Three Join Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers

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From left: Cory Scott, Rusty Tate and Jessica Temple.

The Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers has inducted three new members.

The 2019 inductees were:

• Cory Scott, B.S.B.E.'05
• Rusty Tate, B.S.B.E.'08, M.S.En.E.'10
• Jessica Temple, B.S.B.E.'07, M.B.A.'10

Cory Scott grew up in Little Rock and graduated from Catholic High School in 2001. Scott received his B.S. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from the University of Arkansas in 2005. After graduating, he worked for Tyson Foods in quality assurance and J.B. Hunt as a independent recruiter before returning to the University of Arkansas to pursue his Master of Business Administration from the Sam M. Walton College of Business. While pursing his M.B.A., Scott worked as the portfolio manager for the graduate student managed fund, The Shollmier Fund.

Scott is currently chief operations officer and partner at DataScout, LLC, a software development company focused on web-based products that assist over 65 county, 15 parish, six state agencies, two federal agencies, and over 500 private businesses. Scott is also a partner at Arkansas CAMA Technology Inc., a company that conducts appraisal work and software development for approximately 35 Arkansas counties and 13 parishes. Scott is also a partner in Scott Ventures LLC, a real estate investment company.

Outside of work, Scott serves as a private sector member on the Arkansas Data and Transparency Panel as Senate Pro Tempore Dismang's appointed delegate. He also is a former board member of the Alzheimer's Arkansas and was profiled in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for his charitable work benefiting Alzheimer awareness in Arkansas. Scott was recognized as a member of the 2018 class of Arkansas Business "40 Under 40."

Scott lives in Fayetteville with his wife of six years, Amber, and their son, Camden, and daughter, Harper.

Jessica Temple received a B.S. in Biological Engineering in 2007 from the University of Arkansas and her Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2010. Upon graduation from the University of Arkansas and while pursuing her M.B.A., Temple began working at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as a research technician. 

After graduating with her M.B.A., Temple began her career with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality as a staff permit engineer. She is currently a licensed professional engineer working as an engineer supervisor at the Office of Water Quality at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, where she supervises industrial stormwater, regulated municipal separate storm sewer systems, and individual NPDES permitting sections.

Rusty Tate received a B.S. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering in 2008 from the University of Arkansas and his Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, Water Resources from the University of Arkansas in 2010.

After graduation, Tate worked at Beaver Water District in Lowell. There he gained extensive laboratory experience while working in the Environmental Quality Department. He also worked at the Beaver Water District's new pilot plant, where he conducted the initial startup plant testing and assistant with a project that studied disinfection by-products.

Tate currently works as the project manager and process engineer at the Garver's Water Design Center. While working at the Garver's Water Design Center, he has worked on a variety of projects that evaluates wastewater treatment capacity and operations, designs and models biological processes, and handling solids. He has been involved in over fifteen wastewater treatment plant projects with roles ranging from conceptual design to construction administration. In addition to these design and construction responsibilities, Tate also serves as Garver's primary biological modeler and has been involved in the development of several GPS-X process models that have been used to guide recommended improvements.

The Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers was founded in 2002 and functions as a nonprofit organization solely for the purpose of recognizing outstanding Biological engineers and providing support for the University of Arkansas Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

The process for this year's induction began last summer, with nominations from current members of the Academy. Each inductee "shall hold a degree in Biological or Agricultural Engineering from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville granted at least 10 years prior to election" and is recognized for outstanding contributions to the field of biological or agricultural engineering, according to the Academy.

The induction ceremony took place April 12 at Mermaid's in Fayetteville with more than 120 attendees.

For more information about the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers, visit the academy page.