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History::Deans
Buildings | Deans | Firsts of the College | Tech Engineer Magazine
C. Ray Wimberly
C. Ray Wimberly was born on August 2, 1936, in Wichita Falls, Texas. Wimberly attended college at Texas A&M where he earned his B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering in 1961. He then attended the University of Alabama and received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1965. In 1968, Wimberly earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and a licensed private pilot. Wimberly is also a member of the following professional societies: the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Engineering Education, and the Louisiana Engineering Society.
Since earning his B.S. in 1961, Wimberly has held various jobs in the field of engineering. He was a Senior Engineer for the Boeing Company, an Aerospace and project engineer for NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, a senior specialist at the LTV Aerospace Corporation, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Military Institute, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Mississippi, and a professor and head of the department of mechanical engineering, director of technical services, and director of university security at Montana State University. Dr. Wimberly has had diversified research interests in aerodynamics, ocean engineering, and laser technology. Most of his time in high-speed aerodynamics was spent analyzing reentry dynamics of slender bodies. In ocean engineering, he has worked on mathematical modeling of ocean waves and the fluid dynamic forces associated with buoys and offshore platforms. He also designed a diagnostic laser laboratory that investigated the high-speed gas dynamic effects of chemical laser devices. Wimberly has written approximately 24 articles through 1980, which have been published in journals and technical papers presented at various meetings, workshops, and government agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Of these, there are numerous company and consulting engineering reports and documents.
Dr. Wimberly replaced Dean Jack Thigpen as dean of the College of Engineering for Louisiana Tech University on July 1, 1982, when there were “challenging times for colleges of engineering everywhere, with increased enrollment and reduced support from the federal government”. The appointment was announced by Tech President F. Jay Taylor and was approved by the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities.
While dean at Tech, he was responsible for all of the instructional research programs within the College of Engineering, which included 15 academic programs plus the nuclear center and instructional and research laboratories. He was a member of the Louisiana State Council of Engineering Deans, the Louisiana Tech University Administrative Council, the Louisiana Tech University Council of Academic Deans, the Board of Directors Louisiana Tech Engineering Foundation, the Board of Directors and Vice President of the Pipes Foundation, Inc., and the Board of Directors of the River Cities High Technology Group, Inc. Dr. Wimberly was dean until June 1987.
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General Information 
