March 15, 2013 – The Fieldbus Foundation announced the 2013 recipients of the James O. Gray-Fieldbus Foundation Scholarship Fund. The program honors the memory of James (Jim) O. Gray, a long-time leader in the Fieldbus Foundation who passed away in 2002. It establishes a perpetual $250,000 endowment fund providing scholarships to students seeking a career in the industrial automation profession.
Since 2003, the James O. Gray-Fieldbus Foundation Scholarship program has funded 29 educational scholarships for students around the world. According to Fieldbus Foundation President Rich Timoney, "We are pleased to announce this year's recipients of the Jim Gray scholarship. These are outstanding students that have really distinguished themselves in their pursuit of fieldbus knowledge.
The Fieldbus Foundation realizes that the right training is the key to the future of process automation."
The 2013 scholarship recipients include:
Váradi Gergely, University of Miskolc, Miskolc, Hungary: Váradi Gergely is a first-year Masters of Science student in electrical engineering at the University of Miskolc, and his Bachelor of Science degree has a specialization in electrical design and manufacturing. His studies included the design of electrical circuits and printed circuit boards (PCBs), manufacturing technology of the electronics industry and industrial testing methods. Gergely also acquired high-level knowledge of computer-controlled measurement systems programmed with National Instruments LabView development environment, and industrial process control systems.
During the final year of his undergraduate studies, Gergely's senior project successfully modeled a FOUNDATION fieldbus-based control system for a chemical batch reactor, for which it was graded a five (on a five-grade scale). In his masters-level studies, Gergely plans to improve his theoretical and practical knowledge and experiences with a specialization in automation and industrial process control. John Lima, Fieldbus Center at Lee College, Baytown, Texas USA: John Lima is working towards a degree in Instrumentation at Lee College. He is also a student assistant in the college's Fieldbus Technology Lab.
A native of Brazil, Lima worked for Bradesco Bank after completing his high school education, saving enough money to eventually fulfill his dream of "coming to America." To sustain his dream, he was employed in a number of industries, including restaurants, nursing homes, construction and business offices. Setting high expectations for himself, Lima works to excel in his studies and is a firm believer in a good education. Pattarapon Taosrichai, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), Bangkok, Thailand: Pattarapon Taosrichai is a junior at KMITL, majoring in automation engineering. He plans to further his knowledge of FOUNDATION technology, and to communicate its importance through the Internet and social media.
Jim Gray was employed by Invensys/Foxboro for 25 years as sales and marketing manager. In addition to being very active within the Fieldbus Foundation from its inception, he held the positions of: secretary of the Board of Directors, member of the Executive Committee, and member of the U.S. Marketing Committee.
About the Fieldbus Foundation
Fieldbus Foundation members, and those interested in the progress of the automation industry, are encouraged to participate in the James O. Gray-Fieldbus Foundation Scholarship Fund. The Fieldbus Foundation is a global not-for-profit corporation consisting of leading process end users and automation companies. Within the Fieldbus Foundation, end users, manufacturers, universities and research organizations work together to develop an automation infrastructure that allows you to view your process in high definition; manage information effectively; and optimize people, processes and technology.