2001 Distinguished Engineering Graduates

Over the years, Dr. Bourgoyne has received numerous professional honors, including the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Educators, the SPE Drilling Engineering Award; selection as an SPE Distinguished Member (1990), and as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer (1997-98), among many others. He has published widely in the area of drilling engineering, and is lead author of the SPE Drilling Engineering Textbook, which has been adopted for petroleum engineering programs worldwide.

He continues to share his expertise as a consultant with Bourgoyne Enterprises, Inc. Presently he is serving as chairman of the technical advice working group to the international group of scientists planning the next phase of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, slated to begin in 2003.

Dr. Bonner followed his master’s degree at UT with a 1972 doctorate from the University of California-Berkeley, and soon accepted a position as assistant professor of chemical engineering at Texas Tech University. Four years later, he moved on to the Texas A & M University faculty as associate professor of chemical engineering.

In 1977, he joined Shell Oil Company, remaining for nine years in various positions. He subsequently served as vice president for research and development of the B.F. Goodrich Company; senior vice president and Chief Technical Officer of Ohio-based Premix, Inc, a major developer/manufacturer of thermoset composite molding compounds; and senior vice president of technology and engineering for The Westlake Group of Houston prior to taking his current post at Rohm and Haas in 1999. His career has included technology group management, engineering group management, and business unit responsibilities.

He has worked tirelessly to further engineering education through development activities. A longstanding, active member of UT’s Engineering Foundation Advisory Council and Friend of Alec, he also sits on the chemical engineering advisory committees of Rice (as chair), Vanderbilt and Virginia Commonwealth universities and the University of California-Berkeley; and the advancement council of the University of Akron College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering.

Dr. Bonner has served on the National Academy of Engineering’s Commission on Environmental Metrics and the National Research Council’s Board of Chemical Sciences and Technology. He’s an advisor to the Commission on Natural and Life Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences and an at-large member of the National Institute of Science and Technology’s Oversight Board.

He holds the rank of Colonel of the State of Kentucky, in recognition of outstanding service to the state while an officer of the B.F. Goodrich Company.

Mr. Curry 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 College of Engineering is reflected in a wide range of College-related and University-wide leadership roles. He has long been active in recruiting talented Houston-area high school students to engineering at UT and is a two-time past chair of the Engineering Foundation Advisory Council and a Friend of Alec.

Upon attaining his doctorate, he embarked on a new stage in his career. In 1969, he moved to Lubbock to accept an assistant professor position in the geosciences department of TTU. For the next three decades, he climbed steadily through the ranks, academically and administratively. Prior to becoming the university’s president, he held the successive posts of professor and chair of geosciences; associate dean and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, vice president for academic affairs and research, and executive vice president and provost.

Dr. Haragan has served as president of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; as an academic consultant with the U.S. Information Agency; as chair of the academic affairs committee for the commission on international affairs of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges; and, in 1988, was one of two U.S. representatives to the International Conference on University Governance in Ankara, Turkey. He has also served as chairman of the formula advisory committee for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and on a number of advisory councils related to higher education in Texas.

In retirement, he continues to serve TTU in a variety of roles.

Mr. Guerra launched his exceptional career as a consulting structural engineer upon graduation from UT in 1957. following a brief military stint with the post engineer in fort Sill, Oklahoma he joined W.C. Craig and Associates, rising through the ranks to become an associate of the firm. In 1973, he struck out on his own to found Jose I. Guerra, Inc. Consulting Engineers, today a midsize, multi-discipline full-service engineering company who portfolio includes major facilities for SEMATECH, Motorola, Advanced Micro Devices and Samsung Austin, as well as the 1997-98 expansion of UT's Memorial Stadium. Most recently, he was principal in charge of structural design for the main parking garage at the new Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

Repeatedly recognized for both professional excellence and leadership, he has served as president of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE); TSPE national director to the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE); governing board member of the National Institute of Certification in Engineering Technologies; and member of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers, which he chaired in 1997. He has been named Engineer of the Year by the Travis Chapter of TSPE and Outstanding Businessman by the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

On the international level, Mr. Guerra worked closely with engineers from Mexico and Canada to develop a mutual recognition agreement under NAFTA. He was one of two NSPE representatives on a council of international practice assigned to implement NAFTA. Currently he is serving as vice president of the north region (U.S., Canada and Mexico) Pan American Union of Engineering Associations (UPADI).

He is a UT Austin Engineering Foundation Advisory Council Member.

Return to top.

Go back to Distinguished Engineering Graduate Home Page.