Faculty join esteemed ranks of professors emeriti

Faculty
join esteemed ranks of professors emeriti
…………………………………………………………………

Seven Rice faculty
members will join the ranks of the university’s professors
emeriti. With time of service ranging from 12 years to 38
years, these professors represent a cross section of the
campus, from linguistics to chemical engineering.

Edward Orth Doughtie
Professor Emeritus of English
During his 38 years at
Rice, Edward Orth Doughtie has taught courses on William Shakespeare, ballads
and folk songs and 16th century literature and music, among other topics. His
areas of interest have focused on Renaissance literature and song, folklore
and music and literature. Doughtie’s influence has reached beyond the classroom,
however. He has served on numerous committees dealing with such important campus
issues as the library and curriculum. He is a former master of Will Rice College
and a nonresident associate at Lovett College. Doughtie is a member of Phi Beta
Kappa and was a Fulbright fellow. (A.B., Duke University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard
University)

James Copeland
Professor Emeritus of Linguistics
A beloved master of Baker College until stepping down last year, James Copeland
is retiring after 34 years of service. A two-time recipient of the Baker College
Special Service Award, Copeland spent 10 years studying the Tarahumaras, an
indigenous group of people in Northern Mexico, and was the first to chronicle
their unwritten language. He has served as interim dean of the School of Humanities
and chair of the linguistics department. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, he has
served in numerous professional societies, including the Linguistic Society
of America and the Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States. A
Fulbright senior fellow, Copeland has served on the editorial boards for such
publications as Forum Linguisticum and Language Sciences. (B.A., University
of Colorado; Ph.D., Cornell University)

Joe Hightower
Professor Emeritus in Chemical Engineering
During his 34-year tenure at Rice, Joe Hightower has conducted research on heterogeneous
catalysts that play critical roles in the vital areas of energy production,
chemical manufacturing and pollution control. He has served on numerous campus
committees, including the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, the University
Religious Affairs Committee, the University Admissions Committee and the University
Safety Committee. He also was a member of the Faculty Council, and he was an
associate of Baker and Lovett colleges. Hightower has been a frequent adviser
to various National Research Council committees in the area of catalysis. He
was chair of the advisory board for the American Chemical Society Petroleum
Research Fund for nine years and has served on the editorial boards of several
technical journals. (B.S., Harding College; M.S., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University)

Albert Van
Helden
Lynette S. Autrey Professor Emeritus of History
Albert Van Helden’s service to Rice has been varied over his 31 years on
campus, from serving as chief marshal at commencement to sponsoring both the
men’s and women’s soccer clubs. His recent efforts have included developing
the Galileo Project, a hypertext source of information on the life and work
of Galileo Galilei and the science of his time. Van Helden is a member of several
professional societies and has served on the editorial boards of such publications
as the Journal for the History of Astronomy and Air and Space. He has served
on numerous university committees and was an associate of Baker and Brown colleges.
(B.Eng., M.S., Stevens Institute of Technology; M.A., University of Michigan;
Ph.D., Imperial College, University of London)

Max Apple
Gladys Louise Fox Professor Emeritus of English
Max Apple will retire after 29 years as a fiction and creative writing teacher
at Rice. A favorite among students, he is best known for penning “Roommates:
My Grandfather’s Story,” a memoir about his relationship with his
grandfather, whom he lived with during college and again later in life. The
book was later made into a movie starring Peter Falk and D.B. Sweeny. He also
authored “I Love Gootie: My Grandmother’s Story” and several
other books. (B.A., Ph.D., University of Michigan)

Peter Vail
Professor Emeritus of Oceanography
Peter Vail will retire after serving as a Rice professor since 1986. Vail’s
professional activities include serving on the Geological Society of America,
the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Geological Society of
London, the Geological Society of Houston, the Geological Society of America
and many others. He received the William Smith Medal from the Geological Society
of London and has won numerous other awards. Vail is widely known for his pioneering
efforts in seismic stratigraphic interpretation, and he has contributed significantly
to the understanding of sedimentary processes and their influence on the generation,
migration and entrapment of hydrocarbons. (A.B., Dartmouth College; M.S., Ph.D.,
Northwestern University)

Ronald Nordgren
Herman and George R. Brown Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering
and Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Ronald Nordgren has devoted his career to the application of mechanics and mathematics
to offshore technology, arctic engineering and petroleum production and to teaching
graduate and undergraduate courses in the mechanics of solids. A former chair
of the Department of Civil Engineering, Nordgren is a fellow of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers and was elected to membership in the National
Academy of Engineering in 1989. He is the author or co-author of more than 20
publications and the holder of three patents. (B.S.E., M.S.E., University of
Michigan; Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley)