2003 Distinguished Engineering Graduates
 |
Congrats, 2003 Distinguished Graduates!
Picture taken at December graduation ceremony, December 6, 2003. Left to right: Clay Fulcher, J.C. Anderson, Joe Parsley, Ron Hudson, Peyton Yates, Jr. |
Mr. J. C. Anderson
B.S. P.E., 1954, Anderson Energy, Calgary, Alberta, CanadaClay W.G. Fulcher, Ph.D.
B.S.M.E. 1955, M.S.M.E. 1959, Consultant, The Boeing CompanyDr. Ronald Hudson
Ph.D.C.E. 1965, Dewitt C. Greer Centennial Professor Emeritus in Transportation Engineering, The University of Texas at AustinJoe M. Parsley
B.S.P.E. 1951, Retired, Co-Founder, Parker and Parsley Petroleum Company, Midland, TXPeyton Yates, Jr.
B.S.P.E. 1965, M.S.P.E. 1966, President, Yates Drilling Company, Executive Vice President, Yates Petroleum Corporation
 |
J. C.
Anderson B.S. P.E., 1954 Anderson Energy, Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
James Carl Anderson personifies the entrepreneurial spirit. It’s a spirit that has carried him from the plains of his native Nebraska to the pinnacles of success in the international oil and natural gas industry.
Mr. Anderson’s remarkable career—initially as an Amoco Petroleum Corporation engineer executive in the United States and Canada, and ultimately as founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of two energy exploration and development firms in his adopted home of Alberta, Canada—builds on his petroleum engineering education at The University of Texas at Austin.
Following graduation with his B.S. degree, he worked briefly as a roustabout for Amoco in west Texas, then spent two years in military service with U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence. He returned to Amoco in 1956, launching his business career. Over the next dozen years, he worked as a petroleum engineer in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Colorado and Canada, rising in 1966 to the post of chief engineer for Canada.
In 1968 he founded Anderson Exploration, Ltd., an oil and gas exploration/ production company based in Calgary, Alberta. For over 30 years he served as the firm’s chairman and CEO. In 1970 Mr. Anderson (sole owner at the time) was responsible for the discovery of the huge Dunvegan Gas Field in northern Alberta, which has produced over one trillion cubic feet of gas and is expected to produce for years to come. With Dunvegan, a cornerstone property, the Company grew steadily through exploration and acquisitions to become Canada’s fifth largest natural gas producer. It went public in Canada in 1988, and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001. That same year, it. was sold for $4.6 billion to Devon Energy, a U.S. company. Anderson established a new entity, Anderson Energy, a year later. He presently serves as Chairman of this latest venture. He was named Prairies Canada Master Entrepreneur of the Year in 1996, and received the 2000 Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists’ Stanley Slipper Award for outstanding petroleum exploration.
In 2001, he made an $11 million contribution—the largest in the organization’s history—to The Calgary Foundation, a charitable umbrella devoted to bettering the lives of residents of Calgary and the surrounding area.
 |
Clay W.G. Fulcher, Ph.D. B.S.M.E. 1955, M.S.M.E. 1959 Consultant, The Boeing Company |
After an active student life at UT Austin, Clay Fulcher
continued making key 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.
While at the University, Dr. Fulcher led a lively student
career as a member of the Silver Spurs, and 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. Following his release
from active duty and several Navy Reserve assignments, including commanding
officer of the Office of Naval Research, he was promoted to rear admiral in the
Navy Reserve, and served as deputy commander, naval air systems command.
After earning his M.S.M.E. in 1959, Dr. Fulcher went to work at General
Electric Co., where he was eventually promoted to vice president and program
manager. After a brief stint 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.
Dr. Fulcher 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.
Dr. Fulcher currently represents Boeing at NASA’s Johnson Space Flight
Center, where he conducts space shuttle tile inspection and repair support, and
Hubble space telescope astronaut training. He was named a NASA Space Flight
Awareness Honoree, the highest honor bestowed by NASA, for his work on the
Hubble Space Telescope.
