Evolve Fall 2010

Message from the

Dean

Celebrating the Past, Engineering the Future Welcome to the Centennial edition of our annual fall publication, Evolve.

In the following pages you will find highlights from our April Centennial Symposium, including photos and an overview of the impressive panelists who engaged in relevant discussion about where we, as a community and an engineering profession, have been and are headed in the future.

You also will read about the Roswurm family, a heartwarming story about the passing of a legacy beginning with grandfather, then father and son.

These pages also include the reprint of a recent article in Sooner Magazine, that highlights our rich history.

Scientific advancements and engineering innovations have produced some impressive technologies over the past 100 years — airplanes and spacecraft, televisions and cell phones, lasers and fiber optic networks, diagnostic medical imaging and smart prosthetics, computers and software, to name a few. Many of these advancements have been byproducts of national defense imperatives. Now, perhaps as never before, invention and innovation are accelerating. We live in a world of unprecedented global economic competition, and it’s critical that we increase the numbers and diversity of our engineering workforce. We need to be informing and inspiring our young people to study math and science.

Engineering is a fun, creative and valuable profession that offers a wide range of career opportunities, and we need K-12 programs that prepare Oklahoma’s students to study in the field.

Our engineering programs must have the best faculty, staff, undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, facilities and

equipment; these help us recruit and retain the most talented and dedicated students, who seek active, experiential learning and want to make a difference in their communities and in their world. Engineering educators at the University of Oklahoma are at the forefront in meeting the demands for hands-on, intellectually engaging, teamwork-based project experiences such as our graduates will encounter in their careers. The college proudly supports Norman-based international robotics competition for youth/Botball.

Our student teams seek to compete at the championship level in exciting national and international programs, including the Concrete Canoe, Human Powered Vehicle, Mini-Baja Off-Road and Design Build Fly. OU’s Sooner Racing Team, a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers Formula racecar program, recently returned from a successful international competition in Hockenheim, Germany. They are currently ranked first in the United States and fifth in the world, among 454 teams.

Earlier this year, we opened two new buildings — Devon Energy Hall and the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility. These beautiful facilities provide our students the very best in collaborative and experiential learning spaces.

As we look ahead to the opportunities our next 100 years will bring, one thing is certain: there has never been a more important time to become an engineer.

We are thankful for a proud history and bright future built by those who have chosen to invest themselves as students, alumni and friends. We honor their commitment as we enter our 101st academic year and a new decade.

Thomas L. Landers Dean and AT&T Chair

100 Years of OU Engineering Roswurm Family Legacy Centennial in Review

People Who Made A Difference Facility Dedications In Memoriam Introducing: Jill Hughes COE Showcase: REPF Open House

College History

100 years of

OU

Engineering Perhaps no place within the university have the changes of the last century been more vividly demonstrated than in the college where science and technology meet the needs of an evolving society.

2 | evolve

By Debra Levy Martinelli (Historic photos courtesy OU Western History Collections)

The Early Years

An engineering curriculum already was under development by the time the college was created in 1909.

A surveying course — the first professional engineering class at OU — was offered as early as 1899. By 1902, a curriculum in civil engineering was established and courses in electrical and mechanical engineering were being offered. Two years later, engineering courses were organized under the School of Applied Science. The first formal curricula for electrical, civil and mechanical engineering were created in 1908.

As OU prepared to take engineering to the next level, James Felgar was hired as an instructor in the College of Applied Science in 1906. When the college was established three years later, Felgar became its first dean, serving in that capacity for the next 28 years.

During the college’s first full decade, the student Engineers’ Club was founded and curriculum options in metallurgical chemistry, petroleum

technology and sanitary chemistry were developed. In 1920, the College of Engineering had 15 faculty members and awarded 21 degrees.

Today, the college has 1,954 undergraduate students, 569 graduate students and 107 faculty. In 2009, 257 bachelor’s degrees, 92 master’s degrees and 29 doctoral degrees were conferred.

In his history of the college from its inception to 1970, Tom J. Love, engineering professor emeritus and former interim dean, writes about more than just the chronology and growth of the college. He tells of freshman electrical engineering student Maurice Prescott and recent graduate and newly appointed assistant professor Otto Walter installing a 30-watt broadcasting station, with the licensed call letters 5XW, in the Prescott home basement in 1921.

By 1923, 5XW had moved into the Electrical Engineering Laboratories building and been assigned the call sign WNAD. The station broadcast concerts in Holmberg Hall by stringing a line from the Engineering Building, where the transmitter was relocated, to Holmberg Hall, with students running back and forth between the two. When the transmitting power of WNAD was boosted to 3,600 watts in 1972, the station was the most powerful school radio station in the United States.

Love mentions that in 1922, the Pittsburgh Gas Meter Co. gave two gas meters to the School of Mechanical Engineering to be used in the gas measurement course required of all engineers. Three years later, 100-plus engineering students from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Kansas attended a three-day gas meter course, the primary emphasis of which was the repair of tin case meters. “Everyone was requested to wear overalls and

In 1930, OU electrical engineers installed a massive sign atop Felgar Hall capable of broadcasting away-game football scores and other news flashes to the campus — just one of the fascinating facts in the college’s history being written by professor emeritus Tom Love (inset, on right, with current Engineering Dean Tom Landers. fall 2010 | 3

College History

he year 1909 was a memorable one for civil rights, sports, aviation and international trade. That year, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was organized. Jim Thorpe made his professional baseball debut.

Orville and Wilbur Wright delivered the first military airplane to the Army

and the Army Air Corps was formed.

The Boston Red Sox traded 41-yearold Cy Young to Cleveland. The first concrete for the Panama Canal was poured.

Nineteen aught nine also was memorable for the University of Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university marked almost two decades of existence, its academic units were significantly reorganized. As part of that reorganization, OU College of Engineering was established and the first engineering degrees were conferred.

Last spring, the college celebrated its centennial with a look back through its rich history and an eye toward the promise of the next 100 years.

College History

to actually work at repairing meters,” Love writes. From that workshop, a gas measurement short course was developed.

As Henry Ford’s assembly line made the automobile affordable for America’s middle class and Albert Einstein continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory during the 1920s, OU College of Engineering grew and flourished. The School of Engineering Physics was created in 1924 with Homer Dodge as director, and a curriculum in architectural engineering was developed. Predictably, the growth created a serious space problem. The Oklahoma Legislature appropriated funding for a new engineering building, which was completed in 1925. That structure later became the west wing of Felgar Hall.

In 1929, an aeronautical option was incorporated into the mechanical engineering curriculum. Course offerings, Love reports, included elements of aeronautical engineering, aeronautical motors and theory of propellers.

The previous year saw the formation of Tau Omega, the first honor society for aeronautical engineering in the country.

An OU Engineer in 1946 could aspire to no greater honor than being chosen as St. Pat, shown here adjusting his queen’s crown.

Today, course offerings in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, still located in Felgar Hall, include embedded real-time systems, aerospace propulsion systems and flight systems.

There currently are more than 40 engineering student organizations that provide opportunities to supplement and enhance their coursework learning experiences.

The Boom Years: 1930-1960

The demands of the gas industry spurred the organization of a School

“Going Green” had a far different meaning in 1932 as Engineers’ Week perpetuated the legend that St. Patrick was an engineer. To raise awareness of the annual, tradition-packed celebration, St. Pat (in center foreground) shouldered his surveying tools and paraded around campus in search of the Blarney Stone.

4 | evolve

of Natural Gas Engineering in 1930.

Eight years later, the professional work in refinery engineering in the School of Petroleum Engineering was transferred to the School of Chemical Engineering.

When Felgar became dean emeritus in 1937, William Carson was tapped to lead the college. Carson would serve until university rules required him to relinquish the deanship at age 67 in 1962.

After several years of decreased enrollment during World War II, OU’s enrollment in 1946 was 11,200. The College of Engineering, with 4,077 students (4,043 men and 34 women), comprised nearly one-third of that total. Crowded into what is now the west wing of Felgar Hall, the Engineering Laboratory Building and the small building east of the wind tunnel occupied by petroleum and chemical engineering, the college again was sorely in need of additional space. In 1948, a new addition to Felgar Hall was completed. However, as Love reports in his historical narrative, there were insufficient funds to complete the engineering library.

In 1951, the Aeronautical Engineering Laboratory building, which replaced a hangar destroyed in the 1949 tornado, was completed on the North Campus at a cost of $105,000.

The structure housed a machine shop, power plants lab, structural test lab, classrooms and offices.

The post-World War II era also saw an increase in the number of international engineering students at OU. In 1948, there were 38 international students in petroleum engineering, eight in mechanical engineering, six in chemical engineering, two in general engineering and one in civil engineering.

Today, 369 international students are enrolled in a College of Engineering major or program. Twenty percent of engineering students are female.

Until the late 1970s, engineer-

ready,” Love writes in his historical narrative. “All engineering students took required drawing courses, and the drawing set was also a part of the engineer’s distinctive property.”

During the 1950s, the College

of Engineering, long focused on undergraduate education, began to direct more attention on graduate and research programs. Cedomir Sliepcevich, who joined the engineering faculty as chairman of the School of Chemical Engineering in 1955, was named the college’s associate dean and given the responsibility for developing those programs.

In 1953, tragedy struck OU and the college. A C-117 airplane carrying a group of NROTC students crashed on takeoff from Whiting Field, a naval air base in Milton, Fla. Of the 40 NROTC members aboard, 22 OU students, including 12 engineering majors, were killed.

The Space and Computer Age

Engineering Queen candidates pose with a giant replica of the ever-present slide rule, which until the late 1970s dangled in a leather case from the belt of each and every engineer, distinguishing them from the general university student population.

In 1942, the ROTC not only hosted the Engineering Ball in the Armory, but also chauffeured the royal court to the queen’s coronation festivities Army style.

The space race between the United States and the Soviet Union that began in 1957 with the Soviets’ successful launch of Sputnik 1 gave birth to two new technological eras: the space age and the computer age. The OU College of Engineering changed its curriculum to better prepare graduates for both.

The college’s current dean, Thomas Landers, was an undergraduate engineering student in the late 1960s and early 1970s and remembers the effects of the Soviet Union winning that first round. “America was shaken with the realization that we didn’t attend to basic math and science and its applications. One result was a revolution in engineering education that was grounded in research and knowledge creation as well as teaching and outreach.”

When 36-year-old Gene Nordby became the college’s third dean in 1963, he consolidated the college’s 17 academic units into 11: School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, School of Architecture, School of Chemical Engineering and Material Sciences, School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, School of Electrical Engineering, Department

fall 2010 | 5

College History

ing students were easily recognized by the ever-present slide rule, their chief computing tool. “Engineering students were identified by the 12-inch rule, which hung from the belt in leather cases, always at the

College History

of Engineering, Program in Engineering Physics, Department of Industrial Education, School of Industrial Engineering, and School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering.

Today, the college is organized into six schools: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering; Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering; Civil Engineering and Environmental Science; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Computer Science; and Industrial Engineering.

The School of Petroleum Engineering is housed in the College of Earth and Energy. There also are degree programs in bioengineering and engineering physics.

During that same period, ground was broken for a new $2.9 million engineering center, which later was named for Carson. (When he stepped down as dean, he remained on the faculty as professor of mechanical engineering and director of Engineering Placement Services.) The move into what is now Carson Engineering Center was completed in 1965. The School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering remained in Felgar Hall. Four years later, the School of Architecture separated from the college, forming the College of Environmental Design, now the College of Architecture.

The post-World War II years saw a big jump in university enrollment. Of the 11,200 students at OU in 1946, nearly one-third were engineers — 4,043 men and 34 women. By 2009-10, women comprised 20 percent of the undergraduates enrolled in Engineering.

A near catastrophe that gripped the world in April 1970 had a direct connection to the college. Alumnus Fred Haise, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering in 1959, was one of the astronauts aboard Apollo 13 when it experienced a power malfunction on a mission to the moon. Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat and a shortage of potable water, the ship successfully splashed down, and all crew members were

Ms. Wooten, engineering queen candidate, exits Felgar Hall with a group of colleagues in March 1942.

6 | evolve

safe, thanks to the resourcefulness of engineers on board and among the ground crew.

The College of Engineering’s first computer center was established in 1972 with 20 machines for use by students and faculty. In the 21st century, the college maintains instructional computer labs, but also requires all students to have their own laptops.

In 1991 — the same year the Dow Jones average topped 3,000 for the first time, Microsoft released MS DOS 5.0 and the World Wide Web was made available to the public — the college expanded once again, this time into the new Sarkeys Energy Center, a four-square-block, sevenacre, 100,000-square-foot teaching and energy research complex east of Carson Engineering Center. The School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and OU Bioengineering Center, as well the Mewbourne School of Petroleum Engineering (now a part of the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy), are among the disciplines currently housed there. The following year, a new research facility, the Fracturing Fluids Characterization Facility, was created to evaluate

behavior and properties of fracturing fluids under real-world conditions.

Building for the Future

five first-floor practice bays where students gain real-world, hands-on teamwork experience in engineering.

The facility also is used for activities designed to inspire kindergarten through 12th-grade students to become future engineers and scientists.

“Being part of the team of architects, engineers, contractors, students, faculty and staff that made these two buildings a reality has been a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity,” Landers says. “It is an enduring legacy that means opportunity for generations of students to come.”

A fitting tribute to the College of Engineering’s first 100 years and a challenge for the next 100.

Over the past decade, the College of Engineering has cemented its reputation as a hub for basic and applied research in such areas of social significance as aerospace, biomedicine, energy, water quality, engineering education, transportation infrastructure, nanotechnology and weather technology. Compatible with the regional and national research focus on biofuels, researchers are developing technologies for improved and highly efficient processes for production of biomass-derived liquid fuels.

