Academy of Distinguished Alumni Established

As a way of recognizing the accomplishments and careers of our outstanding alumni, the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering established the Academy of Distinguished Alumni. The Academy’s purpose is to recognize high-achieving mechanical engineers from among the UT Austin community and from the engineering community at large, to champion the mechanical engineering profession and to build a strong community and facilitate interactions among our students, faculty, alumni and corporate partners.

The Charter members of this academy include:

Thomas Baker

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1968
Advanced Management Program, Harvard, 1988

Tom Baker retired as chairman emeritus of Energy Future Holdings Corp., formerly TXU Corp. He was previously vice chairman of TXU Corp., and prior to that he served as chairman and CEO of ONCOR Electric Delivery, TXU’s regulated transmission and distribution business. Except for a three-year period when he served as a nuclear missile launch officer in the U.S. Air Force, he has spent his entire career in the energy industry with TXU, culminating in key high-level roles.

He began his career as a plant engineer with Dallas Power & Light in 1968, and over time, held leadership positions in generation, utility operations, finance, customer service, rates, regulatory affairs, public policy, and served as executive vice president of engineering and bulk power. In 1987, he was elected to the board of directors of TU Electric and was made principal financial officer of Texas Utilities Company. He testified before the Texas Legislature on behalf of his company and industry in support of the legislation that created the competitive electricity market that began in Texas in 2002.

Tom has served as chairman of both the Engineering Advisory Board of the Cockrell School of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences’ Advisory Council at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2013, he was honored to receive the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering Distinguished Engineering Graduate Award.  Baker was also active in community roles, serving as chairman of the boards of Children’s Medical Center Dallas, the Circle Ten Council of Boy Scouts of America, the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, and as former president of the City of Dallas Park and Recreation Board.

He and his wife Nancy have two children and six grandchildren. Baker enjoys photography and music, and enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson motorcycles for a number of years. He and Nancy spend time each year in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia studying the history of the United States of America where it all started.

William Boren

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1949

After serving in the Navy as a fighter pilot during WWII, William M. Boren attended The University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1949. Over the course of his career, he served as vice president and general manager of Rolo Manufacturing Co. in Houston, manager of sales engineering with Black, Sivalls & Bryson in Oklahoma City, vice chairman and chief operating officer of Big Three Industries in Houston, and vice president and chief operating officer of Air Liquide America. William also served as director of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and as a 16-year member of the Engineering Faculty Advisory Council at UT Austin, where his main contribution was promoting the establishment of the Cockrell School’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. He was recognized as a Distinguished Engineering Graduate of the Cockrell School in 1992 and served as a member of the university’s Chancellor’s Council in 1996.

He served as a trustee of Southwest Research Institute (San Antonio) for 10 years. In 1989 he was president, and later chairman of The International Oxygen Manufacturers Association.

He was a director of Houston’s French-American Chamber of Commerce. After retirement in 1995, for several years he was a volunteer instructor in computers at The Women’s Home, where he and Molly were members of the Advisory Board.

His patented inventions included Classic Bridge, a game allowing four players to play duplicate bridge using 128 deals played at international bridge tournaments. The game was first produced and sold by 3M Company and then by Abercrombie & Fitch. His patents also included several oil field inventions including a special three-way valve and an oil/water sampler. After his retirement, he and Molly wrote a screenplay, Pegasus Bridge, a true story based on the midnight capture of two vital bridges in Normandy, the first operation of D-Day, June 6, 1944, by 180 British soldiers of D Company, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Infantry Division, who crash-landed at midnight by the bridges in six large wooden gliders. Bill wrote a memoir of their 10-year adventure in meeting the surviving veterans and researching the screenplay. Bill’s hobbies were bridge and computer programming.

Patrick Braden

BSME, Rice Institute, 1944
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1954
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1961

The Rev. Patrick O’Connor Braden, CSB, fourth president of the University of St. Thomas, was known for his love of physics and all things mechanical. His life was deeply tied to the University of St. Thomas and to his vocation as a Catholic priest. Fr. Braden earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rice University in 1944. The day after graduation, he was drafted into WWII. In the mid-1940s, he worked briefly in aviation electronics in the U.S. Navy before beginning theological studies at St. Basil’s College in Toronto, Canada. On June 14, 1952, the Feast of St. Basil, Fr. Braden was ordained a priest in the Congregation of St. Basil (CSB), the order that founded the University of St. Thomas. He went on to earn a master’s degree in 1954 and then a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1961, both from The University of Texas at Austin. In 1980, he was recognized as a Distinguished Engineering Graduate of the Cockrell School of Engineering.

Fr. Braden was president of the University of St. Thomas between 1967 and 1979, and, under his leadership, enrollment doubled. Since his years as president, he served in many capacities at the University of St. Thomas, including chair of the Board of Directors from 1967-71. For a year following his presidency, he went to Niger, West Africa, and helped deliver clean water. Then, he was transferred to St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY, to be president from 1980-1986. After teaching again at the University of St. Thomas, he was assigned to St. Lucia, West Indies, between 1991-1995, where he was the religious superior of the Basilian Fathers and taught at the local university. He returned to Houston and the University of St. Thomas in 1995 as an adjunct professor of physics and math.  He continued to serve as a member of the Board of Directors as President Emeritus, and taught until his death in 2016.

Jerry Brougher

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1919

Jerry hitchhiked to the UT Austin campus from Calvert, Texas and was lucky that UT’s $52 per semester tuition was waived as a reward for being valedictorian of his high school.  He delivered faculty mail for $45 a month which allowed him to pay for his $30 a month apartment.  With mentoring from professor “Wild Bill” Carter, Jerry would pursue his graduate studies at Harvard, become a top executive at Cameron Iron Works, and ultimately launch his own steel forging company, Forge USA. Jerry called on his old UT professor to test his first press design.  Professor Carter accurately predicted its failure point, but the press lasted 22 years, one year longer than Carter expected.  Jerry’s company is a testament to the resurgence of advanced manufacturing in America and the importance of making things.

Jerry is Chairman of the Board of Forge USA, an internationally recognized, ISO-certified steel forging company based in Houston, Texas that he and his son, Wade Brougher, have owned and/or operated for more than 30 years. Using the most effective and advanced forging processes available, Forge USA provides open die forging products and services that meet the highest standards in the industry.  The company specializes in large forgings of critical components used in oil and gas, nuclear, aerospace, mining, construction, and maritime industries worldwide. State-of-the-art facilities and equipment include a recently constructed rough machining facility that allows custom metal machining with rapid turnaround times.

Jerry has over 50 years of executive experience in the open die and closed die forging industries.  In addition, for twelve years at Cameron Ironworks, he had the added responsibility of a high quality steel plant that produced a full range of allowys, such as air melt and VAR; at the time, the VAR facility was the world’s largest with eighteen VAR furnaces from 20 inch to 50 inch diameter.  Jerry has supervised the design, construction and operation of green field plants in the industry, including design of the hydraulic forging presses ranging in size from 9,000 to 50,000 tons capacity.  He is Past President of the Forging Industry of North America.

Prior to Forge USA, Jerry was Executive Vice President at Alaska Interstate Company from 1971-74, and Vice President of Cameron Iron Works, Inc. where he started working after college.  He was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army from 1946-48.

Jerry has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and was a member of Pi Tau Sigma.  He earned a MBA with Distinction from Harvard, where he was a first-year Baker Scholar.  Jerry is a charter member of UT’s Mechanical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni and was recognized in 1966 as a Cockrell School Distinguished Engineering Graduate.  He is a long-time member of the Engineering Advisory Board and has been a Friend of Alec supporter for 30 years. 

Jerry has three children, Wade Brougher, Zoe Alexandra Kelsey, and Deborah Anne Brougher, and a grandson, Blake Brougher.

