UAB School of Engineering Names Outstanding Students for 2002

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Engineering has named senior civil engineering student Leslie J. “Les” Kearley the 2002 Undergraduate Student of the Year and graduate materials science and engineering student Selvum “Brian” Pillay the 2001 Graduate Student of the Year. Both received their awards at the 44th Annual Engineering Council of Birmingham Engineering Awards Banquet at The Club on February 20.

March 10, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Engineering has named senior civil engineering student Leslie J. “Les” Kearley the 2002 Undergraduate Student of the Year and graduate materials science and engineering student Selvum “Brian” Pillay the 2001 Graduate Student of the Year. Both received their awards at the 44th Annual Engineering Council of Birmingham Engineering Awards Banquet at The Club on February 20.

Kearley, 27, son of Les and Vicki Kearley of Montgomery, also is the 2002 Outstanding Undergraduate Student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UAB. He is a member of the UAB Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and has been president, student director of open house activities and captain of the concrete canoe and concrete bowling ball teams for the society. He has earned presidential honors five times and has been named to the Dean’s list four times. He also is a member the student advisory board for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Kearley’s academic accomplishments have earned him the UAB Civil and Environmental Engineering Departmental Scholarship, the ASCE Student Scholarship and a National Science Foundation Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarship. In addition to his academic endeavors, he is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and has worked on a number of civic activities, including the Sowing the Seeds of Hope Project in Perry County and the renovation of the Lincoln Normal High School gymnasium.

Pillay, a native of South Africa, also is the 2002 Outstanding Graduate Student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UAB. He is a faculty member of the Durban Institute of Technology in South Africa and is on study leave to pursue his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at UAB.

He earned a scholarship from the National Research Foundation in South Africa to pursue a doctoral degree outside of the country. Only four of these scholarships are awarded each year. Pillay’s research activities include advanced and computer integrated manufacturing, low-cost product manufacturing, low-cost composite manufacturing, manufacturing and testing sandwich structures, and repairing concrete structures using Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding (VARTM) technology. His dissertation research at UAB, under the direction of faculty members Uday Vaidya, Ph.D., and Gregg Janowski, Ph.D., involves the processing and characterization of long fiber thermoplastics. The goal of this research is to reduce the weight of mass transit vehicles to increase fuel efficiency without compromising the vehicle’s structural integrity. This is a Federal Transit Administration funded project and the research is performed in partnership with Southern Research Institute.

Pillay is a member of the South African Institute of Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Composites and the American Composites Manufactures Association. He also has helped the School of Engineering with a number of recruiting initiatives, including its annual open house, Saturday Academy and presentations to local high schools. Additionally, he is involved in civic activities, including volunteering at a local elementary school and tutoring students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.