Col. Tom Timmes (Sigma Alpha Commission–USMA ’12), professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Military Institute was recognized recently by Jim Schaus, Southern Conference league commissioner for being named to the All-Southern Conference Faculty and Staff Team for the 2022-23 academic year. With two representatives chosen from each of the Southern Conference’s 10 member schools, the All-Southern Conference Faculty and Staff Team recognizes individuals who have demonstrated service to their schools and made contributions to campus life and the local community. Timmes and Institute and Corps Sgt. Maj. Tom Sowers will be officially recognized during halftime at the Feb. 15 home basketball game against the Chattanooga Mocs in Cameron Hall.
“I appreciate being selected for this award. It is very inspiring to see the motivation and drive of our cadet-athletes in the academic classrooms, during their daily practices, and especially when they compete to win,” said Timmes.
Col. Tom Timmes, a 1992 VMI graduate, is a professional engineer who served for over 25 years in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps and is a professor in the VMI Civil and Environmental Engineering department. His academic and research interests include water quality, electrocoagulation, military field drinking water, water treatment plant optimization, and water system vulnerability assessments. As an Army Environmental Engineer, he conducted extensive drinking water and wastewater system characterizations and public health threat assessments throughout the U.S. and overseas. He commanded the Headquarters Company of the U.S. Army Chemical Activity-Pacific on Johnston Atoll during its closure as a chemical agent demilitarization site and served as a Jumpmaster with the 82nd Airborne Division. He taught a variety of academic subjects on the faculty at the US Military Academy (West Point) for six years. Timmes commanded the U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research in Fort Detrick, Maryland, and served as the Director for Environmental Health Sciences and Engineering at the Army Public Health Center before retiring from Active Duty to join the VMI Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. As a volunteer diving coach, Timmes has helped the VMI men’s and women’s teams grow in number and skills and provide critical points to the swim/dive team scores. Timmes dove for VMI during the 1988-89 season and finished the season as the Tri-State Champion for both the 1-Meter and 3-Meter diving boards. His “rat” year total score for 11-dives on the 1-Meter board remains in the VMI record books.