William Cawthon

BSME, Cornell University, 1944
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1947
M. Automotive Engr, Chrysler Institute, 1949

Upon completion of his undergraduate degree at Cornell in 1944, William C. Cawthon entered the U.S. Navy Reserve, serving until 1946.  He was recalled to active duty from 1951 to 1953 and reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander.  A native of the small northeast Texas community of Roxton, Bill enrolled in The University of Texas in 1946, completing an MSME in 1947. He began his career at Chrysler as a road test engineer and earned a Masters in Automotive Engineering from the Chrysler Institute in 1949.  Following his service during the Korean War, he returned to Chrysler, where his career advanced rapidly. In 1955, he became general works superintendent, the top manufacturing executive, first for the Dodge Division and then the Plymouth Division beginning in 1958. He then moved to a corporate role as director of purchasing from 1959-62.  He became vice president of manufacturing for American Standard Corporation, moving to New York City in 1962. 

In 1966, he became vice president and director of industrial engineering and worldwide manufacturing for ITT.  From 1968 to 1970, he was executive vice president for Weatherhead Company in Cleveland. In 1972-73, he was vice president and general manager for a division of Rockwell International in Massachusetts.  In 1973, he moved to Montreal, Canada, as vice president of manufacturing for Northern Telecom.  After relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, his role expanded to vice president of operations and then in 1985 he became vice president for corporation development until retiring in 1987.  Bill was a long-time donor to The University of Texas as a member of the Chancellor’s Council for The University of Texas. He was recognized as a Distinguished Engineering Graduate by the Cockrell School of Engineering in 1961, becoming the first Mechanical Engineering Graduate to receive the honor.

Kenneth Cockrell

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1972
MSAE, University of West Florida, 1974

From the age of five, Kenneth Cockrell knew what he wanted to do in life. He wanted to be a pilot, and he wanted to fly something really cool, and really fast. The best way to accomplish that seemed to be with the military; that’s where the exciting jets were.

When he researched the way to become a jet pilot in the Air Force, Navy, or Marine Corps, the unavoidable starting point was an undergraduate degree. The questions were what degree, and where to get it?

He had enjoyed physics and math courses in high school. As he seemed to grasp the concepts associated with various machines and, of course, with airplanes and flight, he decided to pursue mechanical engineering. Having spent much of his life in central Texas, UT Austin was an easy choice. After graduating in August of 1972, he signed up with the Navy and began his flight training. The ME degree gave him an edge during the academic training, and the study skills he’d developed at UT served him well as he prepared to fly more and more complex airplanes during pilot training.

While in training, he completed a Navy-sponsored master’s program in aeronautical systems at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. After flying jets from aircraft carriers for three years, he applied for the Navy’s Test Pilot School (TPS). Without an engineering degree, the school would not have accepted him, and the course of study would have most likely been insurmountable. It was a clear indication that university work, despite the occasional sense of irrelevancy along the way, could open doors and facilitate advancement.

After completing TPS, Cockrell participated in the flight test program of the Navy’s newest fighter, the F-18. He also became aware that, with his test pilot training, he was qualified to apply to be a Space Shuttle Astronaut. He submitted his first application in 1979. The Navy approved his application and forwarded it to NASA, which did not select him. He continued his work at the Naval Air Test Center, after which he returned to the fleet, flying F-18s on their first operational deployments in 1985 and 1987.

He continued applying for the Astronaut Office and, on the fourth attempt, was offered a job as a research pilot at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. After three years in that position, he made his fifth application for Astronaut. Ten years after his first attempt, he was selected to the 13th group of Astronauts, and began training in the summer of 1990. The lesson learned: If you care about something deeply, and want it badly, you should not give up. He flew five Space Shuttle missions. One as the flight engineer, one as the pilot, and the last three as the commander of the spacecraft. On the last two, he flew to the International Space Station on assembly, repair, and crew exchange missions.

As the Space Shuttle Program came to an end, Cockrell returned to the research pilot position until his retirement in 2014. He now works as a test pilot on a new business jet engine certification program. He is also building an experimental airplane. He firmly believes that his BSME from UT was the first, and crucial, step towards a rewarding career.

Keys A. Curry, Jr.

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1958

Keys Curry has a long, successful history of combining his engineering background with skillful entrepreneurship. Since graduating from UT, he has started or been a principal in four companies, two of which were taken public with very successful initial public offerings. He achieved licensure as a Texas professional engineer and a Texas real estate broker, acquired an M.B.A., and ran enterprises in computer software, mineral acquisition, and power generation engineering.

Keys began his career at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, where he held the position of sales engineer for seven years. In 1967, he received his M.B.A. from the University of Houston, and the following year launched Land Value Dynamics, Inc, a computer software firm, where he held the posts of founder, president, and member of the board of directors. Two years later, he became founder, vice president, and executive committee member of Steve T. Cochran and Associates, Inc. His next venture was as founder, president, and member of the board of directors of Texas Resource Development Corporation, a mineral acquisitions firm. From 1978-87, he held various executive positions with Power Systems Engineering, Inc. that launched a successful initial public offering in 1986 as PSE Inc. (AMEX), rising to become president and chief operating officer from 1987-89. Between 1989 and 1997, he served as executive vice president and chief operating officer, and subsequently as president and chief operating officer of Destec Energy, Inc., an independent power firm specializing in combined cycle electric power generation and coal gasification and clean gas technology. He was a member of the National Petroleum Council from 1987-97.

His dedication to the Cockrell School of Engineering is reflected in a wide range of College-related and University-wide leadership roles. Keys was a member of the UT Chancellor’s Council, Littlefield Society, and is a two-time past chair of the Engineering Foundation Advisory Council and a Friend of Alec.  In 1989, he and his wife established the Keys and Joan Curry/Cullen Trust Chair in Engineering, and later established the Keys A. and Joan F. Curry Endowed Excellence Fund in Engineering, as well as two significant endowments in the Plan II Honors Program: The Joan F. and John F. Curry Endowed Presidential Scholarships.

Keys has been an active member as well as an officer in a number of Houston civic and social organizations, such as the Kiwanis Club, the Kiwanis Foundation, the March of Dimes, and the Blue Bird Circle. The Curry Atrium, the welcoming point of the Taylor T-Room in the Engineering Teaching Center, is named in honor of Joan and Keys Curry, long-time friends, trusted advisors, and extraordinary donors to the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Gerald D’Arcy

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1956
MSME, University of Colorado, 1962
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1973

Dr. Gerald P. D’Arcy was born in Michigan but moved to Austin when his father worked for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). D’Arcy worked at LCRA during the summers. He earned a BSME from The University of Texas and a commission in the U.S. Air Force. During a 30-year career as an engineering and scientific officer, he worked on a lot of neat stuff in meteorology, space, and geophysics.

His junior officer assignments began at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas as a weather officer. His responsibilities increased from preparing daily forecasts and briefing flight crews, to wing weather officer, preparing and briefing forecasts for worldwide deployments. D’Arcy earned a MSME from the University of Colorado in 1962. Assigned to the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, D’Arcy worked on projects for nuclear hardening of Minuteman Missile Silos that ranged from theoretical predictions of free field motions from nuclear blasts to analyzing simulations to determine effects on launchers and control facilities. He developed a technique to simulate nuclear airblast-induced ground motions, techniques still used to predict vulnerability of hardened structures.

In 1967, D’Arcy was assigned to the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory. He designed and taught a 16-lecture series on mathematics distributed to U.S. Atomic Energy Commission libraries nationwide. Other projects included a new class of nuclear weapons, underground tests, and obtaining a soil stress gauge patent. 