“We’ve had enormous growth in our research programs, from about Debra Levy Martinelli is principal of $6 million a year in 1997 to $22 milLevyMart Public Relations in Norman. lion in 2009. That includes growth in She writes freelance articles for Sooner funding through the federal departMagazine. ments of Transportation, Defense and Energy, as well as the National © 2010 Sooner Magazine, reprinted Science Foundation and National by permission.

Institutes of Health,” explains Landers, who joined the college in 1998 as director of the School of Industrial Engineering and became associate dean of research before becoming dean in 2005. “Another significant development over that period is the number of new young faculty that has joined the college.

Including recently promoted associate professors and assistant professors, almost a third of our faculty have been here seven years or less, giving us a lot of new vitality and leading-edge research interests and capabilities.”

If he had to name the single most important accomplishment during his tenure as dean, however, Landers’ choice is clear: bringing the college’s newest facilities — Devon Energy Hall and the ExxonMobil Clendon Thomas, mechanical engineering student from 1955-1957, also was the starting halfback for Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering the Sooners during this time. After college, Thomas played 11 seasons in the National Football League. fall 2010 | 7

College History

Practice Facility — from the drawing board to reality.

The five-story, 103,000-squarefoot Devon Energy Hall, dedicated in January 2010, is the new home of the schools of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science.

The building houses three types of flexible classrooms, plus research spaces for such areas as weather radar, microelectronics and software; small and large team rooms; forum rooms for studying, gathering and seminars; and computer areas complete with a computer science teaching lab and digital design lab.

The adjacent ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility honors the late Lawrence G. Rawl, who earned his engineering degree from OU in 1952 and later became president, CEO and chairman of the board of ExxonMobil’s predecessor, Exxon Corp. The first of its kind in the nation, the two-story, 41,000-square-foot building features

A Story About Conviction, Passion and Integrity That Spans Three Generations

By Karen Kelly here was no question that this particular Saturday was special. As Sam Roswurm adjusted his cap in preparation for the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering Convocation, he did so recognizing the significance it held. For not only was Sam about to culminate four years of study in mechanical engineering with a bachelor’s degree, he was also about to become the third generation of OU engineering alumni in his family.

T

GENERATION ONE: Bruce E. Orvis

Bruce E. Orvis, Sam’s maternal grandfather, graduated from OU with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1964. He recognized that pursuing a degree in this prestigious field would afford better opportunities for his family — an assumption that proved true, as his four daughters also would become graduates of OU. Daughter Sandra received a sticky introduction to the College of Engineering. Her dad, a member of the Civil Engineers Club, worked to construct a 60-foot-long suspension bridge on the front lawn of Felgar Hall for Engineer’s Week, an annual open house to the campus and surrounding community that continues today. Sandra, a toddler at the time, went to the construction site with her dad, where she got tar all over her romper suit.

Orvis worked in residential, industrial and commercial subdivision design, including infrastructure. He also designed small bridges, buildings and numerous foundations that ranged from small spread footing to massive foundations for compressor stations on natural gas pipelines.

But one of the more important roles Orvis has realized is that of a grandfather. Seeing his grandson follow in his

8 | evolve

Jenni and Scot Roswurm at Scot’s graduation in May 1985.

engineering footsteps was a special moment. “We are quite proud of him,” Orvis related about Sam.

GENERATION TWO: Scot D. Roswurm

Scot D. Roswurm, Sam’s father, graduated from OU with a Bachelor of Science degree in metallurgical engineering in 1984.

Roswurm grew up in Montana, far removed from hot Oklahoma summers and Sooner football. But he would become familiar with both as he sought where best to pursue his study of engineering.

Roswurm’s cousin, who eventually transferred to OU, studied metallurgical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, a renowned program and, come to find out, a cost-prohibitive one as an out-of-state student. Roswurm discovered OU’s diverse student body, course offerings, warmer climate and proximity to family in Kansas as reason enough to move to Oklahoma. But the reputation of the OU football team didn’t hurt, either.

As a student who demonstrated an aptitude for science and math, Roswurm recognized he had one of three career choices: medicine, law or engineering. He was drawn to engineering because of the problem-solving foundation of the discipline. “I saw that making a difference in people’s lives was not restricted to medicine,” Roswurm said.

Roswurm’s decision to study engineering was influenced by high school instructors as well as several family members who were engineers. Because of this exposure, Roswurm says, “They made the greatest difference because

GENERATION THREE: Samuel J. Roswurm

Samuel J. Roswurm grew up on a farm in nearby Goldsby and is the oldest of six children. He says his first two spoken words were “Boomer Sooner.” He grew up going to football games and taking walks on campus, so it came as no surprise that he would go to college at this familiar place. He had the obvious advantage of his father’s and grandfather’s engineering backgrounds as well as the practical experience that comes from being raised on a farm.

Sam’s Huckleberry Finn-like childhood involved more than simply painting the fence. He had to build it, too. And when the lawn mower or tractor broke down, he worked

alongside his dad to repair or rebuild it. It was this breaking down and rebuilding process that solidified Sam’s desire to pursue his studies in mechanical engineering.

Sam recognizes the value of classroom learning, but the relationships he has built with several of the faculty members in aerospace and mechanical engineering have been the most valuable part of his college experience.

He knows that he is where he is because of the faithfulness of his parents. “They always knew what I could be capable of and never let me settle for less,” Sam said.

Sam currently is pursuing his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at OU. But he is not the only Roswurm on campus. His younger brothers, Jesse and Seth, are juniors in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. Did we mention that brothers Jake and Steve are considering engineering as their college major?

And what about little sister Katie? Her mom says she is content to ride her bike and master her multiplications tables — for now!

POSTSCRIPT: Jenni Roswurm

Jenni Roswurm, a 1985 OU graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in social work, is doing something right in her homeschool classroom. Jenni passed the Oklahoma teachers exam in 1987 and was certified to teach kindergarten through sixth grades as well as French for seventh and eighth grades. A stay-at-home mom since Sam’s birth in 1989, she has put her teaching skills to good use in the investment she is making in the education of her six children.

Back row from left: Jesse, Seth, Sam and Scot Roswurm, and Bruce Orvis. Front row: Jake, Steve, Katie and Jenni Roswurm. fall 2010 | 9

Evolve Feature

what they did was more tangible to me, more real. I could relate to it.”

Roswurm regrets the discontinuation of the metallurgical program at OU, recognizing the benefit it provided him in his career. He currently is senior materials engineer and chief of the Metallurgical Analysis Section at Tinker Air Force Base. However, that has not stopped the Roswurm family from finding an alternative field of study: Sam has completed his mechanical engineering degree.

It is obvious Roswurm is proud of his family’s engineering legacy, but not for the sake of tradition alone. His pride is based in the realization that his children share both his conviction and passion. Roswurm sums it up in one concise statement, “A career is too long not to be guided by conviction and passion. And engineering is too demanding and life-critical to be pursued without integrity.”

In Review April 21-23, 2010

It’s a once in a hundred years opportunity to reflect on our past, consider how far we’ve come and envision where we are headed. The three-day Centennial Symposium provided the perfect place to do just that. Five panel sessions, four pre-eminent speakers and 27 panelists provided the catalysts for thought-provoking discussions and a vision for the future. Topics included OU’s rich engineering heritage; the value of interdisciplinary scholarship and problem-solving; the mutual interests of engineering and the law; the complex relationships of technology and society; and the creation of economic value.

Engineering and the Sciences

April 21

Centennial Review

College of Engineering Centennial Symposium

This panel explored the past, present and future collaborations among the College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Architecture, the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy, and the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences.

Each dean presented a historical perspective and celebrated collaborations with the College of Engineering.

Kim Wolfinbarger, a Hughes Centennial Fellow pursuing a doctoral degree in industrial engineering, introduces the panel consisting of Paul Bell, Charles Graham, Larry Grillot, John Snow and Tom Landers.

Engineering and the Law This panel explored the mutual interests of engineering and legal professionals in creating and protecting value.

Panelists: Susan Brenner, NCR Distinguished Professor of Law and Technology at the University of Dayton School of Law. A renowned cybercrime scholar and lecturer.

Kinnan Golemon, founder and president of KG Strategies.

Anil Gollahalli, Vice President of the University of Oklahoma and General Counsel to the Board of Regents governing OU, Cameron University and Rogers State University.

John Kenney, shareholder and practice group leader at McAfee & Taft Law Firm in Oklahoma City and past chair of the college’s Board of Visitors.

10 | evolve

Susan W. Brenner, Special Guest Speaker and Professor of Law and Technology at the University of Dayton School of Law and author of Cyberthreats.

Wired for War: Technology, Politics, Ethics and the Revolution in Robotics

Technology and Society This panel explored the pervasiveness of technology, from how we imagine and create to how we wage war.

Peter W. Singer, director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative and a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Centennial Review

The symposium luncheon featured special guest speaker Peter W. Singer.

Singer’s research focuses on three core issues: the future of war, current U.S. defense needs and future priorities, and the future of the U.S. defense system.

Singer lectures frequently to U.S. military audiences and is the author of several books and articles, including Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century.

April 21 Panelists included (from left) Peter W. Singer; David Miller, professor in the OU School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering; Astrid Bear; special guest author Greg Bear, science fiction author; and retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jerry Holmes, adjunct professor and OU College of Engineering alumnus.

Greg Mortenson By replacing guns with pencils and rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combined his unique background with his intimate knowledge of customs and cultures in the developing world to fight terrorism with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote villages in central Asia. His lecture served to inspire students, no matter their age, that each person can make a difference. Mortenson is the author of the New York Times best-selling book, Three Cups of Tea.

Photo courtesy of Central Asia Institute. fall 2010 | 11

In Review Centennial Review

April 22-23, 2010 Engineering and Economic Value Creation

This panel explored the centrality of innovation and entrepreneurship in the engineering approach to problem solving and value creation.

CoE Recognition Luncheon

April 22 and 23

Senior chemical engineering student John Woodson introduces the symposium panel, “Engineering and Economic Value Creation.”

The recognition luncheon honored many special guests, including past college leadership, faculty accomplishment, outstanding students and staff.

Botball Exhibition

See caption lower left corner.

Sooner Racing Team Car Unveiling

Hayley, the SRT 2010 racecar, was unveiled in preparation for summer competitions in the United States and Germany.

Global, Social and Economic Challenges: The Role of Engineering

Dean Thomas Landers presents Emeritus Professor Tom Love with a plaque honoring his dedication in writing about the first 70 years of the college’s history.

This panel examined the challenges of providing clean water, food, shelter, and access to energy and power in the developing world.

Water Center Presentation

The Water Center was formed to meet a growing need for university-based programs with the personnel and resources to assume a leadership role in the international water development scene that includes not only technical innovations, but educational opportunities for U.S. students and citizens of the affected regions.

Multicultural Engineering Program Reunion Sean LaChance, an eighth grader from Whittier Middle School in Norman, participates in the Botball demonstration conducted by local student teams under the guidance of the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics and OU professor David Miller.

12 | evolve

Students, alumni, staff and faculty came together to celebrate 20 years of the Multicultural Engineering Program.

Centennial Review April 22 and 23

Members of the Distinguished Graduates Society in attendance at the 20-year reunion dinner during Centennial events.

Distinctions for Upcoming Section — People Who Made a Difference Distinguished Graduates Society — DGS

In 1990, the College of Engineering established the Distinguished Graduates Society to honor our most accomplished alumni. Selection is based upon prominent and distinguished professional or technical achievement, notable public service, outstanding contribution to and support of education, honors of election in organizations, and other contributions to the engineering profession.

George Lynn Cross Research Professorship — GLC

The Regents Professorship was established on Nov. 12, 1943, by the University Regents. The first four appointments were effective Jan. 1, 1944. Upon his retirement from the university in 1968, the Regents named this professorship for George Lynn Cross. The criteria for selection require that a faculty member must have demonstrated outstanding leadership over a period of years in his or her field of learning or creative activity and have been recognized by peers for distinguished contributions to knowledge or distinguished creative work. The appointment is for life.

David Ross Boyd Professorship — DRB

The David Ross Boyd Professorship was approved by the Board of Regents on June 14, 1945, and is named for the first president of the university. The first appointments were effective June 14, 1946. To qualify for a David Ross Boyd Professorship a faculty member must have consistently demonstrated outstanding teaching, guidance and leadership for students in an academic discipline or in an interdisciplinary program within the university. When the professorship was first established, the policy provided that only two could be named in one year and the terms were for five years, though the individuals could be reappointed. The appointment is for life.

fall 2010 | 13

Special thanks to our

Centennial Sponsors

Corporate Sponsors

DAVID BOREN

PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

Research

Office of the Vice President for

Norman Campus

HONORS COLLEGE THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

14 | evolve

Special thanks to our

Individual Sponsors Leadership Team

Richard Askew Edward Blair Ryan Burge Doug Cummings Robert Dye Bruce Finlayson Charles Foster T. Gene Gallogly Hemant Goradia William Kennedy Spencer Knapp Ed Ligon Tom Love Joe McKenzie David Mitchell Richard O’Shields Steve Raybourn David Sabatini Donna Shirley Bruce Stover Robert Thomas Lew Ward Bill Weppner

Jim Anderson John Brock Charles Foster Don Geis Dillard Hammett Larry Hare Jerry Holmes Brooks Hull Karen Kelly John Kenney Tom Landers Tom Love Bill Parker Charles Perry Ken Perry Steve Raybourn Ted Sandridge Donna Shirley Terry Shyer Myron Stout Bruce Stover Tricia Tramel Sam Wilson John Woodson

fall 2010 | 15

Centennial Sponsors

Individual Sponsors

People who Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

made a Difference

As we reflect upon our past, we honor and recognize individuals who have made a difference in the College of Engineering. Beginning with members of the Distinguished Graduates Society and including faculty members designated as David Ross Boyd and George Lynn Cross Professors, staff members and concluding with the deans of the college, this list is intended to pay tribute to the dedication of these men and women.

