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IN MEMORIAM
BYRON ELLIOTT SHORT
Byron Elliott Short was born on December 29, 1901,
in Putnam, Texas, the son of Samuel Washington Short and Florence
Gurtrude Sublett Short. After attending elementary schools at
Scranton, Sagerton and de Leon, he graduated from de Leon high
school in 1919 and came to The University of Texas in 1921. During
his student years he met Carl J. Eckhardt, and they became lifelong
friends, working together at the U.T. power plant and as faculty
in the Mechanical Engineering department. Byron completed his
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1926 and his M.S. in Mechanical
Engineering in 1930. In 1935 he entered Cornell University, where
he received the Master of Mechanical Engineering degree in 1936
and a Ph.D. degree in 1939 working on heat transmission and thermodynamics.
While at Cornell he received the Sibley Fellowship in Mechanical
and Electrical Engineering.
Professor Short's industrial experience spanned
many years, mostly in the summers from 1926 through 1948 working
for The Texas Company (now Texaco, Inc.) and The University of
Texas power plant. From 1948 until his retirement he was a consultant
with the Texas Gulf Sulfur Company, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ford Motor Company, Svedrup and
Parcel, Atomics International, Gulf States Tube Corporation,
and General Atomic. Through all of his external interests, however,
he never compromised his main love, which was teaching.
While a graduate student, Byron began his teaching
career in 1926 as an Instructor in Mechanical Engineering. He
served as an Adjunct Professor between 1929 and 1935, primarily
teaching thermodynamics. Between 1935 and 1936 he held a position
as Teaching Fellow at Cornell. After receiving his Ph.D. from
Cornell in 1936, he returned to The University of Texas as an
Associate Professor, and in 1939 was promoted to Professor of
Mechanical Engineering, a position he held until retirement in
1973. Upon retirement he was given the title of Professor Emeritus.
In addition to his regular and continuous classroom
teaching, Dr. Short was in charge of the Heat-Power and Fluid
Mechanics Laboratory in Taylor Hall from 1930 to 1965. His very
close friend, Dean W.R. Woolrich, gave him complete control of
all equipment maintenance and use, new purchases, and allocation
of space in this laboratory. With a keen memory, he always knew
where every piece of equipment was located and who was using
anything belonging to this laboratory.
During the 1940's and 1950's the Mechanical Engineering
Department operated with a rotating Chairmanship among its full
Professors in which each would serve a two-year term. Professor
Short served terms from 1945 until 1947 and again from 1951 until
1953. Between these assignments he served as acting Dean of the
College of Engineering from 1948 through 1949 and during the
summer of 1955.
Intercollegiate athletics was always an important
part of Byron's life. He seldom missed a baseball, football or
basketball game or other sports event held on campus. This intensive
interest led to his service as Chairman of the U.T. Intercollegiate
Athletics Council from 1945 through 1948.
Honor societies that recognized his outstanding
achievements were Tau Beta Pi (President of Alpha Chapter of
Texas, 1927-1928), Pi Tau Sigma, Sigma Xi and Phi Kappa Phi (President
of U.T. Chapter, 1972). He was continuously active in each group
and never failed to express his deep appreciation for being selected.
When Byron returned from Cornell in 1939, he was
the only member of the Mechanical Engineering Department faculty
with a doctoral degree, a distinction he held for many years.
He was immediately appointed Graduate Advisor in 1939, where
he attracted many outstanding young scholars. Most of the doctoral
students wanted to work under him since he had, along with this
advanced degree, a considerable amount of research money and
many new ideas for research topics. His term as Graduate Advisor
lasted for 24 years. In addition he also served on The University
Faculty Council from 1945 until 1949.
Most of the undergraduate students in mechanical
engineering had Dr. Short for their basic thermodynamics course,
where he lectured in Taylor Hall 138 underneath a working demonstration
model of a slide-rule (six feet in length). His own oversized
slide rule (24 inches) and great mathematical skill always left
many students in awe; nevertheless, he was always available for
student consultations in his office, which occupied a corner
in the non-air-conditioned Thermodymamics and Fluids Laboratory.
In his later years he mastered computer programming and became
adept at using the FORTRAN language to write codes for scientific
computations.
During his 47 years at U.T., Dr. Short taught
thousands of students and is remembered as being a conscientious
and dedicated member of the faculty, thus it is impossible to
cite all of the successful ones. He supervised 23 Master's theses
and 12 Ph.D. dissertations. He also served on many University
committees and even more College committees plus numerous continuous
committee assignments within the M.E. Department. A partial listing
of the important committee assignments given to Professor Short
by The University and the College is shown below.