D’Arcy came back to UT Austin to obtain a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. As Dr. Phil Schmidt’s first Ph.D. student, he completed a challenging dissertation on “Magnetohydrodynamic Entry Flow in a Channel with an Axial Magnetic Field,” which was published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. LTC D’Arcy, Ph.D. was assigned to HQ, Air Force Systems Command as chief of the Physical and Engineering Sciences Division responsible for all Air Force basic research in science and engineering.

Colonel D’Arcy served as vice commander of the Air Force Geophysics Lab and directed a staff of 600 to specify operational environments. Their research spanned space, meteorology, earth sciences, and optics, with worldwide locations and two specially equipped Boeing 707 aircraft.  In 1984, he became commander of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, directing all Air Force basic research with a $235 million budget at universities, industry, and 14 Air Force labs. Air Force decorations include the Legion of Merit.

D’Arcy retired from the Air Force in 1986 and became principal engineer and vice president of Applied Research Associates, Inc. at Kendall AFB, Florida. Research programs included fire technology, pavement technology, structural materials and dynamic response, energy, and nuclear and conventional weapon effects as well as medium interactions.  He retired again in 1995.

Maurice Dannenbaum

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1919

Maurice N. Dannenbaum, a World War I veteran, earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from UT Austin in 1919.  In 1925, he founded M. N. Dannenbaum Company, a sales engineering and manufacturer’s representatives firm providing process equipment for the oil and gas industry.  Mr. Dannenbaum was “Registered Professional Engineer #807” in Texas.

Maurice N. Dannenbaum was an industrialist, philanthropist and prominent civic business leader holding top leadership positions in Jewish and civic organizations at the local, state and national levels.  In addition to the presidency of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston, he served in 1954 as the General Chairman of the Congregation Beth Israel Centennial celebration.  President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote, “I am happy to learn of the centennial anniversary of the founding of Houston’s Congregation Beth Israel, which I am told, is the oldest organized Jewish house of worship in your State. To you and your congregation, I extend warm congratulations. President Dwight D. Eisenhower” Additionally, Mr. Dannenbaum was the Past President of the District Grand Lodge of B’nai B’rith and the Jewish Community Center.

Nationally, Mr. Dannenbaum served as Vice-Chairman of the Anti-Defamation League and a former Executive Committee member, National Conference of Christians and Jews.

His local civic leadership positions included Chairman, Houston Chamber of Commerce, President, Rotary Club of Harrisburg (Houston), President, Houston Engineering and Science Society, Chairman, United Way Budget Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee, United Way.

In 1966, Mr. Dannenbaum was one of six alumni of the UT College of Engineering selected to receive the “Distinguished Graduate Award”.

Louis Davis

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1934

Louis F. Davis graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1934 and was a postgraduate of Texas A&M in 1935. He was an executive vice president for Atlantic Richfield Company from 1968-1979. In 1967 he was elected to the board of directors at ARCO.   Louis played a major role in Arco & Exxon’s discovery of the largest oil field in the western hemisphere, located in northern Alaska.

Louis was a member of the Petroleum Club, Brook Hollow Country Club, Northwood Country Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, the Dallas Rotary Club, and Marrakesh Palm Desert. He was also a member of Central Christian Church in Dallas. Louis was well admired by his staff and co-workers and was greatly respected in the oil industry. He was recognized as a Distinguished Engineering Graduate by the College of Engineering at UT Austin in 1971.

Donald Douglass

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1954
MBA, Stanford University, 1959

Don was born in Gonzales, Texas, in 1931, and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. After graduating from Corpus Christi High School, Don attended Rice University and graduated second in his class with a BS in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas in Austin in 1954. He earned his MBA from Stanford Business School in 1959. He served in the U.S. Navy between 1954-1958 as a lieutenant and aviator, flying both the F9F-6 Cougar and FJ-3 Fury aircrafts from the USS Enterprise carrier in the Far East.

Don founded Alamo Group, Inc. (ALG-NYSE) in 1969, located in Seguin, Texas, and served as its chairman from 1969 to 2011. He was chief executive officer of Alamo Group Inc. from 1969 to 1999. He served as a director of Alamo Group Inc. from 1969 to 2011. Alamo Group is a global manufacturer of high quality, tractor-mounted mowing and grounds maintenance equipment.

In 1982, the Donald J. Douglass Centennial Professorship in Engineering was established by the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System to benefit The University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering. Also in 1982, he created The Douglass Foundation, exclusively for educational, entrepreneurial, scientific, and artistic purposes. The foundation has provided funds to schools of business, the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas for graduate-level scholarships, and Douglass Fellowships in American Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Smithsonian American Art Museum. The foundation also supported Texas Biomedical Research Institute Postdoctorate Fellowship in gene function.

In 1996, Forbes Magazine published an article about Don and his entrepreneurial success with Alamo Group and the establishment of the Douglass Foundation.

Don has a passion for poetry and the arts and was well-known for his love for American art, Impressionist art, and sculptures that inspire beauty, love, and spirituality. 

Don passed away on March 27, 2017, at the age of 85. He was preceded in death by his wife of 30 years, Helen Doscher Dunlap Douglass. He was previously married to Shirley Engelhardt Douglass Burgher, and had three children, Daryl Douglass, Scott Douglass, and Laurel Douglass.

Kenneth Eickmann

BSME, The University of Texas, 1967
MSSE, Air Force Institute of Technology, 1968
Air Command and Staff College, 1978
Air War College, Air University, 1980
MS National Security Management, National Defense University, 1982
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1993

General Kenneth Eickmann served the nation with distinction in the United States Air Force for 35 years. His last active duty assignment was as the commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In that capacity, he led the Air Force’s Center of Excellence for research, development and acquisition of aircraft, aeronautical equipment and munitions. He managed over 2,800 programs, ranging from basic research to design, development and support of advanced aeronautical systems. He executed an annual budget in excess of $11 billion and employed a workforce of approximately 12,000 people located at Wright-Patterson and 35 locations worldwide. He also served as the installation commander of Wright-Patterson AFB, one of the largest, most diverse and organizationally complex bases in the world with a long history of flight test spanning from the Wright Brothers into the Space Age.

The general was born in San Antonio, Texas, and entered the Air Force in 1967 as a distinguished graduated of The University of Texas’ Reserve Officer Training Corps.  He served as a reliability and maintainability engineer on the F-106 and C-5 aircraft, as the F100 engine systems manager for the F-15 and F-16 aircraft, as a division chief at the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, and on the Air Staff in the Pentagon. In addition, he served as the principal military advisor to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for research, development, acquisition, and logistics; director of maintenance at the Sacramento Air Logistics Center; deputy chief of staff for logistics for the Pacific Air Forces and for Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC); chief of staff and staff director at AFMC Headquarters; and commander at Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, the largest military industrial complex in the Department of Defense.

The State of Oklahoma declared July 11, 1995 “General Ken Eickmann Day” in recognition of his leadership and assistance following the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City.  A recognized expert in propulsion technology, General Eickmann has published several papers in technical journals in the United States and overseas.

Donald Evans

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1969
MBA, The University of Texas at Austin, 1973

Donald L. Evans was appointed as the 34th Secretary of Commerce by President George W. Bush in 2001. He was a strong advocate for the free-enterprise system, free and fair trade agreements, and responsible corporate stewardship. To encourage job creation, Evans worked closely with President Bush to reduce taxes, open markets for American goods and services, and promote a level playing field abroad. A trusted friend and advisor for more than three decades, Evans worked on President Bush’s successful Texas gubernatorial campaigns in 1994 and 1998, and served as chairman of the 2000 Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign. Currently, Evans serves as the Chairman of the George W. Bush Foundation.