There have been many staff, faculty, alumni and friends (not listed here) whose dedication to the College of Engineering during the past century has had a profound impact on our community and beyond. Their investments in our college and profession are greatly appreciated.

Abernathy

Jack H. Abernathy Sr.* received a B.S. from the School of Petroleum Engineering in 1932. As chairman of the board of Big Chief Drilling Co. until his retirement in 1982, he provided strong leadership and was instrumental in building it into one of the largest, most respected drilling companies in the country. Abernathy’s business affiliations included serving as president of Seneca Oil Co., director and chairman of the executive committee for Entex Inc., and director and vice chairman for General Drilling and Producing Co. He served on the board of directors of the Southwestern Bank and Trust Co. and the Benham Engineering Group.

DGS

James A. Abrahamson earned his B.S. in aeronautical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955 and later earned an M.S. in the same field from the University of Oklahoma in 1961. Abrahamson began his 33-year career in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of lieutenant general.

During his military service, he directed the development of several space crafts, a missile program and the F-16 International Fighter Program. He headed NASA’s Space Shuttle Program from 1981 to 1984. From 1984 until his retirement in 1988, he directed the Strategic Defense Initiative, the largest and most complex research and development effort ever undertaken in U.S. history.

Abrahamson DGS

16 | evolve

DGS

Austin DGS

Askew DGS

Lloyd G. Austin graduated from OU with a B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1951 and Texas Co. employed him a few days later. He worked in Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois prior to transferring in 1968 to Caltex in Sumatra, Indonesia, where he would later become managing director. In 1978, he was promoted to Texaco corporate headquarters in White Plains, NY with responsibilities for Angola, Nigeria, Ghana and Morocco. In 1979, he was transferred to Texaco Trinidad, Inc., where he became president and general manager with production, refining and marketing responsibilities. In 1985, after the Texaco purchase of Getty Oil Co., he was transferred to Kuwait, where he became president and CEO of Getty Oil Co. with responsibilities for production, refining and shipping in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, a position he held until retirement.

James D. “Denny” Bartell graduated from OU in 1954 with a B.S. in geological engineering. Upon graduation, he served in the U.S. Army until 1956. After completing his army commitment, Bartell was employed by Union Oil and Gas Corp. of Louisiana. At Union Oil, Bartell worked as an exploration geologist. He was responsible for coordination of geology and geophysics with land in the gulf coast of Texas area. In 1961, Bartell formed his own exploration firm named Hemingway and Bartell (now Bartell Exploration.) In 1983, he established the first named professorship in petroleum geology at OU.

Bartell DGS

fall 2010 | 17

* indicates deceased

Richard G. Askew received his B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering in 1947 and 1948 respectively. After a 37-year career in a variety of domestic and international assignments, he retired as senior vice president of Phillips Petroleum Co. and president of Phillips Chemical Co., with responsibility for the company’s worldwide chemical operations. His contributions to the university and the college have been many and significant, following a pattern of leadership and participation established while a student at the university.

He has been very supportive of all the work of the Board of Visitors, including serving a term as chairman of the board. He also is a member and former chairman of the Chemical Engineering Advisory Board.

People who made a Difference

Anderson

James K. Anderson graduated from the New Mexico Military Institute High School and one year later fought in World War II as an infantry scout in the 319th Regiment, 80th Infantry Division, Third Army. He was later discharged with the rank of buck sergeant. In 1946, Anderson began his sterling college career at the University of Oklahoma, where in just three short years, he graduated with a B.S. in geological engineering in 1949. While at OU, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity as well as the honor fraternities of Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Tau and Sigma Gamma Epsilon. Less than a decade after college, Anderson followed his entrepreneurial spirit and started James K. Anderson Inc., an independent oil and gas exploration and production company where he still serves as president and CEO.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Bayless DGS

Jon W. Bayless is president and CEO of Xtera Communications Inc. in Dallas, a private company that develops ultra-broadband and long-reach fiber communications transport systems. He also serves as a general partner with Sevin Rosen Funds in Dallas, which is a multi billion-dollar venture capital partnership that invests in technology based start-ups. Prior to his work at Sevin Rosen Funds, Bayless served as director, Advanced Systems, for Arthur A. Collins Inc. in Dallas, a research and development organization. He also has worked in executive and technical positions at the Defense Communications Agency, E-Systems and Motorola Government Systems, as well as holding faculty positions at Southern Methodist University, Virginia Institute of Technology and the Catholic University of America. Bayless earned his B.S. in electrical engineering from OU in 1964.

C. Neil Beer received his B.S. and M.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1964 and 1965, respectively, and his Ph.D. in operations research in 1973, also from OU. He was a distinguished graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1977. He began his 30-year career in the U.S. Air Force in 1956 and, after receiving his commission and pilot wings, was assigned to the Air Defense Command. His distinguished military career included assignments as a combat pilot; associate professor and deputy department head, USAF Academy; director of Theater Force at the Pentagon; and executive assistant to the Secretary of Defense. He retired in 1985 as major general.

Beer DGS

Stacy L. Berglan appreciates a challenge. A mother of three and a full-time employee with the college since 2000, she completed her B.A. in administrative leadership from the OU College of Liberal Studies in 2006. Before that, she worked for several years in the College of Continuing Education. Berglan is responsible for providing oversight to the budget and financial areas of six schools and two programs in the College of Engineering. She was recognized by the university with a Distinguished Service Award in 2008.

Berglan Staff | COE

Charles M. Bert received his B.A. and M.A. in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1951 and 1956, respectively, and earned his Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from The Ohio State University in 1961. In 1963, Bert joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma as an associate professor. He was hired by Professor Emeritus Tom J. Love Jr., who was serving at that time as director of the newly formed School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (formerly two separate departments). Bert was promoted to professor in 1966 and was named the Benjamin H. Perkinson Professor in 1978. In 1986, this position became the first endowed chair in the College of Engineering. He retired in 2004.

18 | evolve

Bert GLC | AME

DGS

Edward A. “Ed” Blair retired as president of the Americas Division of BHP Petroleum Inc. in 1998, and has worked all over the world in his 40 years in the oil and gas industry. A 1958 petroleum engineering graduate, he was employed for 23 years by Exxon, where he held various engineering and management positions in the United States, United Kingdom and Malaysia.

He joined Hamilton Oil Co. in 1982 as vice president of engineering and operations and was named president of the company’s U.K. operations in 1988. When Hamilton was acquired in 1991 by BHP, Blair became president of the U.K., Europe, Russia, Africa and Middle East Region, a post in which he served until being named president of BHP Petroleum Americas in 1994.

Blair DGS

Barbara G. Bledsoe is the office manager for the School of Computer Science, coordinator of all undergraduate activities, and serves as the school’s liaison for seminars, meetings and special events. She started at OU in August of 1989 and transferred to Computer Science in June 1998. Bledsoe received the HEC Distinguished Service Award in 1997 and the Katie Pursley Superior Performance Award in 2009. She loves gardening, motorcycle riding, and spending time with family and friends.

Bledsoe Staff | CS

John Vincent “Vince” Boggs* was the only child of Lisle and Nettie Boggs.

Vince earned three degrees from the University of Oklahoma, including a B.S. in physics in 1962, an M.S. in nuclear engineering in 1964, and his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering in 1966. After completing his doctoral work, he spent two years in active duty with the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of captain. He was assigned to the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda, Md., and served as assistant physicist-in-charge of the TRIGA Mark F nuclear reactor that was used in radiobiological studies. Boggs’s life was cut short as the result of a motorcycle/car accident on Oct. 19, 1971. To celebrate his life and the promise that it held, his mother left a major gift in her estate to the College of Engineering that will benefit generations of students at his alma mater.

Boggs Alumnus

fall 2010 | 19

People who made a Difference

Blackburn

Charles L. Blackburn was first elected as a director of Range Resources Corp. in 2003. He has more than 40 years experience in oil and gas exploration and production, serving in several executive and board positions. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of Maxus Energy Corp. from 1987 until that company’s sale to YPF Socieded Anonima in 1995. Maxus was the oil and gas producer which remained after Diamond Shamrock Corp.’s spin-off of its refining and marketing operations. Blackburn joined Diamond Shamrock in 1986 as president of its exploration and production subsidiary. From 1952 through 1986, he was with Shell Oil Co., serving as director and executive vice president for exploration and production for the final 10 years of that period. Blackburn received his B.S. in engineering physics from OU in 1952.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Bourne DGS

Douglas J. Bourne of Tulsa graduated from OU in 1943 with a B.S. in chemical engineering. While at OU, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Eta Sigma. After serving as an engineering officer on a destroyer escort in the Pacific Theater in World War II, Bourne began his career in the international mining business with Duval Corp., where he worked in all facets of the mining business: exploration, research, engineering, production, sales and general management. He became president of Duval in 1977 and in 1983 was named Duval’s chairman and CEO. He has served as chairman of the Sulphur Institute and the Potash and Phosphate Institute and as a director of the American Mining Congress, the Fertilizer Institute and the Copper Development Association.

John A. Brock received a B.S. in geological engineering in 1953 from OU. Following graduation, he served in the U.S. Army and, upon his discharge in 1955, went to work for Shell Oil Co. as a division reservoir engineer. He currently is a member of nine petroleum industry associations and serves as chairman of the board of Medallion Petroleum Inc., Soho Properties LLC, The AGOS Group LLC; as director of Fabtec Inc. and Lifeguard America LLC; and is an advisory director of Ward Petroleum Inc. He was an organizer and is a director of American Trustcorp (The Trust Co. of Oklahoma). The Tulsa Innovation Center was created by Brock to start new businesses in order to provide employment and enhance the economic environment for people in northeast Oklahoma.

Brummett DGS

Brock DGS

Larry W. Brummett* graduated from OU with a B.S. in civil engineering in 1974. After graduation, he joined the Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. and worked in Oklahoma City as a staff engineer and operating manager. In 1983, Brummett went back to school and received an M.S. in civil engineering in 1984.

After receiving his graduate degree, Brummett was promoted to general manager of operations in Tulsa. In 1986, he was promoted to vice president of the Tulsa District and executive vice president of ONEOK. In June 1994, he became chairman of the board. In his spare time, he served as a director on the following boards: Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa Area United Way and Philbrook Museum of Art.

Pamela McCauley Bush obtained her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in industrial engineering from OU in 1988, 1991 and 1993 respectively. In 1993, Bush became the first known African-American female to be granted a Ph.D. in the field of engineering in the state of Oklahoma. Bush is the chief technology officer of Bush Enterprises; the parent company of Antone & Associates, a management consulting and professional training firm. She is CEO of Tech Solutions Inc., providing engineering services and software development. Tech Solutions has strategic partnerships with various private companies and has provided technical and training services to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and the Federal Aviation Administration.

McCauley Bush DGS

20 | evolve

Staff | COE

John M. Campbell Sr. is an internationally renowned expert in the petroleum industry who served as chairman of the OU School of Petroleum Engineering for 15 years. John received his B.S. from Iowa State University. In 1948 he earned his M.S. in chemical engineering from OU and his Ph.D. in economics in 1951. After working for the Atomic Energy Project in Hanford, Wash., he began teaching at OU, where he held the Halliburton Professorship, served as director of the Petroleum Research Center and was chair of the School of Petroleum Engineering. Campbell is the author of 151 technical articles in the areas of production operations, phase behavior and properties, economics, and analysis of risk management of money.

Campbell DGS

Canter GLC | CEES

Larry W. Canter is professor emeritus from OU (August, 2000), and is currently engaged in teaching Energy Information Administration-related short courses and consulting on the preparation and review of impact studies and the development of EIA policies, procedures, methods and tools. He has written 12 books on environmental impact topics and is also the author or co-author of numerous book chapters, refereed papers and research reports related to impact studies. He has also written Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements on projects such as power plants, gas pipelines and compressor stations, highways, wastewater treatment plants, industrial plants, and flood control dams.

William H. Carson* graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1923. In 1925, he joined the engineering faculty at OU, where he served in both the mechanical and petroleum engineering schools. Before becoming dean in 1937, Carson had served as director for both schools. He served as dean of the college until 1962, after which he continued as a faculty member until 1966. During his tenure at the university, Dean Carson became widely known as the university’s “Goodwill Ambassador” having made trips to several foreign countries on behalf of OU. While he was dean, the college continued to grow rapidly making it the largest engineering program in Oklahoma.

Carson Dean 1937-1962

fall 2010 | 21

People who made a Difference

Calonkey

Susy L. Calonkey earned a B.A. in journalism from OU and made Norman her home. With 20 years of non-profit board leadership, Calonkey brought her communication, administrative and fundraising experience to the College of Engineering in 2003 as a member of the Williams Student Services Center team. Among her many responsibilities, Calonkey works with the Dean’s Leadership Council, First Year Engineers (E-1), Engineering Leadership Roundtable, OK LSAMP Research Scholars program and is staff adviser to the Dean’s Advisory Board on Diversity. She previously served as recruiting and outreach coordinator and scholarship coordinator as well as directing efforts for convocation and numerous student related events. She received the Katie Pursley Superior Performance Award from the university in 2008.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Audre L. Carter has worked at OU since 1992. She began working in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science in 1993 as a staff assistant and was promoted to administrative assistant in 1996. She is responsible for providing oversight to the school’s office and staff of three.

In addition, she assists in preparation of dossiers for the faculty tenure and promotion process and oversees budget and accounting for the school. She credits her success to an exceptional staff and is proud to be a part of the CEES team.

Carter Staff | CEES

Sam J. Cerny* served as past-president and CEO of Grace Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of Dallas-based Grace Energy Corp., whose parent is W.R. Grace & Co. He was born and raised in Enid and received his B.S. in geological engineering from OU in 1955. He was employed by Shell Oil Co. seven years as a field exploitation engineer and later as a reservoir engineer. From 1962 to 1965, he served as a consultant and reservoir engineer for Ramsey Engineering and later opened his own office as a consultant and reservoir engineer. In 1965, he joined Cleary Petroleum Corp. in Oklahoma City as vice president of production and in 1972 was promoted to executive vice president and elected to the board of directors. Cleary Petroleum was acquired by W. R. Grace in 1973.

