OU Engineering

By Tom Landers Engineering education at OU has beginnings well chronicled by Dr. David W. Levy in The University of Oklahoma, A History, Volume I, 1890 – 1907. He notes that “In the Catalogue for 1901-1902 the new heading “Engineering Course” summarized the situation . . .” of engineering oriented courses available in mathematics, surveying, chemistry, and the like. The OU College of Engineering was formed in 1909 and recorded its first graduates in the spring of 1910. As we begin our 100th anniversary, we do so recognizing the dedication of those who have come before us, setting a precedence of excellence and contributing not only to who we are now but also to who we will become during the next hundred years. We look forward to celebrating this milestone in our history this academic year. Plans are still developing for events, which will culminate in the Centennial Symposium scheduled for April 21 and 22, 2010. The symposium will include stimulating panel discussions and stellar keyn...

We Remember  is a special section of Encounter in which we honor the lives of the men and women in the OU engineering family who are no longer with us. If we have omitted anyone, it was unintentional. Please contact us so we can pay appropriate tribute to our alumni.  John Richards Leonard , born April 12, 1918, passed away peacefully in Houston on August 27, 2008. John was born in Parkersburg, WV, the oldest of five children. When he was five years old, the family moved to Texas, where their father was employed in the oil patch in the area around Abilene. He graduated from Merkel High School in 1936 and enrolled in the University of Oklahoma at Norman, majoring in mechanical engineering. To pay for his education, he worked full-time for the Magnolia Petroleum Company (now Exxon-Mobil) in Oklahoma City, and went to college part-time in Norman. His education was interrupted by World War II, and he entered the Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant in 1942. Honorably discharged i...

I am always excited about reading a new Encounter but am especially excited about this edition. Typically, we tend to think about diversity solely as it relates to race. We may even extend those thoughts to include gender. As the current chair of the Dean's Advisory Board on Diversity, I am pleased that the articles in this special Diversity Encounter take a broader perspective of diversity as it relates to our College. Through these articles, we can view our College of Engineering through the lens of time as we look back on part of our history, as we become witnesses to what we're accomplishing today, and as we imagine the great successes that are to come. The stories illustrate the variety of academic goals and pursuits of our students in addition to how their differing paths brought them to a common place - the University of Oklahoma's College of Engineering. From the bird's eye view of this edition, there is a consistent, underlying thread from all the contributors....

  At the Minority Engineering Program's banquet in April,  Kelan Berry  was awarded the prestigious Wayne Steen Memorial MEP Scholarship for the 2009-10 year. Kelan said he considers this "the greatest honor," for he understands the significance of the memorial fund established by the man whose name his scholarship bears. Kelan, a senior industrial engineering major from Oklahoma City, was introduced to students from OU's industrial engineering program during a high school physics class. He was impressed with what he learned, so he visited campus. There, he met Ben Lopez, interim diversity and MEP director, making an instant connection with what would become his home away from home. Kelan was selected as an Oklahoma Alliance for Minority Participation in Science, Engineering and Math scholar his sophomore year. He participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates program, during which he worked as a lab assistant and gained experience in making presentations on...

Norman, Okla. is a world away from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where Kelly Tran was born. Yet, Kelly has discovered the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering as the perfect place to study and develop her passion in computer science. Kelly’s love of programming began in the second grade when she was introduced to Pascal. By the time she was in sixth grade, Kelly was able to analyze and better understand the programming process. When asked, “Why computer science?” Kelly responds without hesitation, “I like to see the computer respond to something I told it to do.” Kelly came to Oklahoma as a high school exchange student when she was 18. She attended Carl Albert State College for two years before entering the computer science program at OU. Upon arrival, she wasted no time in applying herself, not only to her undergraduate degree, but also in the university community at-large. According to Kelly, it was her adviser and mentor, Deborah Trytten, who made her transition to OU a smooth...

   ngineering education at OU has beginnings well chronicled by Dr. David W. Levy in The University of Oklahoma, A History, Volume I, 1890 – 1907. He notes that “In the Catalogue for 1901-1902 the new heading “Engineering Course” summarized the situation . . .” of engineering oriented courses available in mathematics, surveying, chemistry, and the like.  The OU College of Engineering  was formed in 1909 and recorded its first graduates in the spring of 1910. As we begin our 100th anniversary, we do so recognizing the dedication of those who have come before us, setting a precedence of excellence and contributing not only to who we are now but also to who we will become during the next hundred years. We look forward to celebrating this milestone in our history this academic year. Plans are still developing for events, which will culminate in the Centennial Symposium scheduled for April 21 and 22, 2010. The symposium will include stimulating panel discussions and stell...

  To say that Ginny Hardwick “keeps on her toes” is more than just an expression; it’s a daily requirement for this senior modern dance major. But keeping on her toes translates beyond the Reynolds Performing Arts Center Dance Studio as Ginny is also a computer engineering major. Like many young girls, Ginny has been a student of dance since she was four-years-old. Her passion for dance began at the Dallas Ballet Center where she studied ballet under Janie Christy for two years. Ginny continued classes at the Janie Christy School of Dance through her high school years, continuing to develop her skills and eventually teaching classes herself. But dance was not Ginny’s singular passion. She discovered a propensity for math early on which would lead her to pursue studies at the Science and Engineering Magnet High School in Dallas. A National Merit Scholar, Ginny’s challenge was to find the right university that offered both an excellent dance and engineering program. She auditioned fo...