Born in Houston, Texas in 1946, Evans attended The University of Texas at Austin, receiving a BS degree in mechanical engineering in 1969 and an MBA in 1973. During school breaks, he worked in a Texas steel mill. In 1975, Evans moved to Midland, Texas from Houston and began his career as a “roughneck,” working on oil rigs for Tom Brown, Inc., a large independent energy company. Ten years later, he took the helm of the company as CEO, continuing in that position until being tapped by the President to lead the Commerce Department.

In 1995, Evans was appointed to The University of Texas Board of Regents; he was elected chairman in February 1997 and served two consecutive terms. He was named a University of Texas Distinguished Alumnus and inducted into The University of Texas McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame in 2002.

Evans serves as chairman of Energy Future Holdings, formerly known as TXU Energy. He is a senior partner at Quintana Capital Group, senior advisor at Energy Capital Partners, member of the advisory board of the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin, and serves on the Board of Governors at Midland Memorial Hospital. In addition, he serves as vice chair of the Board of Visitors at MD Anderson. Evans has remained active in his hometown community of Midland, Texas where he resides with his wife, Susan Marinis Evans. His passions in life are his faith, family, and friends. They have two daughters, one son, and five grandchildren.

Thomas Fallon

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1983
MBA, The University of Texas at Austin, 1985

Tom Fallon was born in Indiana and spent his early years moving around the country. As college approached, even though he had never been to Texas, he chose The University of Texas at Austin, as it offered a great engineering education and a tremendous value. It wasn’t long before he bled Burnt Orange – falling in love with Austin, The University, Longhorn Football, country music, and chicken fried everything. At UT, Tom learned the process of critical assessment and independent thinking, developing both academic and personal skills. After achieving his BSME, he earned his MBA at UT, hoping to complement his technical foundation with a broader business perspective.

In 1985 he moved to Silicon Valley to participate in the burgeoning high tech industry. His first job was as a process engineer with the iconic Hewlett-Packard Company, building circuit boards for mini computers. After a couple of years he had the opportunity to join Sun Microsystems as they were creating the workstation market. Their explosive growth created opportunities for Tom to have several career-enhancing job changes: supply base engineer, program manager, procurement manager and materials manager. This broad foundation allowed him to join Cisco Systems as director of materials as Cisco began to create the infrastructure of the internet. This was a life-changing experience.

Tom had several responsibilities at Cisco, including VP of Materials, plant manager, GM of the Optical Business Unit, and corporate VP of Quality.  From Cisco, Tom joined Infinera, a start-up building the world’s first commercial PIC (photonic integrated circuit) for the DWDM transmission industry. He joined as VP of Operations and became the COO and then the CEO.

Tom and his wife, Shannon (BA Accounting UT), are blessed with five children, two who are also Longhorns. They are active philanthropists in areas of education for the underserved. Tom continues his commitment to UT by participating in both the Engineering Advisory Council and The President’s Development Board. The entire Fallon Family feels blessed to be part of the Longhorn community and are grateful for the opportunities created by The University of Texas at Austin. Hook’em!

Clay Fulcher, Sr.

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1955
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1959
Ph.D., University of Houston, 1969

Dr. Fulcher was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, on March 28, 1933, to Henry C. and Elma Gunn Fulcher. He attended high school at Wichita Falls High, where he played guard on the 1949 state champion football team.  He entered The University of Texas in 1950 and led a lively student career as a member of the Silver Spurs and as one of the original “gophers,” a group of students who dug out the basement of old Taylor Hall at night for the Taylor T-Room.

Upon earning his mechanical engineering degree in 1955, Dr. Fulcher received a commission to the U.S. Navy as ensign. He served his active duty in WestPac as engineering officer aboard the USS Formoe (DE) and the USS George A. Johnson (DE). Following his release from active duty, he returned to UT and earned his MSME degree in 1959.

He went to work for  General Electric in 1959 and held assignments in Flight Propulsion, Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion, and Missile and Space. He completed GE advanced engineering courses before moving to GE Space Division in Houston in 1962. During this time, Dr. Fulcher also earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Houston, with his thesis on control of a liquid cooling garment for extravehicular astronauts. He retired from G.E. in 1980.

Dr. Fulcher then spent several years with Schlumberger as manager for product engineering and engineering services. In 1984, he returned to the aerospace industry’s McDonnell Douglas Aerospace/Boeing as director of vehicle analysis and flight crew operations.

Upon retirement from Boeing in 1998, he formed Engineering Support Services Corp. and served as liaison between Goddard and Houston Space Centers in the repair missions for the Hubble Telescope, also participating in astronaut training for those missions. He was named a NASA Space Flight Awareness Honoree, the highest honor bestowed by NASA, for his work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Overall, Dr. Fulcher made significant contributions in two fields- space exploration through his high-level positions in the aerospace industry, and technically superior military advancements through his career positions in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Most notably, he is credited for much of the successful operation and safety of the astronaut space suits used since the 1960s. His cooling principles, helmets, suits and portable life support systems first employed by astronauts who walked the moon continue to be used by shuttle and international space station astronauts today.  He also continued to serve in the Navy Reserve after active duty and served in several assignments, including as commanding officer of the Office of Naval Research, rear admiral in the Navy Reserve, and deputy commander, naval air systems command. He retired in 1989.

He has been honored with many awards, including recognition as a distinguished graduate of the UT College of Engineering (now the Cockrell School of Engineering), distinguished alum of the Midshipmen Foundation and NROTC Alumni, and the Astronauts Silver Snoopy Award. The Houston chapter of the Naval Order also honored him with the Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz Leadership Award.

Dr. Fulcher passed away in October 2011 and is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Ann Arledge, and 4 sons, Clay Jr., Sam, Ray and Joe.

Edward Galle

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1950
MSME, Rice University, 1959

Edward M. Galle has more than 55 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.  Edward received Mechanical Engineering degrees from The University of Texas at Austin in 1950 and later from Rice University. After serving his country in Air Force Intelligence during the Korean War, he began his engineering career in Houston at Hughes Tool Company. By the time of his retirement more than 35 years later, he was Vice President of Engineering and Research. During his career, he developed many products used in the oil and gas industry, and he holds more than 35 U.S. patents. After retirement from Hughes Tool, he worked another 20 years in the industry as a consultant.

After retirement from Hughes Tool, he worked another 20 years in the industry as a consultant.

Edward is a 1990 Charter Member of the MEADA.

Immediately after graduation, Edward married his wife, Jeanine, in San Antonio, Texas.  They were married for nearly 60 years.

George Helland

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1959
MBA, Harvard Business School, 1961

George Helland was born and raised in San Antonio, where he graduated from Alamo Heights High School.  His parents were Ruth Gorman Helland and George Archibald Helland, who was a life insurance agent.  He earned his BS in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1959.  After earning an MBA with distinction from the Harvard Business School in 1961, he began a 17-year career at Cameron Iron Works in Houston, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of oilfield equipment. Beginning as a trainee in the stock room, George moved to coordinating engineering and sales of a new product line; sales manager positions in Houston and London; plant manager positions in Houston and Leeds, England; manager of data processing and information systems; and finally into general management. He was made executive vice president of all operations in 1977. George traveled to more than seventy countries for Cameron. 

After leaving Cameron, George was president and CEO of Weatherford, International, Inc., Houston,  and then president and CEO of McEvoy Oilfield Equipment Company, later a division of Smith International, Houston. Following a time as president of Lockwood Corporation, Gering, Nebraska, a subsidiary of McCall Industries, Inc., Houston, he engaged in general management consulting until he was appointed deputy secretary for export assistance at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. During his tenure at the DOE, hundreds of oil wells in Kuwait were set on fire, and George found himself as the person in the DOE most familiar with oil well fires. His expertise led the DOE to identify and draft the Texas oil well control teams of Red Adair, Boots and Coots and others to extinguish the fires, a mission which they accomplished in record time.  After serving at the DOE, George was vice president for Dresser Industries, managing its businesses in the former Soviet Union, China and Vietnam. Finally, he was a senior associate at IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Cambridge, Massachusetts, until his retirement. Over his career, George traveled professionally to more than 85 countries. 