Cervi

Cerny DGS

Sarah S. Cervi graduated from OU with a B.B.A. in finance in 1983 and made the transition from full-time student to full-time employee, working in the Bursar’s office for seven years. She then worked for seven years in the School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, serving as assistant to the director before assuming her current role as executive director of finance and operations in the College of Engineering. Cervi’s experience and expertise have been of utmost value to the college as she has provided leadership to oversee budget management for six schools and two programs. She was recognized by the university with the Superior Performance Award in 1995.

Staff | MPGE, COE

Sherry A. Childress retired from the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering in February 2009 after serving in various capacities, including assistant to the director and office manager. Childress witnessed much growth during her years of service. She is particularly thankful for the dedicated staff and faculty who composed the CBME team. She helped coordinate efforts for the 40th anniversary of the CBME Advisory Board.

Childress served the university for 30 years, 24 of them in Engineering.

Childress Staff | CBME

22 | evolve

DGS

James A. Close* retired from Flo-Bend in December 1973 and started his own company, originally called Star Equipment, later known as Close-Bend Inc. He served on the advisory council for the Salvation Army, and as treasurer for the west Tulsa branch. In 1990, Mr. Close was the recipient of the Army’s highest honor, the William Booth Award. He was an avid supporter of several charitable organizations, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and Boy Scouts of America. Close was a member of the Tulsa Area Manufacturers Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, the American Society for Metals and the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers. Close earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1943.

Comp DRB | AME

Close DGS

L.A . “Doc” Comp*, engineering professor, designer and builder of the wind tunnel that bears his name, began his career as an OU instructor in 1927, retired in 1974 and died at the age of 91 in 1997. The original balance system of the wind tunnel was designed by Comp and constructed under his direction. The tunnel underwent renovations in the mid 1980s and Comp returned to the classroom to teach the Wind Tunnel Testing class in the fall of 1988. He is one of few faculty who have taught classes in seven different decades. In the words of a long time colleague, Professor Emeritus of Engineering Tom Love, “Comp always took an interest in his students, not so much from the rah-rah Engineering Club type of activities, but more from the standpoint of helping them learn.”

Stephen P. (Pat) Condon is an executive aerospace consultant, specializing in U.S. government clients and industry clients doing business with, or interested in doing business with the U.S. government. In this capacity, he provides technical assistance in strategic planning, proposal support, organizational issues, marketing, program management, and issues involving science and technology, research and development, acquisitions, testing, and logistics support. Condon served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force for 33 years, retiring as major general, and is a former commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Condon also commanded the Arnold Engineering Development Center, Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., and the Air Force Armament Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and also served in the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition in the Pentagon. Condon received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from OU in 1964.

Condon DGS

fall 2010 | 23

People who made a Difference

Chiles

H. E. (Eddie) Chiles* was born in Itasca, Texas. He worked as an oil patch roustabout before hitchhiking to Norman in 1930. In 1934, he graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.S. in petroleum engineering. In 1939, after working as a sales engineer with Reed Roller Bit Co. in Houston, he founded the Western Co. of North America, which served the petroleum industry with technical services required in the discovery and production of oil and gas. He started the company with little more than two trucks, three employees and the will to succeed. At its peak, the Western Co. had more than 5,000 employees and annual worldwide revenues of more than $500 million.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Crynes Dean 1987-1998

Billy L. Crynes obtained his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Purdue University in 1967, then joined the faculty of Oklahoma State University, serving there for 20 years. From 1987 until 1998, he served as dean of the College of Engineering at OU. Crynes provided leadership as the college made significant advancements including its aggressive development team and emphasis on students as reflected by the recruitment of National Scholars, placing the college in the top 10 nationally. The Multicultural Engineering program was in the top 20 in enrollment and was the only college in the nation significantly enrolling all three under-represented groups. Under his direction, the college was the first of its type to require students to own laptop computers and exchange programs were initiated in France and Thailand.

Douglas R. Cummings is chairman of Cummings Oil Co., a family-owned oil and gas exploration and production business established in 1972. Cummings received his B.S. in geological engineering from OU and a ROTC commission in 1952. He served in the U.S. Army Ordinance at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland and in the Far East Command in Japan and Korea.

In 1955, Cummings was employed by Kirkpatrick, where he worked for 18 years. Cummings is active in the community, serving on the board of directors of ONEOK Inc. and its subsidiary, Oklahoma Natural Gas Co.

Cummings DGS

Dugan

Thomas A. Dugan’s grandfathers had been farmers and later oilfield pumpers, as was his father, and Tom grew up wanting to be in the oil business.

After graduating from Potwin High School in Kansas, he joined the Army and went to the Philippines as a tank commander. In 1945, while directing a flamethrower tank, he was injured by a mortar shell. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. After his discharge, he attended Eldorado Junior College and then the University of Oklahoma, earning his petroleum engineering degree in 1950. After working for Phillips Petroleum, Dugan opened Dugan Production Corp. in Farmington, N.M., where he still works and lives.

DGS

Archie W. Dunham, a native of Ada, received his B.S. in geological engineering from OU in 1960 and his M.B.A. from the College of Business Administration in 1966. Dunham served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1960 to 1964, reaching the rank of captain. After finishing his graduate work, Dunham joined Conoco Inc. in 1966 as an associate engineer. In January 1996, Dunham was named president and CEO of Conoco Inc. and an executive vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Conoco’s parent. In 2002, Dunham was named chairman of ConocoPhillips, following the merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Co., until his retirement in 2004.

Dunham DGS

24 | evolve

DGS

Betty Jo Everett* received her B.S. in civil engineering in 1947. Following graduation, Everett began her engineering career with OU Physical Plant and then had a series of engineering positions in city government, industry and consulting until pursuing a graduate degree at Louisiana State University. Following LSU and a brief tour with the Port of New Orleans, she joined the City of New Orleans as a senior engineer and progressed to chief engineer, the position she held until becoming president of Chatah Inc. in 1978. She rejoined the City of New Orleans in 1985, serving as director of the Streets Department until her retirement in 1990. Following her retirement, Everett joined the firm of Moreland Altobelli as general manager.

Everett DGS

Fagan

John E. Fagan received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas.

Fagan serves as Presidential Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at OU. He is an active teacher and researcher in the area of alternate energy transportation systems, and the use of GPS as an aircraft landing and navigation tool. To this end, he has developed a wide variety of alternative energy vehicles using solar and electric energy. Among these are the Spirit of Oklahoma solar vehicles that have competed nationally and internationally and the Formula Lightning high-speed (200 mph) electric racecar that also has competed nationally. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in Oct. 2010.

DRB | ECE

James H. Felgar* gained his training in mechanical and electrical engineering first at Kansas University and then at Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago. In 1906, he was hired by OU as an instructor in the School of Applied Sciences. Upon the reorganization of the university’s structure, and the resulting creation of the College of Engineering in 1909, he was named its first dean. During Felgar’s tenure, which stretched until 1937, important advances took place in the college, including the formation of the Engineer’s Club, an organization devoted to the advancement of engineering traditions and principles.

Felgar Dean 1909-1937

fall 2010 | 25

People who made a Difference

Evans

Larry B. Evans is the founder and chairman of the board of Aspen Technology Inc., a leader in supplying process engineering, manufacturing and supply chain solutions to the process manufacturing industries. Evans founded Aspen in 1981, focusing on the strategic, long-term direction of the company and on developing and maintaining relationships with outside organizations. Aspen has grown from eight employees at its start to more than 1,800 employees today. Evans was a professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1962 to 1990, where he was the principal investigator on the ASPEN Project, which led to the founding of Aspen Technology. Evans received his B.S. in chemical engineering from OU in 1956.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Fisher DGS

Steven D. Fisher graduated from OU in 1972, where he majored in aerospace engineering. Upon graduation, he joined Space Data Corp. as an aerospace engineer, where he was responsible for the design, development, fabrication, and flight testing of missile and space systems. In 1977, Fisher was named president of Space Data. In 1985, he performed a leveraged buyout of Space Data and took over as CEO and president. In 1988, he merged Space Data with Orbital Sciences Corp. of Fairfax, Va. He continued to serve as president of the Space Data Division of Orbital Sciences until 1991, at which time, having met his goals and objectives in the aerospace industry, he retired from OSC and began a new business venture, Fisher Opportunity Corp., an investment management company.

Charles E. Foster, a native Oklahoman, graduated from OU with a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1961 after serving for three years in the U.S. Army Paratroopers. As president of SBC Operations for SBC Communications Inc., Foster was responsible for all services provided to customers outside the corporation’s traditional five-state region, including domestic wireless operation and all international wireless operations. International operations included Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex), VTR Inversiones (Chile), wireless services and equipment in South Africa, telecommunications and cable television operations in the United Kingdom, cellular operations in the Republic of Korea, Australian Directory Services and Aurec Limited (Israel).

Foster DGS

Francis

John E. Francis earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering at OU in 1960.

Upon graduation, he went to work for Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. in Milwaukee, Wisc., and later transferred to the Springfield, Ill. works. He returned to OU, where he earned an M.S. in mechanical engineering in 1963 and a Ph.D. in engineering science in 1965. When offered an opportunity at his alma mater, he returned to become a faculty member in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. In 1990, he retired from the University of Oklahoma to join Bradely University as dean of engineering until his retirement in 1998.

Acting Dean 1985-1986, DGS

Owen K. Garriott received a B.S. in electrical engineering from OU in 1953 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He served as an electronics officer in the U.S. Navy before becoming first an assistant professor, then associate professor at Stanford University. His research and writing focused on ionospheric physics. In 1966, he completed the U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Program, receiving qualification as a pilot in jet aircraft. Garriott was one of the first six scientist-astronauts selected by NASA. His first space flight aboard Skylab in 1973 lasted 60 days and set a new world record for duration. His second space flight was aboard Skylab-1 in 1983.

Garriott DGS

26 | evolve

DGS

Sherry Glenn graduated with a B.A. in journalism and M.A. in English from OU. She served as director of advising from 1990 to 2004, working closely with her staff, Associate Dean Hillel Kumin and Dean Billy Crynes to create the newly remodeled Koch Advising Center and later the Williams Student Services Center. She also worked with faculty advisers to assure their knowledge of general education requirements, transfer issues and course sequencing as well as providing leadership when in 1996, OU became one of the first colleges of engineering in the country to establish a required laptop computer program. The focus of the advising center during Glenn’s tenure was to assure that students were offered every opportunity to develop into well-rounded and successful engineers.

Glenn

Glenn Staff | WSSC

Wayne E. Glenn*, retired vice president of Continental Oil Co. (Conoco), received his B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1939. He also was a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s advanced management program and held an honorary doctorate from the Montana School of Mines (now the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology). As Conoco’s vice chairman, he was responsible for directing the company’s worldwide petroleum exploration, production and minerals activities. He also served as chairman of the board of Continental Carbon Co. and of Hudson’s Bay Oil and Gas Co. Ltd., a Canadian affiliate. Throughout his career, Glenn was active in the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers.

DGS

E. Murray Gullatt, a native of Ada, received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in petroleum engineering in 1958 and 1959 from OU. He also received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Gullatt began his career as a petroleum engineer with Delhi-Taylor Oil Corp. in 1960. Gullatt assumed the position of chief engineer with LVO Corp., an independent oil and gas exploration company, in 1963. During the next 11 years, he held several positions with LVO Corp., including executive vice president, president, chief financial and chief operating officer, and director. After founding Southport Exploration in 1974 and serving as chairman and CEO, and then president, he currently serves as a management consultant, primarily in the energy industry.

Gullatt DGS

fall 2010 | 27

People who made a Difference

Geis

Donald R. Geis, a native of Loyal, earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1960 and an M.S. in industrial engineering in 1968 from OU. Prior to enrolling, Geis served in the U.S. Air Force, where he served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, reaching the rank of technical sergeant. In 1960, he joined the Western Electric Co. in Oklahoma City as a planning engineer.

Geis progressed through a series of assignments of increasing responsibility in Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Vancouver, Wash.; Minneapolis; San Francisco; Newark and Kearney, N.J.; and New York City, culminating in his promotion to chief engineer at Western Electric’s corporate headquarters in 1981.

Following divestuture, Geis retired in 1989 as sales vice president of AT&T Network Systems. Geis then served at the college for seven years as assistant dean for development.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Haise

Fred W. Haise graduated with a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from OU in 1959. He then began his 20-year career with NASA as an aeronautical research pilot at Lewis Research Center. Further assignments included serving as a research pilot at the NASA flight research center and as an astronaut at the Johnson Space Center. Haise served as back-up crew for the Apollo 8, 11 and 16 missions and flew on the aborted Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, which was dramatized in the movie Apollo 13. In 1979, he left NASA to join Grumman Aerospace Corp. as vice president for space programs. He then served as president of Grumman Technical Services until his retirement.

DGS

Dillard S. Hammett earned a B.S. in civil engineering from OU in 1954 and began working for Shell Oil Co. In 1967, he was named vice president of technology - worldwide drilling for Sedco Inc., a post he held until 1985 when he became vice president of technology and marketing and corporate director of Ensco Inc. With 47 years in the energy industry, he led projects that developed dynamic stationing and floating production technology involving ultra deepwater activities and pioneered techniques to drill and produce in ice and iceberg-covered oceans. He is named on 20 patents on technical methods, has published more than 50 technical papers and has presented more than 200 technical speeches worldwide.

Hammett DGS

Harlow

James G. Harlow Jr.* graduated from OU with a B.S. in engineering in 1957.

