Distinguished CBE alumni honored by College of Engineering
Ohio State CBE alumni Shellie Porter Caudill (BS ’00) and Daniel M. Coombs (BS ’78) were among a group of 15 exceptional buckeye engineers honored at the College of Engineering's 21st annual awards celebration on November 2, 2018.
“This year’s group of awardees are impressive and truly outstanding,” said Dean David B. Williams, the Monte Ahuja Endowed Dean’s Chair. “We’re so very proud of each and every one these distinguished alumni, and the tremendous impact they have on our world through their teaching, entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation and service.”
Caudill and Coombs both received the Distinguished Alumni Award for Career Achievement, which recognizes alumni for significant achievement in administrative leadership and professional accomplishments.
Shellie Porter Caudill (BS ’00) has trained junior scientists worldwide on product development. Currently, she is R&D Home Fragrance Director for L Brands where she led the R&D team in delivering 2,000+ products for market and opened a new state-of-the-art lab in central Ohio.
Caudill is known for her passion to drive disruptive innovation by challenging fundamental paradigms and linking core technical understanding with consumer models. She helped drive the transformation of the Tide brand with her work on Tide Pods and the Tide Plus Collection. Caudill is an innovation, experimentation and habitadoption coach who has trained junior scientists worldwide on product development.
She also helped Georgia-Pacific break into the home cleaning category by building a research and development capability from the ground up, resulting in a portfolio of cleaning products with superior performance across relevant consumer needs. In her role as R&D Home Fragrance Director for L Brands (Bath and Body Works/Victoria's Secret), she has led the R&D team in delivering 2,000+ products for market and opened a new state-of-the-art lab in central Ohio.
Caudill has been active throughout her career to partner with the College of Engineering to bring industry perspective to its educational programs and to offer other assistance. She currently serves as chair of the Ohio State Department of Engineering Education Advisory Board, and has led recruiting teams responsible for hiring hundreds of Ohio State students into the industry.
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Daniel M. Coombs (BS ’78) is executive vice president of Global Manufacturing, Projects and Refining for LyondellBasell Industries, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Coombs joined LyondellBasell in 2015 and has additional responsibility for Global Procurement. He previously led LyondellBasell’s Global Intermediates & Derivatives and Olefins & Polyolefins businesses.
Prior to joining LyondellBasell, Coombs held various executive positions with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, including senior vice president of Manufacturing; senior vice president Specialties, Aromatics and Styrenics; vice president of Corporate Planning & Development and vice president Qatar and deputy general manager Qatar Chemical Company, Ltd.
Coombs has been active in supporting the College of Engineering as an alumnus. He is a current member of the CBE Industrial Advisory Board, and in 2017, Coombs and his wife Ellen established the Daniel (’78) and Ellen (’79) Coombs Chemical Engineering Endowed Scholarship Fund to support current Ohio State chemical engineering students.
In addition to his Ohio State bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, Coombs holds a master’s in the same field from the University of Tulsa. He also holds a master’s in business administration from Texas A&M.
He serves on the executive committee and board of directors of the American Fuels & Petrochemical Manufacturers Association.
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Learn more about all of the 21st Annual Excellence in Engineering & Architecture Alumni Awards or view additional photographs from the event.
