Walter R. Hibbard Jr (January 20, 1918 – February 24, 2010) was an American

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

, a distinguished professor at

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

and the 11th director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines in President Johnson's administration.

Early life

Walter R. Hibbard Jr. was born on January 20, 1918, in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

in 1939. He then graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1942 with a

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in metallurgy.

Career

Hibbard served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the metallurgical section of the U.S. Navy's

Bureau of Ships The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships (BuShips) was established by Congress on 20 June 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) and the Bureau of Engineering (BuEng). The new bureau was to ...

during

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Hibbard then became an assistant professor of metallurgy at Yale University and was promoted five years later to associate professor. He also served as the director of the engineering division of the New Haven YMCA Junior College (precursor of the University of New Haven). In 1951, Hibbard left Yale to become a research associate in materials processes at General Electric Research Laboratory in

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. He then served as an adjunct professor of metallurgical engineering at the

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

from 1952 to 1965. At General Electric, Hibbard became manager of alloy studies and then manager of General Electric's metallurgy and ceramic research. On December 1, 1965, Hibbard was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to become the director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. He was confirmed by the

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in January 1966. He remained in that role until April 1, 1968. Hibbard noted threats to the adequacy of the nation's mineral supplies and advocated for minerals policy for the United States. In 1968, Hibbard joined the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation as its vice president of research and development. He then became the vice president for technical service of Owens-Corning in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. In 1974, he returned to Washington, D.C. as the deputy director and specialist on fossil fuels with the Energy Research and Development Office of the Federal Energy Administration during the

1970s energy crisis The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period wer ...

. In 1974, he left his role at the Federal Energy Administration to join the faculty of

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. He was appointed as a distinguished professor of engineer. In 1977, he was named the first director of Virginia Coal and Energy Research, an interdisciplinary study and research facility at Virginia Tech created by the

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on March 30, 1977. He retired in 1988.

Personal life

Hibbard married Charlotte Tracy, who died in 1970. He later married Louise. He had one daughter and two sons: Diana, Douglas and Lawrence.

Awards

He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering elected in 1966 "for metallurgy". The National Academy of Engineering said that Hibbard was "world renowned for his scholarship of metallurgy". Hibbard was a fellow of the American Ceramic Society,

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

American Society for Metals ASM International, formerly known as the American Society for Metals, is an association of materials-centric engineers and scientists. ASM provides several information resources, including technical books, various digital databases, and ASM Han ...

and the Metallurgical Society of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). He received the following awards: * 1950 – Rossiter W. Raymond Award, AIME * 1966 - honorary Doctor of Law degree from

Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

* 1967 – James Douglas Gold Medal, AIME * 1968 – honorary

Doctor of Engineering The Doctor of Engineering, or Engineering Doctorate, (abbreviated DEng, EngD, or Dr-Ing) is a degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and a practical project in the engineering and applied science for solving problems in the industry. In the ...

degree from Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology * 1971 – Henry Krumb Lecturer, AIME

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbard, Walter R., Jr 1918 births 2010 deaths People from Bridgeport, Connecticut Wesleyan University alumni Yale University alumni American metallurgists United States Navy personnel of World War II Yale University faculty University of New Haven faculty Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty Virginia Tech faculty General Electric employees United States Department of Energy officials Corning Inc. United States Bureau of Mines personnel Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Fellows of the American Ceramic Society Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science