1930s Honorees
The inaugural class of Academy honorees includes 71 Texas ChE alumni, all of whom have been recognized as Distinguished Engineering Graduates by the Cockrell School of Engineering. Honorees are organized by decade of their earliest graduation year, then alphabetically by last name. (*deceased)
1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
Stuart E. Buckley* (B.S. ’32)
Stuart Buckley retired in 1961 as manager of Humble Oil & Refining Company. Buckley received the American Institute of Mining Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal in 1956, was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1960, and an honorary member of American Institute of Mining Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. in 1971.
Dr. Arthur Andrew Draeger* (B.S. ’32, M.S. ’32)
Arthur A. Draeger retired in 1975 as executive assistant to the president of Exxon Company, U.S.A. Following his retirement, he was a part-time energy consultant for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Energy Research and Development Administration, and was a trustee of Retina Research Foundation.
After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas ChE in 1932, and receiving his Ph.D. in chemistry from UT Austin in 1935, Dr. Draeger began his professional career as a chemical engineer in process work with Humble Oil & Refining Co., now Exxon. He held a number of engineering and administrative assignments with the company: research and development manager, technical services manager, manager of North Texas Sales Division and manager of the Corporate Planning Department in Houston. He served as executive assistant to the president of Exxon in 1974.
As a student, Dr. Draeger was a member of Tau Beta Pi. He was a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Chemical Society, American Petroleum Institute and the Petroleum Club, and was named a Distinguished Engineering Graduate of the Cockrell School of Engineering in 1977.
Outside of his involvements in chemical engineering, he served of the administrative board of St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Houston.
Dr. W. B. Franklin* (B.S. ’30, M.S. ’31)
After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas ChE and his Ph.D in physical chemistry from UT Austin, William Balfour Franklin joined the Humble Oil and Refining Company. He later became the head of the Research and Development Division and Technical Service Manager of the Baytown Refinery. At the time of his retirement, he was the head of refining, mathematics, computing and systems, and technical manpower planning in the Houston headquarters of Humble, which later became Exxon.
Dr. Franklin was a president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and received the institute’s Founder Award and the Distinguished Service Award of its South Texas Section. He was a charter member of the Engineering Foundation Advisory Council and was chair of the council from 1961 to 1962. He received a Cockrell School of Engineering Distinguished Engineering Graduate Award from UT.
Dr. Claude R. Hocott* (B.S. ’33, M.S. ’34, Ph.D. ’37)
Claude R. Hocott was a professor emeritus of petroleum engineering at UT Austin. Hocott retired as professor and director of the Texas Petroleum Research Committee at UT Austin in 1978. He was also a former executive vice president of Exxon Production Research Company in Houston. In 1974, Hocott was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and in 1975, was selected as honorary member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. He was the recipient of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ DeGloyer Medal in 1980 and the AIME Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal in 1981.
Dr. Charles Franklin Jones* (B.S. ’33, M.S. ’34, Ph.D. ’37)
Charles Franklin Jones is a former director, president and vice chairman of the board, Humble Oil & Refining Company, and a past chairman of the UT Austin Engineering Foundation Advisory Council. He was dean of the College of Business Administration, University of Houston, for two years and was engaged in consulting activities in the management and energy fields. Jones was a chairman of the Houston Symphony Society, president of the board of the Houston Public Library System, and was listed in the Who’s Who in America; Who’s Who in Commerce and Industry, and Who’s Who in the Southwest.
Dr. John E. Kasch* (B.S. ’38, M.S. ’39, Ph.D. ’43)
In 1981 John Kasch retired as vice president of Supply & Technology, and director of Standard Oil Company in Indiana. Previously, he was chairman of the board of Colonial Pipeline Company. He was chairman of the UT Austin Engineering Foundation Advisory Council from 1973 to 74, a trustee of the University of Health Sciences of The Chicago Medical School and a member of the advisory boards of the Transportation Center, Northwestern University and MIT Energy Laboratory. Dr. Kasch was elected a Citizen Fellow of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago in 1981.
Dr. Jerry McAfee* (B.S. ’37)
Jerry McAfee retired in 1981 as chairman of the Board and CEO of Gulf Oil Corporation, having served in that capacity for the last six years of his 36-year career with Gulf. As chairman, he helped the company earn its highest profits in history.
He was elected president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers after several years as a director, and was a fellow of the AIChE and recipient of its Founders Award. He was one of three U.S. representatives to the Permanent Council of the World Petroleum Congress and was a member of the Advisory Board of the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund.
Dr. McAfee was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1967. He received the Distinguished Service Award of the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, and in 1984, he was awarded the American Petroleum Institute’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement.
Dr. Robert Lerman Purvin* (B.S. ’38)
Robert L. Purvin was a consultant, and from 1946 to 1957, he was senior partner of Purvin & Gertz, consulting engineers. He was an executive vice president of Foster Grant Company Inc. from 1957 to 1962 and senior partner of Purvin and Lee, consultants from 1962 to 1975. Purvin was president and Chief Executive Officer for Barber Oil Corporation from 1975 to 1978 and was the president and director of the Purmil Corporation. He also founded the Texas Butadiene and Chemical Corporation, Gulf Central Pipeline, and Distrigas Corporation. Purvin was listed in Who’s Who in America and World Who’s Who in Finance and Industry and was a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Fred S. Schwend* (B.S. ’39)
Fred Schwend was an energy consultant in Houston, TX. After working for Phillips Petroleum during World War II, he was in the Office of Rubber Reserve, RFC Washington, D.C.; then, for 19 years, was with Warren Petroleum in Tulsa, a subsidiary of Gulf Oil Corporation. He became senior vice president, Gulf Oil Corporation, president and later, chairman of Gulf Oil Company. He held directorships in the Texas Commerce Bank, N.A., Entex, Inc., and served in several professional, civic and charitable organizations.
Dr. C. T. Wells* (B.S. ’37, M.S. ’37, Ph.D ’39)
Charles T. Wells was president and chief executive officer as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Gulf Interstate, Houston. Prior, he was president of Goliad Corporation, Olsen Engineering Corporation, chairman of the board of National Propane Corporation, and vice president of Mobil Oil Company. He was a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Apco Oil Corporation and Northwest Energy Company and was a member of the board of directors of Matagorda Drilling and Exploration Company and The Appalachian Company. He was also vice president and a member of the board of The American Red Brangus Association.
Maurice F. Granville Jr. (B.S. ’37)
Maurice F. Granville is a retired chairman and chief executive officer of Texaco Inc. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, and on the Governing Board of the Corporation of MIT. He is a director of GTE Corp., First Florida Banks, Inc., Crown Zellerbach Corporation, The LTV Corporation and NL Industries Inc. Mr. Granville is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of The Presbyterian Hospital in New York. He was vice chairman, Engineering Foundation Advisory Council from 1972 to 1973, and is a distinguished alumnus of UT Austin.
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