He served in the U.S. Navy as an officer from 1957 to 1959 and joined OG&E in 1961. At OG&E, he served in several financial positions before being elected an officer in 1966. He was elected a company director in 1970, president in 1973 and chief executive officer in 1976. In 1982, he was elected chairman of the board of directors. While at OG&E, he served on numerous industry groups, including chairmanship of the Edison Electric Institute in 1990. EEI is the trade organization for all investor-owned utilities in the U.S. He also served on the Energy Advisory Councils of two Oklahoma governors.

DGS

Jeffrey H. Harwell, Conoco/DuPont Professor of Chemical Engineering, George Lynn Cross Research Professor and the college’s former executive associate dean for academics, was inducted as only the college’s fourth honorary member of the Distinguished Graduates Society. He holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from Texas A&M University, M.S. in chemical engineering from Texas A&M, Master of Divinity degree from Western Seminary and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Texas. Harwell joined the College of Engineering faculty in 1982. He has published four books and more than 130 refereed articles, holds 17 patents and is an associate editor for numerous peer-reviewed journals.

Harwell

GLC | CBME, DGS

28 | evolve

Staff | Development

Jerry D. Holmes was born in Jenks, and received his B.S. in geological engineering in 1958 and his M.S. in aerospace engineering in 1964 from OU. While at the university, he was a member of the Air Force ROTC unit and was commissioned as an officer in 1958, thus beginning a distinguished 31year military career. Holmes completed pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, in 1959 and served in the Air Training Command until 1962, when he returned to OU to pursue his master’s degree. In 1964, he was assigned to the Space Systems Division as a project officer on the Titan III space launch vehicle and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. Holmes retired from the U.S. Air Force, obtaining the rank of major general, and now serves as an adjunct professor in the College of Engineering.

Houchin DGS

Holmes DGS

John M. Houchin* received his B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1934. He was chairman of the board of Phillips Petroleum Co. at the time of his retirement in 1974. He started with Phillips in 1933, while still an engineering student, and worked in engineering and management capacities in the company production operations until his advancement into overall company management as chairman of the Phillips Operating Committee in 1956. His industry associates included membership on the board of directors of the American Petroleum Institute and the board and executive committee of Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, which honored him with its Distinguished Service Award in 1973 for outstanding contributions to the petroleum industry.

Robert W. Hughes received his B.S. in chemical engineering at OU in 1958.

He moved to Austin in 1962 following graduation with an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He was employed by a venture capital company, Texas Capital Corp., serving as vice president until 1968. Hughes then helped form Communications Properties Inc. He served as vice president of finance until 1974, at which time he became president. Communications Properties grew to be the seventh largest cable TV company in the United States, at which time it was sold to the Times Mirror Corp. in 1979. That same year, Hughes founded a new cable TV company, Prime Cable Corp., serving as chairman and CEO. By 1995, Prime had become one of the eight largest companies in the cable television industry, with over 1 million subscribers in six states.

Hughes currently serves as chairman of Prime II Investments.

Hughes DGS

fall 2010 | 29

People who made a Difference

Heeney

R. Neil Heeney, originally from Liverpool, England, graduated from OU with a B.B.A. from the Price College of Business. Heeney served the College of Engineering for 17 years, advancing to executive director of development.

His leadership was crucial in the establishment of the strong donor support the college has continued to enjoy to this day. He led the college’s $130 million-dollar campaign, which also laid the foundation for the new Devon Energy Hall and ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility. Although he now serves as associate vice president for principal gifts in University Development, he continues to advocate for the College of Engineering and its needs.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Richard L. Huntington* earned a B.S. in chemistry in 1917 from OU and M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1932 and 1933 respectively. He served in the U.S. Army in World War I. He joined the petroleum engineering faculty at OU in 1933 and after four years was named director of the newly created School of Chemical Engineering. Huntington established the first doctoral program in chemical engineering, the first of its kind in the college.

He also set up a unit operations laboratory. He served on the University of Oklahoma faculty for 33 years, retiring in 1966 at the age of 70.

Huntington GLC | CBME

Gustavo J. Inciarte* received his B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1957 at the age of 19. He served as president of INTEVEP, S.A., the R&D and technical support company of the Venezuelan oil and petrochemical industry. His 33-year career in the oil industry began in 1957 in Lake Maracaibo for Shell of Venezuela Ltd. Gustavo was the first Venezuelan to hold the post of chief exploitation engineer for Shell, planning and implementing the first largescale commercial application of thermal recovery methods for heavy oil fields in the Bolivar coast. His efforts initiated INPELUZ (Institute of Petroleum Research at Zulia University) in 1968, which later became the Graduate Petroleum Engineering School at Zulia University.

Inciarte DGS

Ingram

Charles C. Ingram is chairman of the board emeritus of ONEOK Inc.. He is a native of Henryetta, and a graduate of OU, earning a B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1940. Following graduation, he joined Oklahoma Natural Gas as a laborer in the company’s operating department at Muskogee. A year later he became an engineer in Tulsa, but with the coming of World War II, he entered the Army as a second lieutenant of ordnance. After serving in the United States and in the Philippines, he was discharged in 1946 as a major and returned to Oklahoma Natural’s engineering department in Tulsa. In 1987, he retired as chairman of the board.

DGS

Betty R. Jackson received a B.S. in architectural engineering in 1949 and an M.S. in civil engineering in 1950. After a 38-year career in many areas of architectural and engineering practice and administration, she retired as vice president of H.T.B., Inc. She began her professional work experience with H.T.B. as a draftsman while a student at OU and was an important part of the growth of the firm, one of the largest in Oklahoma. Jackson’s distinguished career was filled with many professional accomplishments as she consistently chose the pioneering path and, through her unwavering commitment to excellence, paved the way for other women in a male-dominated profession. She was the first woman to become president of the 12,000 member American Consulting Engineers Council in its 27-year history.

30 | evolve

Jackson DGS

Jischke Dean 1981-1985

Howard C. Kauffmann, a native of Tulsa, graduated from the College of Engineering at OU in 1943 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He served in the South Pacific as a naval officer during World War II and began his career with Exxon Corp. in 1946 as an engineer trainee with Carter Oil Co., a domestic Exxon affiliate. After serving in various engineering and management positions with Carter, Kauffmann became producing coordinator for International Petroleum Co. Limited, an Exxon affiliate with operations in Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. During the next 17 years, he worked with Latin American, European and African operations from Exxon offices around the world. In 1975, Kauffmann became president of Exxon Corp. and held that position until his retirement in 1985.

Keeley DGS

Kauffmann DGS

Jack W. Keeley has devoted most of his career to public service. Following a B.S. in civil engineering from OU in 1957, he attended Harvard and received an M.S. in sanitary engineering in 1958. After graduating, Keeley began his career in Chicago with the U.S. Public Health Service and later in Dallas working with the Corps of Engineers, interrupted in 1960 for a two-year partnership in a consulting engineering firm. In 1965, he moved to the EPA’s Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory in Ada, where he structured the first research program focusing on ground water contamination.

Today, this research laboratory is recognized as the world’s leading center for ground water expertise and Keeley is unquestionably the country’s “chief of ground water research.” He retired in 1984 to become senior staff scientist at Dynamac Corp.

William J. Kennedy graduated from OU in 1955 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. While in school, he was a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Sigma Tau, Tau Beta Pi and Pe-et. He also served as vice president of the Engineer’s Club and president of his senior class. He was awarded the Gold Letzeiser Award as Outstanding Senior Man of his class. Kennedy continued his education at Harvard Graduate School, where he received an M.B.A. Prior to founding his own company, Kennedy spent 30 years in public and private companies that designed, manufactured and marketed engineered or proprietary products.

Kennedy now serves as president and CEO of Sequoyah Group Inc. in Chicago.

Kennedy DGS

fall 2010 | 31

People who made a Difference

Martin C. Jischke was a member of the faculty of OU’s School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering for 17 years, and also served as director of the school. During this time, he was the principal adviser to 21 thesis students. He served as dean of the College of Engineering during the early ‘80s, and was named the university’s interim president during 1985. In 1986, Jischke was named chancellor of the University of Missouri–Rolla. Success in that role led him to the presidency of Iowa State University in 1991. Dr. Jischke also set records for private fundraising at the university each year he was there, surpassing $100 million annually.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Kimmell DGS

Garman O. Kimmell* received his B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1936 and his M.S. at OU in 1937. He went to work that same year for Black, Sivalls and Bryson Inc. He worked there for 11 years and in 1948, he and Gwynn Raymond started Kimray Inc., a manufacturer of oil and gas equipment and controls. Kimmell bought Raymond out in 1950. Today, Kimray has 180 employees with annual sales averaging $25 million. Kimmell held 28 patents and was involved in the development of orthopedic devices, artificial kidneys, blood pumps and artificial heart valves as well as all the firm’s oil field pumps, valves and thermostats. He served on the boards of First Lutheran Church, Scope Ministries, Oklahoma Council for History Education and Research Council Baptist Hospital.

Theodore A. Kritikos graduated from OU with a B.S. in civil engineering in 1951. In 1962, he became a founding partner of Owensby & Kritikos Inc. His business is recognized as a leader and innovator in providing inspection and testing services to the maritime, petroleum, petrochemical and offshore industries. Today, Kritikos serves as chairman of the board. Regional offices are located in the New Orleans and Lafayette areas.

Kritikos DGS

Kukreti

Anant R. Kukreti held a faculty position for 22 years at OU, serving as acting director of the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science from 1996-1999, before moving to the University of Cincinnati in August 2000.

Kukreti teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in structural engineering. His research interests include finite element analysis and experimental studies of linear and nonlinear static and dynamic structural systems; behavior and design of steel connections; seismic analysis and design; sub-structuring analysis procedures for large complex systems; small-scale modeling and testing; constitutive modeling and fracture; and modeling of flow through porous media.

DRB | CEES

Joakim G. Laguros was born in Istanbul in 1924. He received his B.S. in civil engineering from Robert College in 1946 and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1962. He taught at Robert College, Iowa State University, Ohio University, and for 31 years at OU. From 1974-1975, he was a visiting professor at the University of Patras with the primary mission to organize the Department of Civil Engineering. From 1946 to 1951, he worked in the field in highway construction and from 1951 to date, he has devoted his time to teaching, research and consulting in geotechnical engineering and highway construction materials, receiving numerous awards and honors. Although he retired in 1994, he has continued to be a valuable resource to students and colleagues and has served as a member of the Research Council of ODOT.

32 | evolve

Laguros DRB | CEES

GLC | CS

Thomas L. Landers is AT&T Chair and dean of the College of Engineering.

He came to OU in 1998 as director of the School of Industrial Engineering after a 25-year career in industry, government and academia. He also served as associate dean for research and helped found several cross-disciplinary centers that promote applied research in coalitions with industry and other universities. He has published more than 90 scholarly papers, one textbook (Electronics Manufacturing Processes, Prentice Hall), and guest columns in Modern Material Handling magazine. He currently is appointed on the Army Science Board.

Landers Dean 2005-Present

Langdon

Patricia (Pat) Langdon served 20 years in the College of Engineering; four in CEES and the remaining 16 in AME. As a Navy wife, she understood the concept of service, investing herself in her duties as secretary and assistant to the director. Pat also understood the value of flexibility as she transitioned into the computer age and worked for four directors in AME. She valued self improvement, seeking university training in various areas to enhance her position. Langdon’s vested interest in the college extends beyond her own tenure; her husband, Ron, completed his degree at OU, as did her two sons Jim and Ken. She retired in 1998 and continues to make Norman her home.

Staff | AME

Max R. Lents*, a native Oklahoman, received his B.S. in petroleum engineering from OU in 1937. From 1937 until 1949, Lents held several engineering and management positions with the Cotton Valley Operators Committee and Haynesville Operators Committee in Louisiana, where he was one of the pioneers in pressure maintenance and recycling of oil and gas fields. He also held the positions of vice president and general manager of J.S. Abercrombie Co. and Old Ocean Oil Co. in Texas. In 1949, Lents co-founded the international oil and gas consulting firm with former classmate Martin G. Miller (B.S. petroleum engineering, ‘34) now known as Miller and Lents Ltd.

Lents DGS

fall 2010 | 33

People who made a Difference

Lakshmivarahan

S. Lakshmivarahan joined OU in the fall of 1978, where he currently is a professor in the School of Computer Science. From 1973-1978, he held postdoctoral and faculty positions at Brown University, Yale University and Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1973 from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. He is the author or coauthor of five books, nearly 70 journal papers and more than 90 papers in international/national conferences. He has supervised 19 Ph.D. dissertations as the principal adviser, five Ph.D. dissertations as co-principal advisor, and 37 M.S. theses as the principal advisor. He is Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery and has won numerous awards for both research and teaching.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Lesch DGS

James R. Lesch* received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from OU in 1947. He began his business career with Hughes Tool Co. as field engineer in 1946, and held positions of increasing responsibility in sales, engineering and product management until 1962 when he was elected vice president product planning and administrative services. He was elected to the board of directors of Hughes Tool Co. in 1964, and senior vice president and general manager of the Oil Tool Division in 1968. Hughes Tool Co. was sold in a public offering in December 1972, at which time Lesch was elected president and chief operating officer and director. In 1981, he obtained the additional title of chairman of the board until retiring in 1986, and remained as director until 1987.

Hong Liu received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Beijing Polytechnic University and his M.S. in applied physics from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. He received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His research interest is in medical imaging. Current projects include phase and phase contrast X-ray imaging, digital mammography, digital radiography, stereo fluoroscopy, and optical and fluorescent imaging devices. Liu is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of X-ray Science and Technology. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and a fellow of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering.

