IN MEMORIAM Lloyd Gene Austin, 88, died April 30, 2015. He attended high school in Potwin, Kansas, and was inducted into the U.S. Navy shortly after his 18th birthday. Austin served as a radioman during WWII. He graduated from El Dorado Junior College, Kansas, in 1948. He earned a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1951. Austin worked for Texaco in Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois before transferring in 1968 to Caltex Pacific Indonesia in Sumatra, Indonesia, where he became managing director. In 1978, he was promoted to Texaco corporate headquarters in White Plains, New York. The next year, he transferred to Texaco Trinidad, Inc. as president and general manager of operations in Trinidad and Tobago. In 1985, after Texaco purchased Getty Oil Co., he transferred to Kuwait as president and CEO of operations in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Austin retired in 1991. He was inducted into the OU Gallogly College of Engineering's Distinguished Graduate Society in 2008. After retirement, he held several directorships and advisory positions with nonprofit organizations. Austin is survived by his wife of 66 years, Joyce; four children, nine grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Charles Wesley Bert, III, 85, died Feb. 3, 2015. Bert graduated from Greencastle High School in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, in 1947. He received two mechanical engineering degrees: a bachelor of science degree in 1951 and a master of science degree in 1956 from Pennsylvania State University. Bert was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, proudly served on active duty during the Korean War from 1952-54 and retired as captain in 1963. Bert received his doctoral degree in engineering mechanics at Ohio State in 1961 and in 1963 began a 41-year career as a professor in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. He served as director of the school from 1972-78 and 1990-95. He was named a George Lynn Cross Research Professor in 1981 and held the Benjamin H. Perkinson Chair. His work in composite materials earned him an international reputation in the field; he authored or co-authored 205 papers in refereed journals, published one monograph, edited three books, produced 13 book chapters and 158 other papers. In connection with his research, he mentored 26 doctoral students and more than 40 master’s students. He was a registered Professional Engineer, and was elected a Fellow to seven technical organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Society for Composites. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2011. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Charlotte, a sister, two sons, four grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
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G. Manning Close, 83, passed away June 20, 2015. Manning attended Taft Senior High and Old Classen High School in Oklahoma City. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, serving as president and pledge trainer and was voted Big Man on Campus. Manning founded and served as chairman of GMC Oil and Gas in Oklahoma City. He is survived by his wife, Jane, three sons, three grandsons and five great-grandchildren.
Joakim George Laguros , 91, died July 25, 2015. Laguros graduated from Robert College in Instanbul in 1946 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He then served mandatory military duty, becoming the first person of Greek descent to be commissioned an officer in the Turkish Navy. He left Turkey for the United States in 1955, received an master of science degree in highway engineering from Iowa State University in 1957 and a doctorate degree in geotechnical engineering in 1962. After a one-year appointment at Ohio University, he started his long and distinguished career as a civil engineering professor at the University of Oklahoma in 1963. He was honored with the distinction as a David Ross Boyd Professor in 1983. He officially retired in 1994, but continued teaching the occasional class and conducting research until moving to Houston in 2010. He was a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a past member and chairman of the Transportation Research Board, and the lead or co-author of over 120 technical papers. He is survived by his wife, Vivian, one son and two grandsons.
Preston Moore, 90, died Feb. 3, 2015. He was a World War II veteran, world-renowned petroleum engineer, professor, published author, world traveler, amazing storyteller and a dedicated family man. After the war, he attended the University of Oklahoma on the GI Bill, earning a petroleum engineering degree. He went on to earn his master's and doctoral degrees while working fulltime and attending night school. Moore taught petroleum engineering at OU for 14 years. He published six books and more than 120 technical articles. He was named the world's outstanding drilling engineer by the Society of Petroleum Engineers in 1998. In 2005, the OU Gallogly College of Engineering recognized his exemplary career by inducting him into the Distinguished Graduate Society. Moore is survived by his wife of 65 years, Mary Jo, one daughter, one son, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.