Professors awarded governor’s medal for science and technology
Some Utah State University professors do more than just teach classes, like professors J. Clair Batty and David S. Bowles.
Batty and Bowles were each awarded the prestigious Governor’s Medal Award in Science and Technology this past May for their extensive work and research breakthroughs that have affected the state and nation. Both worked hours upon hours on their research.
“Over the 40 years of my career, [my work] adds up to more than 120,000 hours,” Batty said.
Wynn Walker, associate dean of the College of Engineering, nominated Batty. Bowles was nominated by the civil and environmental engineering department head Loren Anderson along with Bruce Bishop, former dean of the College of Engineering.
Batty, a professor from the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering and former dean of the College of Engineering, was selected for his many research breakthroughs. They include researching and discovering new information dealing with space vehicles and their reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. He has also earned millions of dollars in financial support for programs dealing with the engineering of satellites.
Bowles received the same award for his breakthroughs in dam safety risk assessment. His research has saved millions of dollars in the costs of repairing dams and damage to property caused by dam failure. He has worked extensively with state and federal agencies to ask critical questions about dam safety.
“We’ve changed the way they view dam safety,” Bowles said.
Bowles pointed out there is never an absolute answer to keeping a dam safe but that by asking critical questions of what, why and how a dam can go wrong, he can help them make the dams safer.
Bowles is an emeritus trustee professor for the department of civil and environmental engineering.
Batty, along with Bowles, recognizes the important role students play in their careers and in their research. Batty said a university professor is nothing without bright, capable students.
“I find it extremely rewarding to meet hesitant [students], uncertain of who they were and what they had to offer, in undergraduate courses, recognize their great potential, and watch them morph into graduates [who are] confident and valuable to the world,” Batty said. “They are out there making a difference in the state and in the world and they number in the thousands.”
As educators, these men have brought about some of the greatest engineering students to graduate from USU. Batty said he cares more about the students he taught than the award he earned.
“Students get the benefit of [faculty] research in the classroom. They’ll be starting careers and going into the world for 30 or 40 years with their education,” Bowles said.
Both professors had to meet the standard requirements for nominees of the governor’s awards, plus three key criteria for the academia winners, including quality of research activities, the amount of recognition they receive from their peers and the recognition they receive as an educator.
Most USU professors are required to do research beyond their work in the classroom while the university employs them, Bowles said. Many feel USU is one of the best research institutions in the nation.
Bowles attributes his research discoveries to a grant he received in 1980 from the Vice President for Research’s office.
“He took a chance on a young faculty member,” Bowles said. “It gave us an opportunity to make an impact around the world.”
Batty said his fellow engineering professors spent a lot of time on research outside of classroom work.
“Most of the engineering faculty that I know devote about 60 or 70 or more hours per week,” he said.
Professors at Utah State are indeed busy when they leave the classrooms. Susan Mannon, a sociology professor, was hired this year to complete a grant to study the work and family assimilation of Latin Americans in the Cache Valley area, while another sociology professor, Bradley Parlin, has done extensive work in southeast Asia with low-income farmers implementing new irrigation systems.
Many years and thousands of hours of research have paid off for Batty and Bowles. Professors like them share with their students the long nights, hours of research and endless lectures that make USU worth all the hard work.
-ireneh@cc.usu.edu