Liu GLC | ECE

Love DGS | Interim Dean 1985 GLC | AME

Tom J. Love earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1948 from OU. He continued his education at the University of Kansas and Purdue University, receiving an M.S. in 1956 and a Ph.D. in 1963. Additionally, he served his country as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. In 1956, he returned to OU to join the mechanical engineering faculty. In 1963, the School of Aeronautical and Space Engineering and the School of Mechanical Engineering became the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Love was named director, a role he retained until 1972. He earned the distinguished George Lynn Cross Research Professorship and held the title of Halliburton Professor of Engineering at the time of his retirement in 1987. He has written about the first 70 years of the college’s history.

Donald Malvern* received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1946. A few years into his education, war broke out and he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he served as a pilot, flight engineer and maintenance officer from 1943 to 1946. He served in aerodynamics as chief flight test engineer, and in 1958 became project manager for the F-4 Phantom program. He was appointed executive vice president of McDonnell Aircraft in 1973, later earning the titles of vice president McDonnell Douglas, 1973 to 1988, and president of McDonnell Aircraft, 1982 to 1986. He retired as corporate vice president of McDonnell Douglas in 1988 and served as a consultant following retirement.

Malvern DGS

34 | evolve

DGS

Alex H. Massad* retired from Mobil Corp. in 1986 after 40 years of service.

At the time of his retirement, he was a director of Mobil Corp., director and executive vice president of Mobil Oil, and president of its worldwide exploration and production division. Born in Drumright, Massad received a B.S. in petroleum engineering from OU in 1943. During World War II, he served as an engineering officer on destroyer escort ships in the U.S. Navy. After joining Magnoli Petroleum Co. (a Mobil subsidiary) in 1946 as a rotary floorman on a Texas drilling crew, he subsequently worked in various field activities and held numerous engineering and managerial positions in Mobil operations throughout the Southwest.

Massad DGS

Mays Staff | AME

Billy Mays serves as machine shop supervisor in the OU School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, a position he has held since 1996. Students enter the machine shop with varying degrees of experience and Mays ensures they understand how to safely operate the equipment he manages. He shares his expertise with students on various projects, helping to bridge the gap between creative ideas to working concepts. He has worked with students on individual projects, members of competition teams and those conducting experimental research. He also has assisted students with their Rube Goldberg projects during the AT&T Heads-Up Summer Bridge program for several years, providing much needed advice to ensure student’s projects are a success.

Patrick J. McCann received his B.S. in engineering physics from UC Berkeley and his Ph.D. in electronic materials from MIT. He worked for IBM in Burlington, Vt., where he was on the team that developed the world’s first one megabit DRAM. He has been a faculty member in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at OU since 1990. His research group has published more than 100 articles in the fields of IV-VI semiconductor epitaxial crystal growth, laser fabrication and chemical sensing using mid-infrared laser absorption spectroscopy. Recent accomplishments include demonstrations of mid-infrared light emission at room temperature from nanostructured epitaxial layers and improved active region heat dissipation from epitaxial layers removed from growth substrates and development of laser spectrometers for exhaled breath analysis.

McCann GLC | ECE

fall 2010 | 35

People who made a Difference

Maples

Michael J. Maples was born and raised in Shawnee, and received his B.S. in electrical engineering from OU in 1965. He also received an M.B.A. from Oklahoma City University. Following graduation from OU, Maples began a 33-year career in the computer industry, working first for IBM and later Microsoft Corp. Maples joined IBM as a system engineer and marketing representative. He held various marketing positions before moving into product development. After spending 23 years at IBM, in the end as head of software strategies and business evaluation, Maples joined Microsoft to run the applications business, which he was able to turn around after the introduction of Windows 3.0 in 1990, retiring in 1995 as executive vice president of the Worldwide Products Group and member of the Office of the President.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Thomas H. McCasland Jr. is a Duncan native and independent oilman and banker with an outstanding record of service to the university, Duncan and the state. He is chairman and president of Mack Energy Co. and is past president and current chairman of Thomas Drilling Co., M&M Supply Co. and Enerwest Trading Co. He serves as chairman for the Security Corp. and Security National Bank and Trust of Duncan. He is a member of the board for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association of America and has served on the board of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

McCasland DGS

Jere W. McKenny, retired president and chief operating officer of Kerr-McGee Corp., was born in Okmulgee, in 1929. He received both a B.S. in 1951 and an M.S. in 1953 in geological engineering from OU. In 1959, he was named division exploration manager of Kerr-McGee, based in Amarillo, Texas. He returned to Oklahoma City in 1965 as chief operations geologist and became superintendent of domestic oil and gas exploration in 1967. He was named manager of the oil and gas exploration division in 1969, then promoted to vice president of exploration in 1974. He was elected vice chairman of KerrMcGee’s Board of Directors in 1977 and president of the corporation in 1983.

In 1984 he was named chief operating officer as well as president.

McKenny DGS

Mewbourne DGS

Curtis W. Mewbourne received his B.S. degree in petroleum engineering from OU in 1958. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Army and working as a petroleum engineer in the industry, he founded his own oil company, Mewbourne Oil Co., in 1965. The company, which has exploration and production operations in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, is owned and operated by Mewbourne and his three daughters. Mewbourne is a long time supporter of the university and, in particular, the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy, by enhancing the college’s scholarship endowment base as well as faculty professorships and chairs. He is a charter member and initial chairman of the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering Advisory Board.

David E. Mitchell* graduated from OU in 1950 with a B.S. in petroleum engineering. He was chairman emeritus of Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. Mitchell started Alberta Energy Co. in 1975 and was president and CEO until 1993 and chairman of the board until April 1999. Alberta Energy grew to be one of Canada’s largest oil and gas exploration and production companies. At his retirement in 1999, Alberta Energy Co. had a market capitalization of $6.3 billion. Alberta Energy Co. merged with PanCanadian Energy in April 2002 to become EnCana Corp. Prior to joining Alberta Energy Co., Mitchell was president and CEO of Great Plains Development Co., a successful oil and gas exploration company. Mitchell also founded the Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation and was president of that organization for 26 years.

36 | evolve

Mitchell DGS

Staff | WSSC

John H. Moore is a native of Apache, and a graduate of OU, earning a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1945. He later attended Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and served in the U.S. Navy. Upon leaving the Navy, Moore pursued a 26-year career with Texaco, including assignments in Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, Trinidad and South America, where he held petroleum engineering and management positions. His last position with Texaco was as general manager in charge of Texaco’s Latin American operations. In 1972, John joined Denver-based Ladd Petroleum Corp., quickly rising through the management ranks from executive vice president to president, assuming the role of chairman of the board and CEO in 1986. John retired from Ladd in 1988.

P. Moore DGS

J. Moore DGS

Preston L. Moore served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, then enrolled at OU, where he earned a B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1949. After nine years with Humble Oil and Refining Co., he returned to OU, where he was professor of petroleum engineering for 14 years. His dedication to teaching is illustrated by two events: first, after signing a contract in 1960 to be worldwide drilling coordinator for Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, he cancelled the contract to stay at the university. The following year, he was offered a job as manager of drilling for the National Iranian Oil Co. Again, he declined the offer to remain at OU. Preston has started multiple companies, holds three patents concerning drilling operations, has written four drilling operations and practices manuals as well as 130 articles on drilling, well control and the economics of drilling operations.

K.K. “Muralee” Muraleetharan holds the Kimmell-Bernard Chair in Engineering and is a Presidential Professor in Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. He joined OU in 1994 after working as a consulting engineer in California for six years. He has been a principal investigator or Co-PI on research grants totaling more than $8 million and participated in many educational initiatives, including the CEES National Science Foundation-funded Sooner City project. He received NSF’s CAREER award, the OU Regents’ Award for Superior Teaching,and an OU Presidential Professorship. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is an editorial board member of the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.

He also is a member of the ASCE Geo Institute’s Soil Properties and Modeling and the Engineering Mechanics Institute’s Poromechanics committees.

Muraleetharan DRB | CEES

fall 2010 | 37

People who made a Difference

Mobley

Sue Mobley helped establish Alpha Sigma Kappa (a sorority for women in technical studies) with a group of engineering students on OU’s Norman campus and served as staff adviser for two years. In 1995, the Loyal Knights of Old Trusty, an organization formed in 1920 by a group of engineering students as a way to provide service to both the College of Engineering and the university, honored Mobley by inviting her to join their exclusive ranks. She is only the second person in the society’s history who was not an engineering faculty member or student to earn membership. Since that time she also has served as staff adviser and mentor to this group of students and its alumni.

She retired in 2009 after 21 years of service at OU, 20 of which was spent in the College of Engineering.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Nerem

Robert M. Nerem received his B.S. in aeronautical engineering in 1959 from OU. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from The Ohio State University in 1961 and 1964, respectively.

In 1964 he joined the faculty of The Ohio State University as an assistant professor in the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.

In 1968, he was promoted to associate professor and to professor in 1972. He moved to the University of Houston in 1979 as professor and chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and held this position until 1987.

Since 1987, he has held the Parker H. Petit Distinguished Chair of Engineering in Medicine at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

DGS

Allan Neustadt, a native of Ardmore, graduated from OU with a B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1951. He received his M.S. in petroleum engineering in 1952. He worked for Westheimer-Neustadt Corp. from 1952 to 1981 as vice president in charge of engineering, production and drilling. He also has served as president of Pilgrim Drilling Co. as well as owner and manager of Sapphire Supply Co. Neustadt currently is managing partner in Neustadt Land and Development Co.

Neustadt DGS

Nordby

Gene M. Nordby* earned his B.S. in civil engineering from Oregon State University in 1948, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1949 and 1955, respectively. From 1958 to 1962, Nordby was a professor and head of the civil engineering department at the University of Arizona. He then was named dean of engineering at OU, the youngest person ever appointed to the post. In 1969, he was appointed vice president of administration and finance at OU. In 1977, he served as vice president for business and finance at Georgia Institute of Technology.

In 1980, he was named chancellor at the University of Colorado-Denver. He resigned as chancellor in 1985.

Dean 1963-1970

Richard L. O’Shields is retired chairman and CEO of Panhandle Eastern Corp.

Panhandle Eastern operates one of the nation’s largest natural gas pipeline systems, providing natural gas to the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast areas, and has interests in a variety of other petroleum industry activities.

O’Shields was named president of Panhandle Eastern in 1970. He became chairman in 1979 and served nine years in that capacity until his retirement in 1988. For 13 years, he was also CEO of the company. O’Shields, born in Arkansas and raised in Oklahoma, served in the Air Force during World War II. He received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from OU in 1949.

O’Shields DGS

38 | evolve

DGS

Bill Z. Parker is retired executive vice president for worldwide production and operations, with the exception of Alaska, for Phillips Petroleum Co. He was named to this position in 2000. He previously served as executive vice president, downstream, in 1998, with responsibility for the downstream technology effort as well as the company’s information technology organization added in 1999. He was senior vice president of refining, marketing and transportation in 1997 and president and managing director of Phillips Petroleum Co. in Norway in 1996. Prior to that, he was vice president of worldwide drilling and production in 1995. Bill grew up in Oklahoma City and attended OU on a Phillips Petroleum Co. scholarship. He received a B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1970.

C. Perry

Parker DGS

Charles R. Perry received his B.S. in chemical engineering in 1951. As the founder, president and CEO of Perry Gas Companies, he made significant contributions to the natural gas industry. His five patents and numerous publications indicate his expertise in the area. In addition, prior to assuming his present position as chairman of Perry Management Inc., he served as president and CEO of the Perry Foundation Inc., and managing partner of Shamrock Co. and Perry Exploration. He is on the board of directors of the Texas Utilities Co., the Colorado River Municipal Water District and is chairman of the board of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.

DGS

Kenneth W. Perry graduated from OU with a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1954. He began his professional career with Cosden Petroleum Corp., Big Spring, Texas, in 1957. Classified as a junior engineer, his first assignment was the supervision of the construction of the company’s first polystyrene plant. The assets of Cosden were purchased by American Petrofina Inc. in 1963 and the company went through several permutations before emerging as Fina Inc., where Perry served as CEO from 1986 to 1992. He joined Nimir Petroleum Co. Ltd. as CEO in 1992. His professional activities include serving on OU College of Engineering Board of Visitors and OU Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Visiting Committee.

K. Perry DGS

fall 2010 | 39

People who made a Difference

Owensby

John W. Owensby* graduated from OU with a B.S. in civil engineering in 1953. After graduation, Owensby accepted a job with Chevron Oil Co. in New Orleans. From 1959 to 1962, he was plant manager for Ike Haggard Machine Works in Harvey, La. In 1962, he joined Ted A. Kritikos in the formation of Owensby & Kritikos Inc. to provide inspection and engineering services for the offshore industry. Owensby was a generous donor to OU throughout his life. He established the John and Dolores Owensby Family Scholarship to award undergraduate scholarships to deserving civil engineering and environmental science students.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Porter

W. Arthur “Skip” Porter, former dean of engineering and founding director of the Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth at OU, won the 2007 Journal Record Innovator of the Year award. Under Porter’s leadership, OU launched the Office of Technology Development, which has been instrumental in generating more than $12 million in licensing and royalty revenue for the university. Porter led the charge to make Oklahoma a leader in the global marketplace by facilitating a dialog between faculty researchers, business gurus and government leaders to diminish the barriers that preclude new technology from getting to the marketplace.

Dean 1998-2005

H.E. “Gene” Rainbolt is a native of Norman. He received his B.B.A. in economics in 1951 and an M.B.A. in finance in 1957 from OU. He also is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Graduate School in banking. He served with distinction as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, receiving the Bronze Medal and Army Commendation Medal. Upon his discharge from service, he began his career in banking that led to his position as chairman of BancFirst, the largest state-chartered bank in Oklahoma.

Rainbolt DGS

Raman DRB | IE

Shivakumar Raman holds the John A. Myers Professor in Engineering at OU, where his teaching and research has spanned the manufacturing engineering spectrum touching on such diverse topics as machining tribology, metrology of products and processes, reverse engineering, advanced materials processing to the design and integration of industrial systems and processes. He currently is the executive director for the Center for Shape Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, a state-funded center for research and education.