Member, Sub-Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics
for Women
Executive Committee, Scottish Rite Dormitory,
University of Texas
Board of Directors of Scottish Rite Educational
Association
U.T. Austin Committee of Counsel on Academic
Freedom and Responsibility, 1969
Degrees and Courses Committee, College of Engineering,
1939-1942, 1961-1963, 1969
ASME Student Chapter Faculty Advisor, 1929-1931,
1934-1935, 1961-1963, 1964-1965
Chairman, Engineering Building Committee, 1964
Tau Beta Pi, Faculty Advisor
Member of Aerospace Engineering Graduate Faculty
Board of Grants, 1962-1963
Engineering Foundation, 1956-1963
Graduate Student Programs Committee, Graduate
School, 1958-1962
Engineering Mechanics Committee, 1950-1956,
1959-1962
Dean's Committee, College of Business Administration,
1959-1960
Engineering Publications Committee, 1930-1940,
1957
Chairman, ORSORT Study Proposal Committee, Engineering
and Sciences, 1956
Graduate Legislative Council, 1956
Nuclear Engineering and Reactor Committee, College
of Engineering, 1953-1956, Chairman, 1956
Graduate Council, 1951-1957
Fellowship and Scholarship Committee, Graduate
School, 1949-1959, Chairman, 1950-1956
University Chancellorship Advisory Committee,
1950
Petroleum Engineering Budget Council, 1949-1950
Engineering Research Committee, College of Engineering,
1941-1949
Junior Accrediting Committee, College of Engineering,
1940-1945
Engineering Scheduling Committee, College of
Engineering, 1940-1944
University Committee on Admission of Transfer
Students, 1939-1944
University Discipline Committee, 1931-1939
Engineering Library Committee, 1930-1934
In addition, Byron was instrumental in the formation
of the Engineering Mechanics Department in 1947 and served on
the Dean's committee to study the need of a meteorology program
in the College of Engineering. He was also affiliated with the
Defense Research Laboratory during its early years. When he accepted
a committee assignment he was extremely diligent, never missing
meetings and always participating fully in the deliberations.
He belonged to a number of professional societies
including The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Life
Member and Fellow), the National Society of Professional Engineers
(Life Member), The American Society of Engineering Education
(Life Member) and The Texas Society of Professional Engineers
(Life Member). He served as National Vice-Chairman of the American
Society of Engineering Education during 1946-1948 and served
on a number of committees at the national level for each organization.
Dr. Short's fields of specialization include: heat transfer in
shell and tube exchangers, condensing vapors of tube banks, pressure
drop in baffled tube bundles and specific heats of foodstuffs
and solutions at low temperatures. He was considered an international
authority on shell and tube heat exchangers. His publication
record contained numerous research publications, a patent and
six books. The books are: Power Engineer Handbook, Texaco,
1927; Flow, Measurement and Pumping of Fluids, University
Lithoprinters, Norman, Oklahoma, 1934; Engineering Thermodynamics with
H.L. Kent and B.F. Treat, Harper Brothers, New York, 1953; Pressure-Enthalpy
Charts with H.L. Kent and Hugh A. Walls, Gulf Publishing
Company, 1970; Design Volume, Handbook for the American
Society of Refrigeration Engineers, 10th Edition, 1957;
Faculty Editor: The Journal of Architecture, Engineering and
Industry (1939-1940), published by U.T. College of Engineering.
Some of the more important awards and honors in
addition to the election to Fellow grade in two national organizations
include being voted the Outstanding Alumnus of the U.T. Department
of Mechanical Engineering in 1995 and the election to Distinguished
Graduate of the U.T. College of Engineering in 1996, just prior
to his death. As a student he was a member of the Ramshorn Club
fostered by Dean Taylor. He received a Certificate of Commendation
from the South Texas Section of ASME in 1954 and was made an
Honorary Member of the Process Heat Transfer Society in 1964.
His work was cited in several textbooks plus a section in W.R.
Woolrich's book Men of Ingenuity, From Beneath the Orange
Tower. Biographical listings included: Who's Who in America, Who's
Who in the South and Southwest, Dictionary of International Biography,
Who's Who in Engineering and American Men of Science. Two
endowments have been made in his name: The Byron E. Short Endowed
Presidential Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering, begun in
1993 by the M.E. Class of 1940, and The Byron E. Short Lecture
Series Endowment, begun in 1990.
Professor Short donated a large amount of his
time, talent and finances to the Ex-Students Association, Texas
Exes Clubs, Executive Council and special volunteer work. For
many years he spoke to ex-students at various locations during
March 2 (Texas Independence Day) meetings. He also arranged meetings
of Texas Exes at the annual meetings of ASME and supported financially
such activities as athletic banquets and the general scholarship
fund. He was a member of The First Baptist Church of Austin,
where he was Chairman of the Board of Deacons and Chairman of
the Downtown Bible Class. He was a member of the Austin Kiwanis
Club, a Life Member and Master, University Lodge No. 1190 A.F.
and A.M., District Deputy Grand Master, 50th Masonic District,
33rd, Scottish Rite, Austin Consistory (1st Vice-President) Scottish
Rite Educational Foundation and Vice-Chairman of Executive Committee
who controlled the Scottish Rite Dormitory for Girls at The University
of Texas. He served as Kych and Commander, Colorado Commandery
No. 4, and District Deputy for both York Rite Chapter and Council;
Sovereign, St. Austin Conclave, Red Cross of Constantine, Member
of Ben Hur Temple. He was a member of the Patrick Henry Chapter
of Sons of American Revolution; President, Fleur-de-Lis Chapter
of the Huguenot Society, and President of the Huguenot Society
of Texas.
He married Mary Jo Fitzgerald on June 1, 1937
and had one son, Byron Elliott Short, Jr., and one daughter,
Mrs. James L. (Mary Aileen) Gauntt. Professor Short died on October
31, 1996, at age 94.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
The Memorial Resolution was prepared by a special
committee consisting of Professors H. Grady Rylander, Jr. (Chair),
Howard E. Brown, and J. Parker Lamb.
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