Capstone Engineer

In Memory

DR. RICHARD C. “DICK” BRADT

Dr. Richard C. “Dick” Bradt died Jan. 3, 2019, in Birmingham. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Bradt grew up in nearby Mascoutah, Illinois. He obtained a bachelor’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, and a master’s and doctorate at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. After working at Pennsylvania State University, University of Washington in Seattle, and the University of Nevada-Reno, Bradt joined the faculty of The University of Alabama College of Engineering in 1994 as head of the department of metallurgical and materials engineering. In 2004, he was named the Alton N. Scott Professor of Engineering. Bradt retired in 2009, but as Professor Emeritus, he remained an active researcher, speaker and educator. His research focused on the properties of refractories, glass and ceramics. With students and colleagues from all over the world, he published more than 400 articles and edited more than 20 proceedings of international meetings. Bradt advised more than 100 graduate students and directed 50 doctoral dissertations. The American Ceramic Society presented him with the W. David Kingery Award in 2013, and named him a Distinguished Life Member in 2017. He was especially pleased to be awarded The University of Alabama Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award in 1998.

EUGENE L. “GENE” CROXTON JR

Eugene Luke “Gene” Croxton Jr. died Dec. 14, 2018, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A native of Montgomery, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from The University of Alabama in 1952. Croxton was employed by Ethyl Corporation for 40 years. He was named a Fellow of UA’s chemical and biological engineering department in 1988, and was honored as a Centennial Fellow by the department in 2010. Croxton was one of six graduates in the 1952 chemical engineering class that remained close friends and celebrated annual reunions.

MICHAEL A. GIBBS

Michael Allan Gibbs died Oct. 1, 2018, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Gibbs graduated from The University of Alabama in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering. Later he received a master’s degree in industrial management from New York Polytechnic University. At UA, Gibbs was a member of the Air Force ROTC program, and he served for three years in the U.S. Air Force military air transport squadron at Hickman Air Force Base in Hawaii. He was honorably discharged in 1960 with the rank of captain. His career as an engineer, executive and consultant included working for Treadwell Engineering on the Navy’s Polaris Nuclear Submarine Project; working as a consultant at Booz, Allen, Hamilton; overseeing corporate planning for Leasco Data Corp. and the Reliance Group; and working with numerous companies and clients through his investment banking and financial consulting firm, Page Mill Management. Gibbs was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow of the College in 1988.

THOMAS J. “JACK” LEE

Thomas J. “Jack” Lee died Feb. 24, 2019, in Birmingham. Born in Wedowee, Lee graduated from The University of Alabama with a bachelor’s in aeronautical engineering in 1958. He later received an honorary doctorate from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Lee began his professional career as an aeronautical research engineer with the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal. When the agency transferred to NASA in 1960, Lee worked as a systems engineer with the Center’s Centaur Resident Manager Office in San Diego. From 1963 to 1965, he was resident project manager for the Pegasus Meteoroid Detection Satellite Project in Bladensburg, Maryland, and from 1965-1969 was chief of the Center’s Saturn Program Resident Office at Kennedy Space Center. He served as assistant to the technical deputy director of Marshall Space Flight Center from 1969 to 1973 and became program manager of the Spacelab Program Office in 1974. As manager of the Spacelab Program Office, he was responsible for NASA’s work with the European Space Agency in the development of Spacelab, a multipurpose reusable laboratory for Earth orbital science activities. In 1980, Lee became the deputy director of Marshall until his appointment as the center’s director in 1989. He retired in 1995 and co-founded LWI, an engineering consulting firm. He later founded Lee & Associates, LLC, a systems engineering consulting firm, and served as president until his death. Lee was involved with the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission, Sci-Quest Hands-on Science Center, National Space Club and more. He was named a UA Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 1988 and to the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 1993.

THOMAS M. MARR SR.

Thomas Marshall Marr Sr. died April 17, 2019. Born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, he graduated with an associate degree from the Marion Institute, a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from The University of Alabama, and a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Alabama School of Law. UA’s civil, construction and environmental engineering department named him a Fellow in 1992, and UA’s College of Engineering named him a Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 2011. During Marr’s career, he was an assistant attorney general for the state of Alabama, a representative for the Alabama Legislature, president and chairman of the Board of Deposit National Bank of Mobile, director of Central Bank of Mobile, and director of Mrs. Stratton’s Salads. He also founded DRC, Inc., which provided emergency services during natural disasters. Marr was the senior law partner in the firm Marr & Friedlander, PC, for more than 50 years with his late partner Maury Friedlander. He was a successful entrepreneur in Baldwin County, having built the first privately-owned sewage treatment plant in Orange Beach and numerous condominium projects.

CECIL A. WOOTEN JR.

Cecil A. Wooten Jr. died Nov. 5, 2018. Born in Laurel, Mississippi, and raised in Birmingham, Wooten graduated from The University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1949. While still in high school, he began working as a file clerk in the drafting room at Chicago Bridge and Iron Company. Wooten rose to senior vice president during a 43-year career with the company and served on the board of directors for 18 years. He entered the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1942 and rose from the rank of private to first lieutenant. A platoon leader during the Battle of the Bulge, he received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for meritorious achievement, along with many other commendations and awards. After the war, he served as the assistant to the general in charge of all post-war operations. Wooten had a remarkable career, traveling the world and doing business with J. Paul Getty, serving on a number of corporate boards of directors, and appearing before several Senate committees regarding his expertise on nuclear power plants. He is listed in the Who’s Who of American Businessmen. After retiring from the company, Wooten began to work full time in Christian ministry. Cecil retired for the second time from the International Churches of Christ as the chief administrator. Wooten was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 1988.

FRIENDS WE WILL MISS