He is an elected Fellow of three engineering societies: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the Institute of Industrial Engineers.

Maurice L. Rasmussen received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Oregon State University in 1957 and 1959, and his Ph.D. degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University in 1964. He was appointed as an associate professor in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at OU in 1967 and was promoted to professor in 1970. Rasmussen is an expert in highspeed aerodynamics and hypersonic flow, and also is known for his work in nonlinear dynamics and applied mathematics. Widely published, he is the co-author of a textbook in applied mathematics for engineers and the author of a hypersonic flow textbook. He is the first faculty member to hold the L.A. Comp Chair.

Rasmussen DRB | AME

40 | evolve

DGS

Carl E. Reistle Jr.* earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from OU in 1922. He began his career in the oil industry with the U.S. Bureau of Mines in Bartlesville, and in Laramie, Wyo. He worked on several problems connected with oil production in the famous Salt Creek Field in Wyoming and co-authored the first technical paper on the solubility of gas in oil. In 1933, he was made chairman of the East Texas Engineering Association and contributed his efforts to the efficient operation of the East Texas Field. He began his long association with Humble Oil & Refining Co. in 1936 as engineer in charge of the petroleum engineering division. He became president of the company in 1961, and served as CEO and chairman of the board from 1963 until his retirement in 1966.

Resasco

Reistle DGS

Daniel E. Resasco holds the Douglas and Hilda Bourne Chair in the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering at OU. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering at the Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina and his Ph.D. from Yale University. He is the recipient of the 2004 Oklahoma Chemist of the Year from the American Chemical Society; the Yale Award for Advancement of Basic and Applied Science from the Yale Science and Engineering Association, Yale University; the Regents’ Award for Superior Research, OU; the Sam A. Wilson Professorship; and the J. and K. Smalley Presidential Professorship. He is founder of SouthWest Nanotechnologies Inc., a major producer of high quality single-walled carbon nanotubes.

GLC | CBME

Donald G. Russell, born in Kansas City, Mo. and raised in Overton, Texas, received his B.S. in mathematics from Sam Houston State University in 1953 and an M.S. in mathematics from OU in 1955. Russell began his distinguished career in the oil industry in 1955 as an exploitation engineer with Shell Oil Co. Over the next 32 years, he held various engineering and management positions with Shell, including chief exploitation engineer for the Houston area, general manager for exploration and production economics, vice president of international exploration, and finally as president of Shell Development Co.

Russell DGS

fall 2010 | 41

People who made a Difference

Rawl

Lawrence G. Rawl* received a B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1952. He became chairman and CEO of Exxon Corp. in 1987. He joined Exxon’s Houston-based, domestic operating division upon graduation and, following several assignments, transferred to the corporation’s producing department in New York in 1960. His career took him to many assignments of increasing responsibility internationally with Exxon USA and Esso Europe Inc., where he was elected executive vice president and director in 1978. He returned to New York in 1980 when he was elected senior vice president and director of Exxon Corp., president in 1985 and chairman and CEO in 1987.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Sabatini DRB | CEES

David A. Sabatini holds the Sun Oil Co. Chair in the OU School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. He received the 2010 Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in Teaching at a Research University award. An internationally recognized researcher and environmental engineer, Sabatini also has received numerous teaching honors for his ability to help students understand complex engineering concepts and to apply them to real-world problems. In the classroom, Sabatini uses analogies and common every-day examples to explain difficult concepts. As the director of OU’s WaTER (Water Technologies for Emerging Regions) Center, Sabatini has engaged OU students in engineering projects that have brought safe drinking water and improved sanitation to villages in Asia, Africa and Central America.

Ted L. Sandridge graduated from OU in 1959 with a B.S. in geological engineering. Following graduation, Ted served briefly with the U.S. Army Infantry, then continued to serve as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve for several years. Ted joined Phillips Petroleum Co. in 1959 as a geological trainee, then served as geologist or chief geologist in various locations ranging from Odessa, Texas to Oslo, Norway, from Bogota, Colombia to Bartlesville.

In 1978, he was promoted to director of planning for Phillips Europe/Africa Division, located in London. In 1995, Ted was named vice president for global ventures and international business relations and held that position until his retirement.

Sandridge DGS

Scamehorn GLC | CBME

John F. Scamehorn is professor emeritus of chemical engineering and associate director of the Institute for Applied Surfactant Research at OU. He also serves as vice president of Surfactant Associates Inc., a company specializing in surfactant application in Norman. Scamehorn is editor of the book Phenomena in Mixed Surfactant Systems, associate editor of the Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, and an editorial board member of the journal, Colloids and Surfaces. Professional societies to which he belongs include the American Chemical Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Oil Chemists’ Society, Society of Petroleum Engineers, and American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society.

Michael F. Schmitz has worked in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science for nearly 25 years, starting as an assistant instrument maker at the Fears Structural Engineering Laboratory. His duties have included fabricating and repairing research equipment for testing various types of building materials such as concrete, steel, wood, asphalt and soil.

While in CEES, Schmitz has been promoted to instrument shop supervisor and spends time helping graduate students, familiarizing them with how to operate the equipment at Fears and other CEES labs. He helped design and build numerous testing devices as well as worked on countless research projects and student competitions such as the concrete canoe. Schmitz has received three Hourly Employees Council Distinguished Service Awards (1990, 2000, 2009) and one George Lynn Cross Superior Service Award (1996).

42 | evolve

Schmitz Staff | CEES

Shingledecker Staff | IE

Donna L. Shirley, president of Managing Creativity, is a well-known manager, educator, speaker, consultant and trainer on the management of creative teams. She retired in August 1998 as manager of the Mars Exploration Program after a 32-year career at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Shirley managed the team that built Sojourner, the Microrover, which landed on the surface of Mars on July 4, 1997. In 2003, she retired from the OU College of Engineering, where she was assistant dean and an instructor of aerospace and mechanical engineering. In 2002 and 2003, she was the founding director of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, Wash. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1963, and a B.S. in aerospace engineering in 1965, both from OU. She later received an M.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. She holds four honorary doctorates.

Shirley DGS

C.M. “Cheddy” Sliepcevich*, although not a graduate of OU, brought unparalleled honor and distinction to the college and the university during his distinguished 36-year career of teaching, research and administration. To honor his service, he was chosen as the first recipient of honorary membership in the college’s Distinguished Graduates Society. Sliepcevich devoted his life to teaching engineering and to improving the world through technology. He received his B.S. in 1941, M.S. in 1942 and Ph.D. in 1948, all from the University of Michigan in chemical engineering.

Sliepcevich GLC | CBME, DGS

Charles B. Smith Jr. graduated from OU in 1943 with a B.S. in electrical engineering. After graduation, Smith served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps., after which he began his 46-year career in geophysical engineering. After completing his military service, Smith was employed by Continental Oil Co. and then joined Geoprospectors Inc. in Tulsa as manager of the vibroseis division. Eight years later, he was appointed president of Georex Inc. in Houston. In 1976, Smith formed Data Inc., a geophysical data gathering and sales corporation, then sold the firm in 1993. He currently is president of his own consulting business in Houston.

Smith DGS

fall 2010 | 43

People who made a Difference

E. Jean Shingledecker earned a B.A. in business management from OU and has worked in the School of Industrial Engineering since 1992. She has performed a variety of tasks, including assisting professors in preparing coursework, manuscripts for journals and conference proceedings, and document production related to faculty members’ tenure and promotion. She also has assisted in the school’s Senior Design Capstone course and helped in materials preparation for ABET accreditation visits, having participated in three cycles to date. She received the OU Distinguished Service Award in 1998.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Starling GLC | CBME

Kenneth E. Starling served as director of the OU School of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and as OU’s interim vice provost for research administration, each for one year. He has authored more than 130 publications and received more than $3 million in grants from sources including the National Science Foundation, Gas Research Institute, Department of Energy, American Gas Association and the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. Starling has served as a consultant to such companies as ESSO Production Research Co., Texaco, Amoco, Allied Chemical Corp., Kerr-McGee Corp., Gulf Oil and National Austrian Oil Co. He also served as a consultant to the Electric Power Institute in Palo Alto, Calif. Starling holds a Ph.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

D. Wayne Steen* was born and raised in Grove, and graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in aerospace engineering and counseling. Steen’s industry experience with McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis and educational experience with Haskell Indian Junior College in Lawrence and Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan., would provide the perfect context from which he would be able to relate to undergraduate engineering majors at OU. Steen’s legacy was shaped by his interest in and dedication to his students. His efforts were instrumental in establishing the solid foundation that the Multicultural Engineering Program continues to realize today.

Steen Staff | WSSC

Stephenson DGS

Charles C. Stephenson graduated from OU in 1959 with a B.S. in petroleum engineering. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army and has spent the past 50 years in the oil and gas industry. He began his career with Amerada Petroleum Corp. in 1960. Between 1973 and 1982, he was an owner and president of privately held Andover Oil Co. In 1983, he founded Vintage Petroleum Inc. as an independent energy company headquartered in Tulsa. He served as chairman of the board, president and CEO. The company was acquired

by Occidental Petroleum in 2006. He currently is co-founder and chairman of the board of Premier Natural Resources, partner of Regent Private Capital and co-founder and director of Growth Capital Partners. He also is president of Stephenson Investments Inc. and serves on the board of directors of AAON, Inc.

Bruce H. Stover received a B.S. degree in petroleum engineering from OU in 1971. He is currently president of BHS Enterprises LLC, a private company founded in January 2010 specializing in consulting for the global upstream energy sector. He also is retired executive vice president, and was a founding member of Endeavour International Corp., an independent North Seafocused oil and gas exploration and production company. With more than 38 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, Stover has an extensive background in international business development, previously serving as senior vice president, worldwide business development for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Stover also serves on the board of directors of the Bristow Group.

44 | evolve

B. Stover DGS

DGS

John T. Stupka is president of Strategic and Tactical Support Inc., a consulting company serving the wireless telecommunication industry. Stupka also serves as chief of staff to Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility. Stupka has more than 35 years of wide-ranging experience in the wireless and wireline telecom sectors, and has successfully led projects in a variety of other categories, including fixed wireless and competitive local exchange. He launched his telecom career in 1974 with Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., leading to his appointment as division manager in 1979.

Stupka entered the wireless arena in 1984 with his appointment as vice president - Network for the Southwest region of AMPS, the AT&T organization that preceded Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems. He then served as president and CEO. He earned his B.S. degree in industrial engineering from OU in 1971.

Thomas DGS

Stupka DGS

Robert C. Thomas grew up in Pawnee and graduated from OU in 1951 with a B.S. in geological engineering. Following graduation, he served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Thomas joined Tenneco Gas in 1956 and over the next 14 years held successively higher engineering and management positions in Tenneco’s domestic exploration and production operations. He was elected vice president of Tenneco’s Canadian subsidiary in 1970 with responsibility for all engineering, drilling, production and processing plant operations. In 1973, he was elected vice president of Tenneco Gas in charge of all international energy contracts. He was elected president in 1983 and chairman and CEO in 1990, a position he held until his retirement in 1994.

Aubra E. Tilley received his B.S. in electrical engineering in 1947. Tilley served as an officer in the U.S. Army Ordinance Department during World War II. After graduation, Tilley worked with Phillips Petroleum Research Group, North American Aviation and Chevron. In 1950, he joined North American Aviation, where he was in charge of the design and development of the auto pilot system for the F86 airplane. Later, he headed up the electronic development for North American’s first supersonic missile. In 1952, he was hired as chief engineer for Chevron’s Exploration Production Research facility, and was later transferred to Houston to head up the seismic data field operations for the company. In 1967, he started his own company, Input/Output, designing and manufacturing seismic data instrumentation equipment, where he holds the title of chairman emeritus.

Tilley DGS

fall 2010 | 45

People who made a Difference

C. Stover

Carl N. Stover served as chairman, president and CEO of C. H. Guernsey & Co. from 1990 to 2005. He continues to serve as chairman of the board.

Established in 1928, Guernsey is an engineering, architecture and consulting service located in Oklahoma City related to the electric utility industry. Stover has assisted distribution, G&T and other public power electric systems with such issues as the restructuring of the industry, power supply planning, negotiation of power supply contracts, development of power supply resources, and retail and wholesale electric rate proceedings. He has testified before many state commissions as well as before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He received an M.S. in industrial engineering in 1969 and a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1963 from OU.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Townsend

F. Mark Townsend* served as a captain in the U.S. Army during World War II, receiving a Purple Heart. During the Allied invasion of Normandy, Capt. Townsend was hit by German mortar fire, which injured three of his limbs. After 17 operations, he returned to OU in the fall of 1947, after having learned to write with his left hand. He went on to complete his B.S., which had been interrupted by his induction to the Army. He then earned an M.S. and was one of the first graduates to receive a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from OU. Before he retired in 1983, Townsend taught for 28 years as a professor in OU’s School of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

DRB | CBME, DGS

Gerald Tuma* received his B.S. in electrical engineering from OU in 1939.

He was named special instructor in March 1941 when Professor Almquist was called into active duty in the military. In 1942, Tuma also reported for military duty. He returned from service in January 1945, and was promoted to associate professor in 1949. From 1959 to 1963, Tuma served as chairman of the School of Electrical Engineering. He served on the advisory committee for the College of Engineering History, The First 70-Years, written by Tom Love, and was a very popular professor for many years, teaching a number of years part time past his mandatory retirement age of 70. At his retirement, he held the distinguished title of David Ross Boyd Professor.

Tuma DRB | ECE

Frank G. Tappan* joined the electrical engineering faculty in 1917 and was appointed director in 1919, a position that he held until 1947. His background included an A.B. from Washington and Jefferson College in 1904, an A.M. in 1909 and an M.E. from Cornell in 1917. He then taught at Cornell until he joined the OU faculty. Tappan was an effective and highly respected leader. He retired in 1953 and was given the title of David Ross Boyd Professor Emeritus.