In addition to his outstanding professional career, Dr. Fulcher remains active in church, technical, civic, military and charitable organizations. He and his wife, Ann Arledge Fulcher, have four sons, all UT Austin graduates.
 |
Dr. Ronald Hudson Ph.D.C.E. 1965 Dewitt C. Greer Centennial Professor Emeritus in Transportation Engineering The University of Texas at Austin |
For his contributions to improving transportation systems
in Texas and around the globe through teaching, research and professional
leadership, Dr. Ron Hudson has been described as an “engineering role
model.” The benefits of his research in pavement engineering span the globe,
with more than 20 countries tapping his expertise to develop reliable
transportation systems.
Dr. Hudson worked for the National Academy of Science and
the Texas Department of Transportation before completing his Ph.D. in civil
engineering in 1965. At that time he joined the faculty at UT Austin, and began
a career where he evolved into a sought-after keynote speaker, project
organizer, leader and award winner among the many professional organizations he
joined.
In 1973, he founded the Texas Research and Development
Foundation and directed a $15 million materials and pavement research project in
Brazil sponsored by the Brazilian government, the United Nations and the World
Bank. Later within the College of Engineering, he served as associate dean for
advanced programs and director of the Council for Advanced Transportation
Studies, now the Center for Transportation Research, the state’s premier
resource for highway and transportation advances.
Along with his recognition as an able administrator, Dr. Hudson’s teaching abilities continue to be recognized-- he was recently awarded Educator of the Year by the American Concrete Pavement Association
As further evidence of his lifelong support of engineering education he has contributed to numerous scholarships and professorships including the Hudson Matlock Professorial Excellence Fund, the Lymon Reese Endowment and the Clyde Lee Professorship.
 |
Joe M. Parsley B.S.P.E. 1951 Retired, Co-Founder, Parker and Parsley Petroleum Company Midland, TX |
Joe Parsley and Howard Parker formed Parker and Parsley in
1962 with a simple handshake. From this humble beginning, the company Parsley
co-founded grew into a multi-million dollar enterprise, merging with Mesa Inc.
in 1997 to form Pioneer Natural Resources Co., the nation’s third largest
independent oil and gas company.
Parsley’s career began immediately after earning his B.S.
in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, when he went to
work for Marathon Oil Co. as an engineer in Hobbs, N.M. and Midland, Texas. In
1952 he settled in Midland as an employee of Forest Oil Corp. and, later, Inca
Drilling Co. Parker and Parsley was
formed in 1962. It went public in 1991 as Parker and Parsley Petroleum Co.
Although the oil industry is noted for its booms and busts, Parker and Parsley managed to remain stable during the downturns. And, even though Parsley officially retired in 1985, he still maintains a close friendship with Parker. He considers these the most successful accomplishments of their partnership.
In the spirit of loyalty to the university that helped launch his career, Parsley has been a generous contributor to the College of Engineering’s scholarship fund. He is a Friend of Alec, funding the Joe M. Parsley Scholarship Fund, and provided a gift to the College to found the Joe M. Parsley Endowment in Excellence. He is also actively involved with the university and is a member of the Chancellor’s Council, the President’s Association and the Littlefield Society.
 |
Peyton Yates, Jr. B.S.P.E. 1965, M.S.P.E. 1966 President, Yates Drilling Company, Executive Vice President, Yates Petroleum Corporation |
Peyton Yates has played a crucial role in his family’s business for more than 30 years, and made valuable contributions to the petroleum industry, his community and country.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering in 1965 and his master’s degree in 1966, Mr. Yates served in the United States Army as a 1st Lieutenant with a tour of duty in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. After returning home, he joined the Chevron Oil Company as a petroleum engineer.
He joined the Yates companies in 1970. He is currently president of Yates Drilling Co. and executive vice president of Yates Petroleum Corp. The company is the largest independent oil and gas company in New Mexico, with a sizeable presence in other states.
Mr. Yates’ additional industrial and civic involvement includes serving as a past president of the New Mexico Academy of Science and The Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico. He is a past president of Boy Scouts of America Conquistador Council in Southeast New Mexico, and now serves as Chairman of its Council Trust Committee. He is a past director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas El Paso Branch and a past member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He currently serves on the board of directors of both the College of the Southwest in Hobbs, New Mexico and for the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. In July 2000, the Rotary Club of Artesia, New Mexico named him a Paul Harris Fellow. Mr. Yates is currently Chairman of the Management Committee of Artesia MainStreet.
A long-time supporter of UT Austin, he is a member of the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Advisory Board and is a Friend of Alec. Peyton is married to Linda and is the father of three children, two stepchildren, and a proud grandfather of two.