Robert Hall Roy (November 21, 1906 – October 8, 2000) was an American mechanical engineer and the former Dean of Engineering Science at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. He was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Roy enrolled in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

at Johns Hopkins in 1925, where he played

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

and was a member of the school's national championship team. He was a defender on the U.S. national lacrosse team that competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, where lacrosse was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

. After returning from the Olympics, Roy joined Waverly Press, where he worked in engineering and later became a vice president. In 1939, he was invited to teach Industrial Organization and Management in the evening college of Johns Hopkins. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was appointed an associate professor of Industrial Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and then assistant dean. Roy's testimony in 1952 helped nine

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

gain admission to the A course at

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, colloquially referred to as BPI, Poly, and The Institute, is a U.S. public high school founded in 1883. Established as an all-male manual trade / vocational school by the Baltimore City Council and the Balti ...

. Roy was appointed Dean of Engineering in 1956, and retired in 1973. He was appointed Director of Chesapeake Research Consortium, which covered environmental concerns of state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. In 1970, he was appointed to the board of governors of

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

. During his tenure at JHU, he received top awards in Industrial Engineering from the

Institute of Industrial Engineers The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), formerly the Institute of Industrial Engineers, is a professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving q ...

and served on many organizations for engineering education. The

(Maryland Chapter) created a Robert H. Roy medal to be given annually to a student from Baltimore Polytechnic School. His former students and colleagues created a Robert H. Roy Fund in his honor in 1991 for

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

s. Roy published a book, ''Administrative Process'', which was used widely in many colleges. He also wrote ''Bragolections -- The career Adventures of a Poo-Bah''—available at Johns Hopkins Library and a prized possession of many of his friends. Poo-Bah was a name given by his English teacher at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. Roy died in

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

in 2000, at the age of 93.

External links

Johns Hopkins University biography and index to papers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Robert 1906 births 2000 deaths American mechanical engineers American industrial engineers Johns Hopkins University faculty American lacrosse players Lacrosse players at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic lacrosse players for the United States Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse players Baltimore Polytechnic Institute alumni Lacrosse players from Baltimore Washington College people 20th-century American engineers