Alums Earn Multiple Awards at Homecoming

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering was well represented at the College of Engineering's annual Homecoming breakfast this year. 

Mark Baker, who earned his BS in electrical engineering in 1978, won the Professional Achievement Award. Baker is the founder of CheckMark Consulting, Inc. and an innovator in the mining industry. He has advanced autonomous haulage systems, including for Komatsu, which acquired Modular Mining Systems, a company he helped found. Baker appreciates the rational and logical problem-solving offered by the engineering profession.

“An engineering approach can be applied to problems in virtually any discipline. This opens the doors to unlimited opportunities,” he said.

Mike Hummel, who earned a BS in electrical engineering in 1982, won the award for Almnus of the Year. Hummel is Salt River Project’s general manager and CEO. In more than 40 years of service, he has taken on executive positions in almost every area of the utility company. Hummel’s UA experience has stuck with him throughout his career.

“The core was centered on understanding how to define a problem, providing the tools to analyze the problem, and the requirement to present a solution,” he said.

A third-generation Wildcat, Hummel remains connected to the college and the university through volunteer leadership and engagement opportunities.

“We’re facing a lot of serious issues as an industry and a society. It won’t be today’s minds and leaders that solve those problems; it will be those individuals coming out of colleges and universities now,” he said. “The University of Arizona can and should be a leader in preparing those students, and I am proud to be a part of it.”