George served on boards of various companies, including Gas Turbine Efficiency Ltd., UK; NS Group, Newport, Kentucky; Hunting PLC, London; Tokheim Corp., Ft. Wayne, Indiana; and Athens Group, Austin, Texas.

At UT Austin, he was a member of Tau Beta Pi, Phi Eta Sigma, Pi Tau Sigma, Sigma Nu, the Silver Spurs, the Friars Society, and the “T” Association.  He was recognized as one of Five Outstanding Texans and named an Outstanding Young Houstonian by the Houston Jr. Chamber of Commerce in 1972.  As an UT Alumnus, he joined the Engineering Advisory Council.

George was a devoted board member of the Briarwood School, Houston; the Brookwood Community, Houston; Junior Achievement of SE Texas; and Junior Achievement Worldwide. He served as a trustee of the Eurasia Foundation, Washington, D.C., and as an advisory trustee of Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio. As a leader in professional organizations related to oil field equipment, he served on the boards of the American Petroleum Institute, American Wellhead Equipment Association, and the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association. 

He lives in Houston with his wife of 25 years, Antonia Day. Together they enjoy seven grandchildren.

George Hill

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1922

George P. Hill began his successful career with his brother, Houston, in 1929 in Fort Worth, Texas until 1965.  During his long career, he was a member of 26 business, professional, civic, philanthropic, educational and social organizations.

Hill became a Distinguished Graduate of the UT College of Engineering in 1967.  He has been in the Longhorn Club since its founding; T-Association since 1922; Life Member of the Ex-Students’ Association; member of the Development Board, 1945-54, three years as Chairman; member of Committee of “75” to establish long range development goals for the University for 9 years and Chairman of the committee, 1957-58; and in 1966 was a Founding Member of the Chancellor’s Council. George served as President of The University of Texas Foundation and, during that time, made many trips with Dr. Harry Ransom.

Hill graduated from Central High School in Fort Worth, Texas in 1917.  While attending and persuing his engineering studies, Hill received 4 letters in football from 1918 to 1921, basketball in 1920 and 1921 and wrestling in 1921. He was a member of the 1920 Longhorn team that went undefeated and untied and was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.

Hill was president of The Fort Worth University Club and Colonial Country Club, and served on the Fort Worth Public School Board along with many volunteer activities.  He enjoyed traveling all over and around the world.

George married Margery B. Lackland in 1922 and together they have four children and seven grandchildren.  George P. Hill died at the age of 80.

Joe King

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1925

Joe King had 45 years in the oil and gas industry.  King’s career began with Cities Service Gas Company then to Magnolia Gas Company in Dallas, Texas.  In 1940, King worked at Texaco, but took leave during World War II to become chief of the Pipeline Section and executive office of the Petroleum Branch, War Plans Division, Office of Chief Engineers of the U.S. Army.

Through King’s many contributions to the oil and gas industry, King established himself as “Mr. Pipeline.”  At Tenneco, he worked to design and build the world’s biggest pipeline system and the company’s large hydrocarbon extraction plant.  He designed Texaco’s first high-pressure natural gas cycling plant.

King’s biggest contribution to the field started in 1951 when he helped form a standards subcommittee on transmission and distribution piping systems, which issued national codes now followed by the U.S. industry as well as many foreign industries.

As a strong contributor of The College of Engineering, King was the first engineering graduate to endow a professorship at The University to Texas.  He is the past chairman of the Engineering Foundation Advisory Council, and was a member of the Board of Trustees and the Governing Board of the Southwest Research Institute.  In 1976, King established the annual Joe J. King Professional Engineering Achievement Award in order to recognize College of Engineering faculty who have shown exemplary leadership in the engineering profession. In the words of Mr. King: “My feeling is that the recognition should encourage faculty members to demonstrate capabilities in broadly advancing the professional practice of engineering.”

King became a fellow of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1960, and in 1964 he was named a Distinguished Graduate of the College of Engineering. He was named a Distinguished Engineer by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers.

Frank McBee, Jr.

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1947
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1950

Frank Wilkins McBee, Jr., was born in Ridley Park (Philadelphia), Pennsylvania, on January 22, 1920.  The son of a French-Canadian mother from upper New York State and a father, Frank Wilkins McBee, Sr., who was a descendant of a pioneer Texas family, McBee was known as a consummate Texan: smart, tough, even gruff at times, but always a gentleman.

After growing up in Manor and South Austin, sometimes actually riding a burro to school, McBee headed to engineering school at The University of Texas at Austin. His studies at UT Austin were interrupted by WWII, but not before he married Sue Brandt McBee, editor of the Daily Texan and later named an Outstanding Alumnus of the UT College of Communications. After graduating from the USAF Engineering Officers School at Yale and service in India, where he supervised the maintenance of bombers “flying the Hump”, McBee returned home to receive both a BSME (1947) and MSME (1950) from The University of Texas at Austin. 

A member of Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi and Pi Tau Sigma, McBee spent much of the 1950s teaching in UT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and as a supervisor in what was then called its Defense Research Lab, where he met physicist Richard N. Lane.  In 1955, McBee joined Lane, Dr. Chester McKinney and Jess Stanbrough to found Associated Consultants and Engineers, Inc., later renamed Texas Research Associates, Inc. Originally specializing in acoustics, the company branched into defense electronics with its 1962 merger with Austin’s other outstanding tech startup, Textran, Inc., and the combined entity became Tracor, Inc. A decade later, Tracor was Austin’s first homegrown Fortune 500 and NYSE-listed corporation.  McBee began as treasurer and succeeded Lane as president, CEO and chairman of the board from 1972-1988.  

From its roots in a small former grocery store at 17th and Guadalupe, Tracor grew to an international company with 11,000 employees and a large campus in east Austin that would attract such neighbors as Motorola, Texas Instruments and MCC. McBee was credited with naming Austin the “Silicon Gulch”. Among many products, Tracor focused as both manufacturer and consultant on passive defense countermeasures, analytic instruments, and the revolutionary “Autofuse”, now used by every automaker in the world.

Not just an entrepreneur, McBee also bore a strong sense of civic duty. He and Sue were leaders in the preservation of Austin’s historic buildings and homes, the arts, and education. The Frank and Sue McBee Elementary School was dedicated in 1999. McBee also found time to lead the Austin Yacht Club and The Headliners Club of Austin.

For all of his contributions, McBee was among the initial class of Distinguished Alumni of the UT College of Engineering and, in 1988, was named a Distinguished Alumni of The University of Texas at Austin. In addition, he was inducted in 1990 to the Texas Business Hall of Fame. Among his many awards, he was especially proud of his election in 1989 to the National Academy of Engineering. 

McBee died on April 7, 2000, followed in 2011 by Sue, his wife of 57 years. He is survived by a daughter, Marilyn McBee Moore, and son, Robert F. McBee (BBA 1972).

Charles McQueary

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1962
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1964
Ph.D., The University of  Texas at Austin, 1966

Charles E. “Chuck” McQueary was born in Gordon, Texas (Pop. 404).  He graduated from Gordon High School as valedictorian of his class of eight in 1958. As the first in his family to attend college, he enrolled in mechanical engineering at UT Austin in the Fall of 1958 and continued graduate studies through the award of his Ph.D.  During his time at UT, he was fortunate to work with Dr. Lyle G. Clark, his Masters and Ph.D. theses advisor. Chuck served as a teaching assistant while pursuing his graduate studies. While at UT Austin, Chuck was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma, Pi Tau Sigma, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Xi.

