Congratulations to our five 2025 CBE Distinguished Alumni Award recipients! This group marks the 10th class of distinguished alumni inducted in the department. The tradition was started by former department head, Prof. Peter Fedkiw.

CBE Distinguished Alumni Awardees

Lollis earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from NC State in 1987 and an M.S. in chemical engineering from Purdue University in 1989, where her research focused on sensor failure detection in dynamic systems. She began her career with Amoco Chemicals in R&D as a process development engineer in polypropylene and progressed through roles in both process and product development. With the BP-Amoco merger, she moved into commercial leadership with roles in market management, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions. 

Career highlights at BP-Amoco include leading the production of the first reactor-made impact copolymer suitable for automotive bumper fascia, creating the product slate for the start-up of a unit that doubled Amoco’s capacity in Western Europe, and managing due diligence and integration for a $1B merged entity following a strategic acquisition. In 2002, Lollis purchased a boutique consulting firm dedicated to advancing women in corporate leadership. She expanded the company—now Pathbuilders—fivefold. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Pathbuilders counts more than 6,000 graduates and a loyal roster of Fortune-ranked clients.

Deeply engaged in her community, Lollis is a past chair and current executive board member of Junior Achievement of Georgia, a trustee of the Woodruff Arts Center, and a member of the foundation board for the Rotary Club of Atlanta. She maintains her Wolfpack ties as chair of the Board of Directors of the NC State Engineering Foundation. She is married to fellow chemical engineering classmate Clyde Lollis, and they reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

Peeples earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from NC State in 1988, and a doctorate in chemical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She is the Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering. As dean, Peeples oversees all aspects of Penn State’s largest academic college, including its pursuit of excellence and innovation in engineering education and research; initiatives to attract students, faculty and staff and support their development; stewardship of the college’s financial resources; and the continuation of a major campus facilities modernization.

Peeples joined Penn State in 2018 as a professor of chemical engineering and as the inaugural associate dean for equity and inclusion in the College of Engineering. In 2023, she was appointed Senior Associate Dean and later named interim dean. Peeples has led the Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion, developed the college’s equity action plan, and helped to establish the A. James Clark Scholars Program at Penn State for promising engineering undergraduate students with significant financial need.

Previously, Peeples served as the associate dean for diversity and outreach, and professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa’s College of Engineering. She is a member of the American Society of Engineering Educators, the Society of Women Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers, the National Association for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Chemical Society. She also is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Peeples is married to fellow NC State chemical engineering alumnus, Gary Aurand (Ph.D. ‘96), and they reside in Port Matilda, PA.

Peoples earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from NC State in 1993. Over the past 30+ years, he has built a distinguished career with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). He began as a Chemistry Technician in 1995 and advanced to State Materials Engineer in 2009, managing statewide staff and overseeing the acceptance and specification of materials used in projects across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada. He has held key national leadership roles, including Vice Chair of the American Association of State Highway Engineers (AASHTO) and the National Transportation Product Evaluation Program, and he served on the board of AASHTO’s Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council.

In 2019, Peoples became NCDOT’s Director of Field Support, later advancing to Deputy Chief Engineer. He managed multiple business units responsible for construction and maintenance statewide. As Chief Engineer, he led 14 highway divisions overseeing construction, maintenance, and operation of more than 81,000 miles of roads and over 13,000 bridges.

Currently, as NCDOT’s Chief Operating Officer, Peoples oversees an $8 billion budget and leads the Division of Highways, Ferry Division, Division of Aviation, Rail Division, Integrated Mobility Division, Strategic Planning and Programming, Human Resources, and Communications. He also chairs AASHTO’s Product Evaluation and Audit Solutions Program, working with all 50 states to support nationwide product testing and auditing.

Peoples is a third-generation NC State alumnus, following his father and grandfather. He and his wife, Robin—also an alum—live in Raleigh with their two sons, Connor and Ryan, both current NC State students.

Willis earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from NC State in 1976. After a brief stint as a professional musician, he returned to the department and performed graduate research under the mentorship of Profs. Jim Ferrell, Rich Felder and Ron Rousseau. He completed a Ph.D. in 1981 in the area of computer process control. After conversations with Prof. Ferrell and the Dean of Engineering, Larry Monteith, Willis joined the faculty with the express purpose of bringing interactive computer connectivity to the university community. He stayed at NC State for nearly 18 years, leading emerging efforts in Information Technology for the College of Engineering and then at the university level as Vice Provost for Information Technology.

In 1998, Willis left the university and has since served as a technology executive in several organizations, including startup and Fortune 100 companies, state government and universities. He completed his career serving as the Chief Technology Officer for the Duke University Health System. Along the way Willis served on boards of directors and advisory boards for corporations and non-profits.

Willis continues to be active in music and has always been supported by his wonderful wife, Allison, and their two children: Elizabeth and Zach.

CBE Distinguished Young Alumni Awardee

Jones earned B.S. degrees in chemical engineering and biochemistry from NC State in 2011, followed by a Ph.D. in chemical and biological engineering from the University at Buffalo in 2015. After his doctorate, he co-founded Abcombi Biosciences and served as CEO. During his tenure, he also worked in venture capital focused on early-stage biotech, advising and investing at the interface of therapeutics and platform innovation. In 2018, Jones earned his MBA from the University of Chicago.

Following Abcombi’s successful exit, Jones moved into strategy consulting and subsequently joined Pfizer in 2019, where he held roles spanning corporate strategy, U.S. adult vaccines marketing, and mRNA commercial development. He later received senior leadership assignments supporting the rollout and commercialization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In 2025, Jones joined Alcon to help rebuild its pharmaceutical division, serving as a Senior Director and Top Project Lead. He leads one of Alcon’s top 10 R&D assets, with end-to-end technical, commercial, and strategic accountability. Across these roles, he has focused on bringing high-impact therapies to patients by integrating scientific rigor with clear, data-driven business strategy.

Jones and his wife, Kristen Prentice, live in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, with their two sons, Theodore and Sebastian.