2/10/2009
Lamar University engineering college dean Jack Hopper will be honored by Louisiana State University when he is inducted into its Engineering Hall of Distinction April 16.
Established in 1979, the Hall of Distinction is the highest honor bestowed by the College of Engineering at LSU. The award recognizes distinguished professional achievement, dedicated service to engineering and outstanding humanitarian activities.
“Jack Hopper has contributed greatly to Lamar University as well as to his profession; and is still doing so,” said Stephen Doblin, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Lamar. “This recognition by the institution from which he earned his doctorate is well-deserved, and recognizes his many accomplishments and stature in his profession.
Indeed, Jack's achievements reflect well not only on him, but on Lamar University. We are all very proud of him.”
In addition to his roles as dean of the College of Engineering, professor in the chemical engineering department and director of the Texas Center for Technology Incubation and the Texas Hazardous Waste Research Center, Hopper serves as executive assistant to the president for industrial relations and economic development.
Hopper has 45 years of industrial and teaching experience in engineering, holds four U.S. patents and has more than 90 publications and presentations in a variety of fields, including collecting gases from shale and pollution prevention.
Hopper received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1959, his master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware in 1964 and his doctorate in chemical engineering from Louisiana State University in 1969, the year he joined Lamar's faculty.
Seven charter members were elected into LSU Engineering's Hall of Distinction in 1979, and generally, two achievers in engineering have been added each year since. This year, LSU will also honor Donald Keller Jr., general partner and manager of Enerfin Resources in Houston.
Eligibility for the honor is not limited to LSU alumni, although it is expected that nominees will have had some connection with and show interest in LSU. Nominations may be made by anyone and are solicited each year from alumni, faculty and friends of the college. Election to the Hall of Distinction is by a broadly constituted 10-member Board of Election, which reviews and acts on nominations.
The engineers elected to the Hall of Distinction have come from widely varied backgrounds from the highest levels of engineering research to the top management of multinational corporations. In honoring these people, the College of Engineering feels that it is, at the same time, honoring all those engineers whose contributions, although not all visible to the public, are nonetheless significant and collectively exemplify engineering as a profession unparalleled in its contributions to society.
