ASME Honors Two Engineering Leaders at Awards Reception during Engineers Week in Houston

NEW YORK (March 5, 2025) —The ASME Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), hosted several events to celebrate Engineers Week in Houston, Feb. 18-22, 2025, including an awards reception on Wed., Feb. 19, at The Woodlands Resort to showcase excellence in engineering. At that event, the Society presented Kenneth A. Warren, retired vice president of engineering at ExxonMobil, with the 2024 ASME Holley Medal, for his contributions to the engineering profession, including pioneering work to develop Open Process Automation (OPA) architecture, a highly disruptive, standards-based, open, secure, and interoperable process control architecture. In addition, Prairie View A&M University’s Professor Paul O. Biney, Ph.D., received the 2024 ASME Student Section Advisor Award for faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to guiding and mentoring student sections in the field of mechanical engineering. (See below for captioned photos of award recipients and presenters.) 

The awards reception served as a centerpiece in a week of events that included an interactive ASME EFx engineering festival for college students held at Lone Star College-CyFair, a STEM Fest produced in partnership with STEM Global Action that included 60+ hands-on learning stations at no cost for more than 400 K-12 students and their family members from the greater Houston area, and several local elementary school DropME In! classroom visits with ASME engineering professionals. 

“Engineers Week gives us a special occasion to celebrate the profession’s many contributions to our quality of life and to inspire more young people to embrace the engineer’s problem-solving mindset,” says Stephanie Viola, executive director of the ASME Foundation and managing director of ASME Philanthropy. “The ASME Foundation welcomes these opportunities to recognize engineering excellence and collaborate with our student chapters, members, and like-minded companies and organizations to advance engineering and help address the STEM workforce gap.” 

Kenneth Warren retired from ExxonMobil in 2020 after a forty-year career with the company, most recently as vice president of engineering for ExxonMobil’s Research and Engineering Company, leading a global organization of over 700 technical professionals providing engineering support to the company’s worldwide operations. In this role, he led the effort to revolutionize the company’s manufacturing operations with Open Process Automation architecture. In 2003, he was named refinery manager at ExxonMobil’s Joliet, Ill., facility, one of only seven such managers in the company and the first African American to hold that position. He later served as global aviation director of ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Company, based in the U.K. and Belgium, and was subsequently named global optimization manager for ExxonMobile Refining and Supply Company, overseeing 36 separate plants processing over six million barrels per day. Warren earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University. 

Biney has been a dedicated faculty advisor for the ASME student section at PVAMU for more than 25 years – the longest serving faculty advisor in the mechanical engineering department’s history. Under his leadership, the section has thrived, engaging students in hands-on projects, professional development opportunities, and community outreach initiatives. During Biney’s tenure, the student section excelled and won several awards in the ASME Old Guard Technical web design and Old Guard Oral competitions. Biney’s passion for engineering and unwavering support for students has inspired countless young engineers to pursue their academic and professional goals. In recognition of his services to the student section and regular attendance of meetings with students, Biney was in the past horned by the South Texas Section of ASME with the Claud L. Wilson Award. He earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston, and a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University. He received a B.Sc. from the University of Science and Technology in Ghana.

For information about the ASME Foundation’s philanthropic programs, to explore their impact by the numbers, and support ongoing efforts to empower next generation engineers, visit asmefoundation.org. 

For more information on the Foundation’s “Houston, We Have a Solution” Engineers Week 2025, visit https://www.asmefoundation.org/events/houston-we-have-a-solution/

About ASME Foundation
The ASME Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), supporting an array of programs in three core pillars: engineering education, career engagement, and global development. With the goal of empowering tomorrow's technical workforce, the ASME Foundation advances equitable access both to professional opportunities and to engineering innovations that improve quality of life. For more information, visit www.asmefoundation.org.

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) II & III LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community. For more information, visit www.asme.org.

Media Contact:

Monica Shovlin
MCShovlin Communications LLC (for ASME)
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monica@mcshovlin.com

ASME President of the Board of Governors Susan Ipri-Brown (left) presents the 2024 ASME Holley Medal to Kenneth A. Warren, retired vice president of engineering at ExxonMobil, for his contributions to the engineering profession, including pioneering work to develop Open Process Automation (OPA) architecture, a highly disruptive, standards-based, open, secure, and interoperable process control architecture.

ASME Foundation Chair of the Board of Directors Sonya Smith (left) presents the 2024 ASME Student Section Advisor Award to Prairie View A&M University’s Professor Paul O. Biney, Ph.D. Biney has been a dedicated faculty advisor for the ASME student section at PVAMU for more than 25 years – the longest serving faculty advisor in the mechanical engineering department’s history.