In 1966, Chuck began his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories, which provided a unique opportunity to work for a premier research and development organization. During his 21 years at Bell Labs, Chuck focused on work for the Department of Defense, including Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems, underwater acoustic systems, and fiber optic communication systems. In 1971 he began a two-year assignment of ABM development on Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, and in 1973 he began two years of oceanographic research in Wales, United Kingdom. In 1987, Chuck transferred to AT&T in North Carolina to become vice president, Navy systems. The business unit was acquired by General Dynamics Corporation in 1997, and Chuck joined GD as president of Advanced Technology Systems, remaining until his retirement in 2002.

Chuck was appointed by President George W. Bush to be the nation’s first Undersecretary of Science and Technology (S&T) in the Department of Homeland Security, which was established in 2003. S&T was responsible to lead the effort to use our nation’s scientific and technological resources to help protect the homeland. In 2006, Chuck was appointed by President Bush to be Director, Operational Test and Evaluation for the Department of Defense, and senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Congress on appropriate testing of some 300 major weapons systems.

Chuck retired from the government in 2009 and served five years as a board member of an international corporation. He continues to have an active role in the local community in Greensboro, North Carolina, including board chair of the Gateway University Research Park, board member of the YMCA, The First Tee of the Triad, and the Greensboro Redevelopment Commission. Chuck served for many years on the UT Engineering Foundation Advisory Committee.  He also served as a board of trustees member for the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University. 

Chuck is forever grateful for the excellent educational opportunities afforded by his time at The University of Texas at Austin.

Thomas Moser

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1961
MSME, The University of Pennsylvania, 1963
Ph.D., Rice University

Mr. Thomas Moser entered UT Austin in ME with the good fortune of having worked during high school as an aide to the chief engineer (also a graduate ME from UT) of a steel fabrication company.  At UT, he became a member of Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma. In 1961, immediately after Tom and his high school sweetheart, Nelwyn DeLaney, obtained their BS degrees from UT, they married and began their careers at RCA Missile and Surface Radar Division in Moorestown, N.J. As a mechanical design engineer, Tom worked on multiple large, land-based radar systems and participated in the RCA graduate study program, in which he earned his MSME from the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1963, Tom began a long career at NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Johnson Space Center (JSC)) in Clear Lake, Texas as a mechanical design engineer in the Structures and Mechanics Division.  While working on Apollo and Space Shuttle programs and raising a family, he completed all work for his Ph.D. at Rice University, except for finishing the thesis.  Tom established his technical expertise in structures and materials and progressed through the ranks of NASA/JSC organization, serving as the head of the structural design section, the structural subsystem manager in the Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs, the deputy program manager for the Space Shuttle Orbiter, and the director of engineering. Tom was senior engineering manager during the design and development of the Space Shuttle from “sketch pad to launch pad” (1969 -1981). His greatest challenges pertained to the advanced state-of-the-art Orbiter structure and thermal protection system (the infamous “tiles”).

In 1986, immediately after the Space Shuttle Challenger accident, he became the NASA deputy associate administrator for space flight in Washington, D.C. Tom was instrumental programmatically and politically in returning the Space Shuttle to flight status. In 1998 Tom became the first NASA director on the Space Station Program, where he formed and led the organization that included eleven foreign countries and four NASA Centers. 

After retiring from NASA in 1990 and through 1997, he served as the vice president at Fairchild Space and Defense in Germantown, MD, and Analytic Services (ANSER) in Arlington, VA. In 1998, he returned to Texas to become the executive director of the Texas Aerospace Commission under Governor George W. Bush. Working with the governor and legislature, he established three Texas Spaceport Authorities.

Tom is a distinguished alumni of the UT College of Engineering, Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Fellow of the International Academy of Astronautics, recipient of the NASA Medal for Exceptional Leadership, the NASA Medal for Exceptional Engineering Achievement, and Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service.  Tom served on the UT College of Engineering Visiting Committee. 

In 2012, Tom was elected as a county commissioner.  He is also a rancher, consultant, speaker and golfer.  He and his wife, Virginia, live on a ranch, travel and enjoy their four children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Carol Lister Orr

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1919

The son of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Orr and Ellen Irene Currie Orr, Carol was first listed in the 1900 Federal Census, age 4, living in Frio County, Texas. Ten years later his family had moved to Val Verde County, Texas, where his father continued his medical practice.

Carol was a senior at The University of Texas at Austin in 1918, the same year he registered for the draft, at age 21. His death certificate stated he was a veteran of WWI. In the 1920 census, he is listed as single and as a self-employed mechanical engineer, living in Val Verde County, Texas once again.

The 1930 census shows he was now living in Wharton County, Texas, and had by this time married Abigail “Abbie” Harris. Their first daughter, Jane Lister Orr, was born 20 September 1930 in Newgulf, Wharton, Texas. In 1933 they had another daughter, Anne Carol Orr, born 24 July.

The 1940 census showed Carol as the manager of a power plant in Newgulf, Texas. Two years later Carol registered for the draft, still living in Newgulf, Texas.

At the time of his death, his residence was in Brackettville, Kinney, Texas, but he passed away at Val Verde Memorial Hospital in Del Rio, Val Verde, Texas at the age of 81. His wife, Abigal Harris Orr (1897-1984), was the informant on his death certificate. She said he had been employed as a petroleum engineer at the Gulf Sulphur Company.

Katherine Pearsall

BSME, The University of Texas at El Paso 1971
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1979
PhD., The University of Texas at Austin, 1983

Dr. Kitty Pearsall graduated with a BS in metallurgical engineering from UT El Paso in 1971. She briefly attended graduate school but decided that she wanted to enter the workforce. While at UT El Paso, Kitty was inducted into Tau Beta Pi and Alpha Sigma Mu. In 1970 Kitty was recognized as a “Woman of Mines and Metallurgy”.

In 1972, Kitty joined IBM and continued her education at UT Austin. At UT Kitty was a research and teaching assistant. During this time, she received both her MS and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. She was recognized in 1979 for her “Exemplary Performance for Engineering Teaching as a Graduate Student”.

During her 41 years at IBM Austin, Kitty was a process consultant and subject matter expert on materials, manufacturing processes, product qualification and supply chain for components and systems. She engaged with WW teams implementing strategic initiatives for cross-brand, cross commodity processes and products that delivered high quality/high reliability product. Her experience as both a technical leader and executive at IBM was recognized both in and outside of the company. Kitty was elected to the IBM Academy of Technology (2005) and elevated to a distinguished engineer. Kitty holds 12 US Patents, 9 IP disclosures, and numerous publications. She was the 6th recipient of the Fran E. Allen IBM Women in Technology Mentoring Award (2006).

Her top three career achievements include: (1) Ensured the 19 IBM WW ECAT Manufacturing facilities were CFC free three years before the Montreal compliance date of YE 1995 for developed countries. (2) Defined, documented and implemented best practices for suppliers based on two co-authored patents “A method and system for providing an E2E Business Process for Electronic Supplier Qualification and Quality Management” and “Interactive Display Survey for Suppliers …” that is used to assess the maturity level of an OEM supplier for best supplier selection (3) Provided IBM consultancy for component suppliers and supplier OEMs and enabled them to assess and benchmark their qualification and supply chain practices, define needed best practices, and integrate and implement these into their manufacturing process and supply chains. 

As a Senior member of IEEE, Kitty has more than 22 years’ experience with the IEEE Electronic Component and Technology Conference (ECTC) in many different roles and is currently on the Executive Committee. Kitty also serves on the CPMT Board of Governors since 2005.

Kitty and Von Pearsall and their sons, Patrick and Robert, have all graduated from UT Austin.

