baytown, TX.  She currently resides in Des Moines, IA.

After graduation from the University of Iowa, Tinker joined the Exxon Chemical Company and worked in technical and management positions in chemical plants and refineries in Texas, California, Louisiana, and Singapore.

Through an endowment from her, the Sharon K. Tinker Process Safety Professorship in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering was established.  It is currently held by C. Allan Guymon, professor and departmental executive officer in chemical and biochemical engineering and director of the Photopolymerizations Center at the university.

Tinker has been recognized for her contributions with a Young Engineer of the Year Award from the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, an ExxonMobil Chemical Responsible Care Award, and an ExxonMobil Chemical Global Manufacturing Excellence Award.  In the past she has served on the United Way of the Baytown Area Board of Directors in Baytown, Texas, the Torrance Education Foundation Board of Directors in Torrance, California, and the University of Iowa College of Engineering Campaign Task Force and the Chemical and Biochemical Department Advisory Board. She recently was appointed to the College of Engineering Advisory Board.

Tinker is currently a member of the Safety and Chemical Engineering Education (SACHE) Committee of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). She continues to be a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).