Kip Robinson was an active Virginia Tech civil engineering undergraduate, joining a number of organizations and serving as president of the campus chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). For seven quarters, he also worked as a co-op student for the Virginia Department of Highways and was a member of Chi Epsilon and Kappa Theta Epsilon.



After earning his bachelor's degree in 1968, Kip went to work as an engineer for the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company and then, in 1973, began his career with Virginia Power. Shortly thereafter, he started work on a graduate degree and received his Master of Engineering in civil engineering from Virginia Tech in 1977.



During his 27-year tenure with Virginia Power, Mr. Robinson served in a variety of roles, including chief civil engineer, director of energy efficiency, manager of quality assurance, and manager of engineering for the company's Nuclear Power Division. He directed the first in-house engineering efforts in support of the operation of the company's four nuclear units, and began the transformation in the nuclear division from 100-percent reliance on outside engineering services to a 98-percent in-house operation. He also was in charge of the design of much of Virginia Power's construction and expansion, including the 500,000 square foot Innsbrook office complex in suburban Richmond.



Mr. Robinson provided co-op employment with Virginia Power to more than 50 students, "the vast majority of whom were Virginia Tech students," he notes. He also was active in mentoring many of the Virginia Tech students while they worked for the company.



On a national basis, Mr. Robinson worked closely with the Electric Power Research Institute as chair of the committee charged with evaluating seismic hazards at nuclear facilities. He also was a member of the executive committee of the Electrification Council of the Edison Electric Institute and served as an evaluator for the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations.



The Engineering News Record recognized Mr. Robinson as one of "Those Who Made Marks in 1983" for his significant contribution to the construction industry that year. He is a long-standing member of the ASCE and the National Association of Professional Engineers and holds professional engineer certification in four states.



For a number of years, Kip has been active in the United Methodist Church, particularly in the area of international missions, and has traveled with mission teams to numerous countries. He has helped build an agricultural training center for the Meru people in Kenya, constructed roof trusses for churches in Zimbabwe, helped build vocational schools in Mozambique and Haiti, and salvaged materials from U.S. bases inside the Panama Canal zone for use in humanitarian purposes in Latin America.



Since taking early retirement from Dominion Virginia Power in 1999, Kip has served as a certified lay speaker and mission team leader training coordinator for the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Currently, he is the Director of Shared Ministries and Leadership Development for the Westover Hills United Methodist Church in Richmond and the Virginia Conference Coordinator of United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, an effort that in the past two years has sent more than 7,000 mission volunteers from the state to work on construction and evangelistic projects worldwide. In addition, he is enrolled in the Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., in a graduate certificate program emphasizing mission leadership.



Kip also has been active in service to his alma mater. A charter member of CEE's Alumni Board, he has served a term as the board's chair. He is a member of the College of Engineering's Committee of 100, the Virginia Tech Legacy Society and the Hokie Club.



Kip's daughter, Heather, received a B.S. in hospitality and tourism management from Virginia Tech in May 2002, and his son, Aaron, is studying fire science at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond. In May of this year, Kip married the former Nancy Elizabeth Schultz of Burke, Virginia.