In sports such as Hockey, the feat of a hat trick is one of the rarest and most difficult of achievements: a single player scoring three goals in a game.  It is celebrated by fans throwing their hats onto the ice to celebrate the occasion.

While there is no official “hat trick” in engineering, the SMU Lyle School of Engineering scored one of its own.

This year at the 2012 Engineering Week banquet, Jean Maier Dean will be announced as the (Dallas) Texas Society of Professional Engineers “Engineer of the Year.” Not only was she an alumna of the Lyle School, today she serves as a member of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Advisory Board.

In 2011, this highest of engineering awards was given to John Ho, a Civil Engineering graduate.

And to start off our run of three consecutive years, Dr. Mark Boyd, another Civil Engineering graduate and Adjunct Faculty received the award in 2010.

These three Lyle graduates have received this distinguished award because of their leadership in the community and their impact on the development of Dallas and beyond.

Given that there are so many talented engineers in Dallas, most of whom hail from other fine engineering schools, to have three Lyle grads in a row is quite an achievement and a testament to the importance of our school to our region, state, and nation.

Congratulations to Jean, John, and Mark (and to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the Lyle School as well.)