Tappan DRB | ECE

Tricia D. Tramel has served the College of Engineering for more than 20 years, working in various capacities. In 1990, she was instrumental in creating the Office of Development within the college along with Don Geis and Neil Heeney, the first college-based development office on campus at the time. Tramel now serves as the college’s director of the annual fund and continues as the liaison between the college and its Board of Visitors. She has received the Certificate in Fund Raising Management from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Tramel Staff | Development

46 | evolve

Dean 1970-1981

Richard E. Wainerdi was elected president, CEO and COO of the Texas Medical Center in 1984 after retiring from Gulf Oil Corp. He joined Gulf as the president of Gulf Research & Development Co., the worldwide research arm of Gulf Oil Corp., in 1982. He was senior vice president and director of research and development of 3D/International, a design and engineering firm in Houston, from 1977 to 1982. He spent 20 years with Texas A&M University in both scientific and academic affairs from 1957 to 1977. He founded Texas A&M University’s Nuclear Science Center, the Activation Analysis Research Laboratory, the German Synfuels Technology Retrieval Program, the Center for Energy and Mineral Resources, and a number of other programs, including the university’s College of Medicine. He received a B.S. in petroleum engineering from OU in 1952.

Ward

Wainerdi DGS

Lew O. Ward III is chairman of the board of Ward Petroleum Corp., located in Enid. The company operates primarily in Oklahoma, exploring the Anadarko and Arkoma basins. Over the years, he also formed and operated Ward Drilling Co., Rambler Well Service, Ward Gas Marketing, Geronimo Trucking, Caprock Supply and, with his son, Gale Force Compression Services. He received his B.S. in petroleum engineering from OU in 1953. He is also a graduate of the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard University. In 1999, he was honored to receive the Lone Star Steel Chief Roughneck Award for lifetime achievement in the oil and gas industry.

DGS

Jack D. Whitfield* served as president of Sverdrup Corp., one of the nation’s leading engineering, architectural and technical operations firms. He received his B.S. in aeronautical engineering in 1951 and began as an engineer with the ARO Division of Sverdrup. In 1989, as president of Sverdrup Technology, Whitfield led the development of a multi-million dollar, high-tech consulting branch. His distinguished career included significant contributions to research and development in the areas of experimental, high-speed gas dynamics, development of high-performance arc-driven test facilities, aerodynamic research and environmental testing.

Whitfield DGS

fall 2010 | 47

People who made a Difference

Upthegrove

William R. Upthegrove earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from the University of Michigan. He served as an associate professor and founding director of the School of Metallurgical Engineering at OU before moving to the University of Texas, where he was chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for six years. He then taught at OU in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering for 23 years and served as dean of the college for 11 years. His leadership at OU gave birth to the first American Indian program in engineering, which provided a foundation for the Multicultural Engineering Program we know today. His tenure also saw the establishment of the first student computer lab and nurturing of the meteorology program, then residing in the College of Engineering. He also ensured the School of Computer Science would become part of the College of Engineering.

Alumni, friends, faculty and staff - A Tribute

Williamson

E.L. “Chick” Williamson* was born in Perry, Texas, grew up in Grady, and graduated from OU with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1950. He began his distinguished career in the petroleum industry in 1950 with Hughes Tool Co. Two years later, he moved to Phillips Petroleum Co., and, in 1954, he began his 34-year career with the Louisiana Land and Exploration Co., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans. He retired as chairman and CEO in 1989, and continued to serve as a director until 1995. Throughout his career, Williamson assumed a leadership role in his profession. He served as a director and member of the executive committees for the American Petroleum Institute and the Association of Petroleum Landmen.

DGS

Sam A. Wilson, retired president of Wilson Oxygen and Supply Co., is a 1953 chemical engineering honors graduate. While an OU student, he served as president of the Engineers Club, was voted Big Man on Campus, was selected as one of the top 10 senior men and was named to three engineering honor societies: Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Tau and Alpha Chi Sigma. Following service as an engineering officer in the U. S. Navy, he went on to earn an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1957. He founded Wilson Oxygen and Supply Co., located in Austin, Texas, in 1963, starting with two employees. Initially, he was salesman, delivery man, accountant and janitor.

Wilson DGS

Winn

Francis W. Winn* rose to prominence through a simple philosophy: seek out a problem, then develop a practical, beneficial solution. A humble giant among modern-day entrepreneurs, Winn began his career in 1940 and ended the 20th century with a $400 million technology firm. Along the way, Winn demonstrated the renaissance virtues of the classic engineer – designing more efficient sights for military mortars, devising a patented uranium processing plant, discovering 10W40 motor oil and developing a new software language that was faster and required less memory. Winn founded Computer Language Research in 1964 as a processor of individual federal income tax returns and later expanded to include income tax returns for all 50 states.

DGS

Musharraf M. Zaman received his B.S. from Bangladesh Engineering University, Dhaka. He completed his M.S. from Carleton University, Canada, and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 1982. Dr. Zaman currently is the associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Engineering, and also serves as liaison for the Oklahoma Transportation Center.

Zaman is a highly accomplished researcher who has secured more than $14 million in external funding to support his research and published 200 peer-reviewed papers in journals and conference proceedings.

Zaman DRB | CEES

48 | evolve

Dedications

Facility Dedications

Excellence in facilities for students Devon Energy Hall

Dedicated in January, Devon Energy Hall provides research space for the School of Computer Science and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. DEH has been designed to enhance both the undergraduate and graduate student learning experience. The three classrooms and two teaching labs, complete with the latest in equipment, furnishings and technologies, provide the necessary space for students to not only learn about their discipline but also to apply that knowledge through hands-on lab experiences. In addition, spaces have been designed to facilitate teamwork and collaboration across disciplines.

From left: OU First Lady Molly Shi Boren, Thomas Landers, Patti Landers, David Stubsten, Adela Porter, Larry Nichols, Mary Nichols, David Boren and Polly Nichols.

ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility Dedicated in February, the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility is an innovative solution to a dire problem in America. Whether in oil and gas, automotive or the high-tech sector, U.S. corporations are facing a shortage of engineers. The Engineering Practice Facility is a world-class, one-of-a-kind place where current engineering students benefit from a real-world interdisciplinary experience; and kindergarten through 12th-grade students can be inspired to become tomorrow’s engineers and scientists.

From left: Thomas Landers, Patti Landers, Donald Humphreys, Carrie Quirk, Nicolas Goree, Cathey Humphreys , David Boren and Truman Bell

fall 2010 | 49

In Memoriam

Gustavo J. Inciarte was born April 15, 1938, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, to Jose Sebastian Inciarte and Antonia Elena Perich. He passed away on Jan. 27, 2010, in Norman. He graduated with a B.S. in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1957 and later revalidated his title at the Universidad del Zulia in his home town. He was married to Esperanza del Carmen Overman.

several years.

Inciarte

Gustavo, or “El Gordo” Inciarte as he was and will always be known, was not only the first Venezuelan, but the first “native” to become chief petroleum engineer for any of Shell’s group of companies worldwide, and after many years of a very successful career in the oil industry was named president of Intevep (Venezuela’s Technology Research and Development Center).

Inciarte was elected and served as president of the Society of Petroleum Engineers in 1998, being the first Latin American elected to that position. He ended his 41-year career in the oil industry as a member of PDVSA’s (the Venezuelan state petroleum company) Board in 1998, which was, at the time, one of the biggest oil companies in the world.

Since 2003, he was a visiting research scholar at the University of Oklahoma in the Sarkeys Energy Center, and worked mainly with the Energy Institute of the Americas.

He loved his alma mater and was very passionate about sports, especially “his” Oklahoma Sooners and the LA Dodgers.

Alexander Hamilton Massad passed away Jan. 16, 2010, at the age of 86.

Alex was born July 10, 1923 in Drumright. In the fall of 1940, Alex enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, where he majored in petroleum engineering.

Because of World War II, he completed college on an accelerated basis, graduating in December 1943. He Massad enlisted in the Navy and was commissioned an Ensign. Near the end of the war, Massad was promoted to lieutenant JG and chief engineering officer of the Cross. He left active duty in April 1946 and remained in the Naval Reserves until 1956. In June 1946, he went to work for Magnolia Petroleum Co. as a roughneck. Magnolia, together with its successor Mobil Corp., was to be his sole employer until he retired in 1986.

He was promoted to executive vice president of Mobil Corp. and president of its Worldwide Exploration and Production Division. He was a member of Mobil’s board of directors from 1977 to 1986, as well as a director of Ingersoll Rand Corp. from 1982 to 1996 and Bangor Punta Corp. for

50 | evolve

In 1986, Alex retired from Mobil. In Austin, he served on the boards of Texas Commerce Bank-Austin, Seton Hospital, Shivers Cancer Center, the Lower Colorado River Authority, St. Stephens Episcopal School and the University of Texas College of Engineering. He also was on the boards of the College of Engineering at OU, the Sarkeys Energy Center and several smaller public and private corporations.

He was married to Delores Razook Massad for nearly 60 years.

David E. Mitchell died on Aug. 16, 2010, at the age of 83. He graduated from OU with a B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1950. He was an eloquent, homegrown Calgary oil titan who saw western ownership in Alberta Oil and Gas as “doing the right thing” for people and “doing it right” for business.

Mitchell

Mitchell’s profound presence was unpredictable right from the start. Born Sept. 5, 1926, in Calgary, he was the “surprise” baby for his four older siblings and parents of British decent, Grace Hersant and Jack Mitchell. Growing up, young Mitchell took great expeditions to visit his aunt in Turner Valley at the time when there was “black gold” and flares of unwanted gas all night long. He climbed the wobbly wooden derricks, hoping to get his hands into the oil and to make it doubly dangerous and, not get caught, did it in the dark. He knew at 12 that he was going to be an oilman.

His first petroleum responsibilities came in the early ‘50s in a trainee engineer position under the mentorship of Lewis McNaughton, chairman of the American-owned Great Plains Development Co. Even though McNaughton was in Dallas, not Calgary, Mitchell saw McNaughton as his teacher, often discussing oil plays long distance on old dial phones for three hours and claimed that this man “raised me on integrity.”

In 1964, when he was 39, Mitchell became the company’s youngest president at the head office in Calgary, a position he held for 10 years.

By 1974, the right door had opened with an irresistible offer from then-premier Lougheed to lead AEC to first place in Canadian natural gas. From 1974 to 1993, with the behindthe-scenes support of his trusted assistant, Liz Klaffke, the public finesse of his wife, Doris, and an initial group of four, he built an honorable global reputation for a company that cared about people.

By 1982, he had enrolled former premier Ernest Manning as the front man, found private donations and created a new

Cedomir M. Sliepcevich, professor emeritus at the University of Oklahoma, died on Oct. 22, 2009, at age 89. “Cheddy” (as he was called by his friends and colleagues) devoted his life to teaching and improving the world through technology.

Born in Anaconda, Mont., SliepcevSliepcevich ich earned a B.S. (1941 ), M.S. (1942), and Ph.D. (1948) at the University of Michigan, all in chemical engineering. While at Michigan, he helped pioneer a generalized systems approach to thermodynamics that is still used in teaching. Also in the late 1940s, Sliepcevich took part in one of the United States first bioengineering programs, involving the development of the earliest clinical artificial kidney and leading to the development of modern hemodialysis technology.

Sliepcevich also pioneered the first commercial process for liquefaction and ocean transport of liquefied natural gas.

His technical leadership in this area brought him recognition as “the father of LNG technology.”

Sliepcevich arrived at OU in 1955 as professor and chair of the School of Chemical Engineering, serving as associate dean from 1956 through 1962. His leadership in research, graduate study, accreditation and faculty development revitalized the college. In 1963, he devoted himself full time to teaching and research. He was named the Robert W. Hughes Centennial Professor of Engineering at OU before retiring in 1991.

Among many honors, Sliepcevich received the International Jpatieff Prize from the American Chemical Society, the George Westinghouse Award, and AIChE’s William H. Walker Award. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1972, and, in 1974, was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. At OU, the C. M. Sliepcevich Professorship in Chemical Engineering has been created in his honor.

Life clips from the engineering family E-clips is a community where engineering alumni can submit updates about significant life events including marriage, birth announcements, promotions and obituaries. Submit your updates online at www.ou.edu/coe - click on e-CLIPS or email engineering@ou.edu. We want to hear from you!

Get Connected to

OU College of Engineering

fall 2010 | 51

In Memoriam

set of awards that were modeled after the Nobel Prize.

Mitchell was a director of more than 20 companies and recipient of multiple honors, including an appointment to the Order of Canada and induction into the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering Distinguished Graduates Society.

Introducing: Jill Hughes

Jill Hughes started her OU career in 2004 in the College of Engineering development office.

She had the great pleasure of working with Neil Heeney, Brooks Hull and Tricia Tramel on the very successful $130 million Campaign for Engineering. For the past three years, Hughes worked in OU’s central Development Office on university-wide priorities. In 2009, Hughes founded the OU Women’s Philanthropy Network, a university-wide initiative designed to engage more women in the life of the university. Before moving to academia, Hughes spent eight years with the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. With Disney, Hughes served as Sales and marketing recruiter, senior corporate sales manager and 1998 Walt Disney World Ambassador. A Tulsa native, Hughes graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.

“It is great to be back at the College of Engineering! I am honored to serve as your new executive director of development. As we wrap up our centennial celebration and look forward to our next 100 years, I am thrilled to support Dean Landers and our outstanding students, faculty and staff at one of the most exciting and dynamic colleges on the OU campus.

In this difficult economic time when we are all doing more with less, I want to sincerely THANK YOU for your generous support.

If you would like to learn more about how you can help our students, please contact me ‘SOONER’ versus later!”

Email: jillq@ou.edu | Office (405) 325-8576

52 | evolve

fall 2010 | 53