FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Two distinguished Arkansas engineers were recently inducted into the University of Arkansas College of Engineering Hall of Fame. Gus M. Vratsinas of Little Rock and the late Eric M. (Rick) Malstrom of Fayetteville were inducted during the 2000 college commencement ceremony. The Engineering Hall of Fame honors prominent graduates and engineers who have made outstanding contributions to the engineering profession and society.

A U of A graduate, Gus M. Vratsinas received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1966 and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering in 1968. He is chairman and chief executive officer of Vratsinas Construction Company (VCC) which he formed in 1987 with two partners. Located in Little Rock, VCC is a commercial contractor that offers a full range of construction services nationwide and has remodeled and built new facilities for the retail, regional mall, health care, distribution, office and education industries.

VCC ranks 211 in the Engineering News Record 1999 poll of the Top 400 contractors in the United States and is ranked eighth in the Top 25 in retail construction. Arkansas Business has selected VCC as Arkansas Business of the Year.

Vratsinas was selected as the 1985 "Engineer of the Year" by the Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers. He has served as president of the Arkansas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers. He is an active member of the UA Engineering Advisory Council and the UA Arkansas Academy of Civil Engineering.

Dr. Eric M. (Rick) Malstrom served as professor and head of the UA Department of Industrial Engineering from 1987 until his sudden death on February 22, 2000 at the age of 54.

During his 13-year career at the U of A Malstrom elevated the industrial engineering department into one of the top five in the United States. He supervised research projects totaling more than $8 million, authored three books and wrote or co-authored approximately 150 publications. He was the co-founder of two UA research centers: the Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center and The Logistics Center.

Malstrom served as national president of the Industrial Engineering Department Heads Association. He was a Fellow of the 24,000-member Institute of Industrial Engineers and had been elected International President of the organization just weeks before his death. He was a senior member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the American Association of Cost Engineers. He served as a consultant to industry, government municipalities and legal organizations.

Malstrom held faculty positions at Iowa State University and the University of Cincinnati prior to his tenure at the U of A. He received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Doctorate in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.

Established in 1965, the Engineering Hall of Fame has 44 members. The Hall of Fame exhibit is located on the third floor of the Bell Engineering Center on the Fayetteville campus and can also be visited on the college web site: www.engr.uark.edu.

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