The ISE Department held its annual Alum Hall of Fame Breakfast on November 1st as part of Red and White Week and inducted five new members. Three members (George R. Auten Jr., Hsing P. Luh and Timothy Trainor) of the class of 2024 were awarded the Distinguished Alum Award, and the other two members (Lisa Cook and Natalia Summerville) received the Outstanding Young Alum Award.
Biography
George Auten is the Founder and CEO of Atriax Group in Hickory, NC. Since 2001, he has grown the company, providing architecture, engineering, and construction services to public and private clients. Atriax gained national recognition, especially for work with federal agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Before Atriax, George served 21 years as a civil engineering officer in the U.S. Air Force. He held leadership roles, including B-2 Military Construction Manager. George earned both his bachelor’s (‘78) and master’s (‘85) degrees in industrial engineering from NC State. He and his wife, Dr. Grace Auten, have three sons and seven grandchildren.