H. Grady Rylander, Jr.

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1943
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1952
Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1965

Grady Rylander, as he was known to friends and colleagues, was born August 23, 1921, on a farm in Frio County, Texas. He graduated in 1939 from Pearsall High School, where he lettered in football, tennis and track, and played guitar. He entered the University of San Antonio in 1939 and transferred in 1941 to The University of Texas at Austin, earning a BSME in June 1943. 

Following graduation, he was employed by Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Pennsylvania, where he conducted fatigue tests of gas turbine blades and designed bearings and lubrication systems for aircraft gas turbines. On September 24, 1943, he married his college sweetheart and classmate, Grace Elizabeth (Betty) Zirkel.

In September 1947, Grady joined the faculty at UT Austin as an assistant professor. He taught courses in heat/power engineering, machine design, and tribology (the science of bearings and lubrication), while at the same time working on his MS degree, which he received in 1952. Between 1949 and 1956, Grady held summer positions with Fargo Engineering Corp (designing heavy machinery for the hydroelectric dams on the Lower Colorado River), UT’s Defense Research Laboratory, and Magnolia Petroleum Company.

Grady was granted a leave of absence from UT in 1961 to pursue a Ph.D. degree at Georgia Tech, where he carried out his dissertation research on characteristics of multiphase lubricants. He returned to full-time teaching and research at UT in 1963 and earned his Ph.D. in 1965. In 1968, he was promoted to professor.

In 1970, Grady began a research collaboration on the design of homopolar generators. These flywheel-type devices store large amounts of energy and discharge high-powered short duration pulses of electricity.  This initiative culminated in the founding of the Center for Electromechanics (CEM) in 1977, which Grady directed until 1985. During this period, CEM grew into a world-class research unit focusing on the development of pulsed electric power and inertial energy storage machines and their military, scientific, and industrial applications.

Grady served as associate chair of the ME department from 1974-76, and was appointed chair in 1976. He served as chair for ten years, during which time ME saw many positive changes, including the move into the ETC II building and major growth and diversification of the faculty. During this period undergraduate enrollment grew from 577 to 1,108, graduate enrollment grew from 146 to 257, and research funding increased from $1.35 million to $5.24 million. Under his leadership, the ME department achieved the highest ratings in its history for the quality and effectiveness of its doctoral program.

Grady held several honorary professorships, including the Joe J. King Professorship (1983-85). In 1985, he received the Leonardo da Vinci Award from ASME’s Design Division. During the course of his 63-year career at UT Austin, Grady supervised 61 masters and 13 Ph.D. students, published 120 technical papers, edited or co-edited 8 books, and was inventor or co-inventor on 4 patents.

Although he was professionally accomplished, his greatest passion was his beloved Betty, their four children, and twelve grandchildren. He was also known for his outdoor interests including fishing, hunting, and ranching. Grady was also very active in both the Methodist and Baptist Churches.

Marvin Selig

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1947

An industrialist, philanthropist and visionary who changed an entire industry, Marvin Selig was in the vanguard of steelmakers who displaced integrated steel mills beginning in the mid 20th century and is recognized within his industry as one of its transformative leaders.

Selig, an innovative steelmaker and entrepreneurial engineer, built a new steel plant on the banks of the Guadalupe River near Seguin with a $2,000 loan after graduating from The University of Texas, College of Engineering in 1947. That year, he founded Structural Metals Inc. and began recycling railroad scrap metals into rebar.  The plant poured and rolled the reinforcing steel for new roads and highways, supporting the postwar building boom. The site near the Guadalupe River has been in continuous operation ever since as a “mini-mill,” a smelter of scrap steel that for decades was this county’s largest employer. The company started out turning worn-out railroad track into steel reinforcing rod for concrete construction, with the first steel rolling off its line in 1949. Profitable from day one and in every year since, the plant today produces more than 750,000 tons of steel per year and is a leading supplier to the construction and manufacturing industries. The company merged with Dallas-based Commercial Metals Corporation in 1963 and Selig became CEO of Commercial Metals Steel Group, which eventually grew to include 100 affiliate companies. He held various board positions until well after his 2002 retirement.  As an entrepreneurial engineer, Selig was a pioneer of the modern-day mini-steel mill concept, which brought increased efficiency, productivity and profitability to that industry worldwide.

Selig is a former president of The Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs in Washington, D.C., was a commissioner of the Lower Colorado River Authority, and served as an economic and industrial advisor to governments in countries in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United Kingdom.

He established the Marvin Selig Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering in 1997 and the Marvin and Ellie Selig Excellence Fund for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Cockrell School of Engineering in 2003.

Calvin Sholtess

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1950

Calvin Sholtess served in the US Navy during World War II, and after earning a Mechanical Engineering degree from UT Austin in 1950, he joined The Hughes Tool Company working as an engineer in oilfield equipment manufacturing and industrial products.  An industrialist and visionary who helped change an entire industry, Mr. Sholtess’ career included leadership assignments in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States, which included the first subsea production system designed to operate in more than 1,500 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico.  “When installed, this system also will be the world’s deepest system of this type,” said Calvin Sholtess, executive vice president of The Hughes Tool Company.

Mr. Sholtess, a 1984 recipient of the UT College of Engineering Distinguished Graduate Award, belonged to many professional and civic organizations, including the American Petroleum Institute, International Petroleum Association, International Association of Drilling Contractors, Houston Engineering and Science Society, Houston Chamber of Commerce, Rotary International, Petroleum Club, and Methodist Men’s organization.

Calvin was a Texas Exes Life Member and member of the UT President’s Associates.

Byron E. Short

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1926
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1930
MME, Cornell University, 1936
Ph.D., Cornell University, 1939

Dr. Byron Short earned BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering at UT Austin in 1926 and 1930. He earned a master’s degree and doctorate in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1939. He was honorably associated with UT Austin as a student and a professor for more than 50 years. He retired in 1973 with the title of professor emeritus. He passed away on October 31, 1996 at the age of 94.

Dr. Short started work with the Texas Company (Texaco) after graduation in 1926, but came back to UT Austin as an instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Fall of 1926. He accepted a teaching fellowship at Cornell in 1935-36 to begin work towards a doctorate. A master’s thesis was written for work completed in 1936 and he received a Master’s in mechanical engineering.  He was back at UT Austin for the 1936-37 academic year as an associate professor before returning to Cornell and completing his doctorate in 1939.  Upon his return to UT Austin in 1939, he was promoted to Professor.

During his time at UT Austin, Dr. Short twice served as chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and was acting dean of the College of Engineering in the 1948-49 school year. He was director of the Engineering Research Laboratory from 1952 until 1959. He served as graduate advisor for the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1939 to 1963.

He was chairman of the UT Athletic Council from 1945 to 1948. Expansion of the west stands and press box was completed during his tenure. He was invited to sit in the press box, but his enthusiastic, vocal support picked up on the radio broadcast led to receiving priority, 50-yard-line seats sheltered by the press box. He took his family to all UT home games and numerous basketball and baseball games.

Dr. Short was a Life Member and Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and also the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). He was a Life Member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Society of Engineering Education, and the Texas Society of Professional Engineers.  He was a Friend of Alec.

In his honor, the Mechanical Engineering Class of 1940 established the Byron E. Short Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering in 1993, surprising him with the honor at a reunion at the Stagecoach Inn in Salado. Dr. Short was recognized as an inaugural 1995 Department of Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Alumnus and a 1996 College of Engineering Distinguished Graduate.

In 1937, Byron married Mary Jo F. Short, daughter of long-time Dean of Business Administration J. Anderson Fitzgerald. They had two children, Mary Aileen Short Gauntt and Byron Elliott Short, Jr. Dr. Short was an active board member for the Scottish Rite Dormitory at UT, consulting closely on mechanical renovations at the dorm. He and Mary Jo were lifelong active members of the First Baptist Church of Austin.

Richard Smalling

BSASE, The University of Texas at Austin, 1970
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1972
MD, University of Texas-Houston Medical School, 1975
Ph.D., UTHealth Houston, 1977

Dr. Richard Smalling is a native Texan who received his BS in aerospace engineering and MSME in biomedical engineering from UT Austin, and his Ph.D. from the UTHealth School of Biomedical Sciences. He is an AOA graduate of UTHealth/McGovern Medical School, and did his residency training and cardiology fellowship at UCSD. Board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and interventional cardiology, he is past president of the American Heart Association, Texas Affiliate, and past president of the Medical Staff of Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he was also named a Distinguished Physician. He has been honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of both UTHeath/McGovern Medical School and the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University Texas at Austin.

Named an America’s Top Doctor for the past fifteen years, Dr. Smalling received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Heart Association Texas Affiliate in 1990. He is on the editorial boards of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, The Journal of Interventional Cardiology, and Journal of the American College of Cardiology- Interventions and is a past associate editor for Circulation. In 2016 he was named a Master in the Society of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. In addition, he holds six patents and co-founded Windmill Cardiovascular Systems to produce a new implantable Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD). His team has developed the first valveless, pulsatile flow LVAD which pumps in synchrony with the cardiac cycle and automatically changes its pumping function to optimize cardiac function. Their new artificial heart promises to drastically reduce the serious complications, including bleeding and stroke, associated with all currently-available LVADs.

Dr. Smalling is the James D. Woods Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine and the director of Interventional Cardiovascular Medicine in the Division of  Cardiology at the UT Medical School in Houston and the Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute. He specializes in the treatment of valvular heart disease and adult congenital heart disease percutaneously. Additionally, he has significant expertise in treatment of coronary and peripheral vascular disease with non-surgical techniques. His team has been active in the role of utilizing left ventricular assist devices to support high-risk coronary angioplasty and complicated valve treatment procedures.

His research interests include advanced imaging procedures for structural heart disease, development of 3-D, fluoroscopically guided structural heart interventions, and reduction of reperfusion injury by mechanical LV unloading and endothelin inhibition. Clinically, his team is actively pursuing the role of very early treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction and evaluating new percutaneous methodologies for treating valvular heart disease.

Dr. Smalling is the author of over 250 peer-reviewed articles, 25 book chapters, 2 books, and more than 15 web-based CME articles. He and his wife Sharon have 3 children, Geoffrey, Elizabeth and Stephanie, and 2 grandchildren. They enjoy cooking, cycling, skiing and traveling together.

Byron Tapley

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1956
MSEM, The University of Texas at Austin, 1958
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1960

Dr. Byron Tapley joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 1959 and served as the Chairman of the combined Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (ASE-EM) Department from 1966 through 1977. He occupied the Woolrich Professorship from 1975 through 1984 and the the Clare Cockrell Williams Centennial Chair from 1985 through 2015. He established the orbit mechanics program in the ASE-EM Department in 1961 and the Center for Space Research in 1981.

His research interests include the theory of satellite motion, precision orbit determination, and nonlinear parameter estimation. He applies these and other computational methods to satellite remote-sensed observations in addressing problems in oceanography, geodesy and navigation. He was instrumental in establishing the field of Satellite Altimetry in 1980 as a method for monitoring ocean circulation and sea level rise. Since 1997, he has served as Mission Principal Investigator for the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), which is the first Earth System Pathfinder Mission to become operational, and which has established the concept of using gravity variations to monitor global and regional Earth system mass change.

One of the primary signals observed by the GRACE mission is that of water movement. The 15-year GRACE measurement record provides a paradigm-shifting view of the interactions of the Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere and solid earth, and is a resource for current studies of global water movement and availability. Observing data such as changes in global subsurface aquifers, the change in polar ice mass, and the mass displacement, GRACE provides a global perspective that allows separation of the temperature and mass-induced components of global sea level change and enables the determination of the heat absorbed by the oceans. Other significant applications include enabling the monitoring of the draw down in large continental aquifers and the monitoring of regional drought incidence and recovery.

Dr. Tapley is a Distinguished Graduate of the Cockrell School of Engineering, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a fellow member of the AIAA, AGU and AAAS. His awards include the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal, American Astronomical Society Brouwer Award, AIAA Mechanics and Control of Flight Award, University of Texas Hocott Distinguished Engineering Research Award, AGU Charles A. Whitten Medal and The University of Texas Joe J. King Award for Engineering Excellence.

Dr. Tapley has published over 300 articles in refereed journals. He co-authored the textbook, “Statistical Orbit Determination Theory” and is editor of the John Wiley “Handbook on the Engineering Fundamentals.”  He has served on numerous government and National Research Council advisory panels, including the Science Steering Groups for SEASAT, TOPEX, the Earth Observing System, GRAVSAT, and the LAGEOS-II and LAGEOS-III missions. He served as a member of the National Research Council Space Studies Board and NRC Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board. He served as a member of the NASA Advisory Committee, as Vice Chair of the NASA NAC Science Committee and as Chair of the NASA Earth Science Subcommittee.

Johnny Wachel

BSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1957
MSME, The University of Texas at Austin, 1959

Johnny C. “Buddy” Wachel was born in Arp, Texas, and attended Leverett’s Chapel High School. After completing an associate’s degree at Kilgore College, he transferred to The University of Texas and earned both his BSME and MSME degrees. As an undergraduate, Buddy was president of the ASME Chapter, an officer in the ME and Engineering Honor Fraternities, and a member of one of the first Student Engineering Councils. He received the Hugh Scott Cameron Award for Outstanding ME Graduate in 1957.

Buddy launched his career working at Texas Instruments for two years before joining Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in 1961. At SwRI, he performed research on vibrations of piping systems and large compressor units, developing many procedures and calculation methods that are still used in the industry today.

By 1967, Buddy was a full-time consultant for existing compressor, pump and piping systems, and he developed expertise solving failure problems caused by nonsynchronous vibrations from higher compressor speeds and pressures. Between 1972 and 1978, he investigated numerous instability problems, which led him to develop the Wachel Equation for estimating the destabilizing forces in compressors, ultimately improving the correlation between design calculations and measurements. The Wachel Equation was adopted into the API codes in 2010.

As a section manager at SwRI, Buddy established his team as highly respected vibration consultants who were trusted by companies worldwide to resolve crisis situations with essential machine failures. Combining this expertise with his entrepreneurial spirit, Buddy co-founded Engineering Dynamics, Inc. (EDI), in San Antonio in 1982, where he was president and manager of engineering until his retirement in 1997.

With Buddy’s guidance, EDI quickly became known for its superior-quality work in solving difficult vibration and pulsation problems and performing meticulous design audits. EDI made an important breakthrough at the time by developing digital computer techniques to simulate acoustical pulsation characteristics of gases and liquids in piping systems of reciprocating compressors and pumps. Buddy and his colleagues at EDI became recognized globally as a preferred resource to develop solutions for pulsation-induced vibration and failure problems.

Buddy received numerous honors during his career, most notably the ASME Life Fellow Award (2003) and UT Distinguished Engineering Graduate (College of Engineering, 2004; ME Department, 2005). The ASME Petroleum Division honored him with the Eugene Jacobson Award for the best all-around paper in the ME field in 1985. Buddy also served on the ASME Nuclear Piping Vibrations committee for 20 years. He authored more than 50 technical papers and shared his expertise by teaching engineering seminars on vibrations and pulsations in seven different countries.

Always loyal to The University of Texas and the College of Engineering (now the Cockrell School of Engineering), Buddy is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Friends of Alec, Pi Tau Sigma, the Longhorn Foundation, and is a lifetime member of the Texas Exes.