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LY M O N C . REE S E
1917–2009
Elected in 1975
“For contributions in geotechnical engineering and education.”
BY JOHN E. BREEN
L YMON C. REESE, Nasser I. Al-Rashid Chair Emeritus
in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin,
and one of the nation’s most influential experts on laterally
loaded piles and drilled-shaft foundations, died on September
14, 2009, at the age of 92. He was elected a member of the
National Academy of Engineering in 1975 for “contributions
in geotechnical engineering and education.”
The journalist Tom Brokaw proposed the term “The
Greatest Generation” to describe the generation that grew up
during the Great Depression, went on to fight in World War II,
and came home to rebuild America into a superpower. Lymon
Reese was such a person, par excellence.
Lymon was born on April 27, 1917, in Stanley, Pike County,
Arkansas. His father was a “log scaler” for a timber company.
After primary education in Murfreesboro, Lymon completed
high school in Abilene, Texas. While in high school he worked
as a caddy at the Abilene Country Club, where he earned
money to help his family and entered into a lifelong love with
the game of golf.
Lymon entered Abilene Christian College, but with the
financial pressures of the Depression, he had to withdraw to
go back to work to help support his family. At Abilene High
School he had had an opportunity to learn survey calculations.
So he joined survey crews along the Rio Grande Valley and
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252 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
at a munitions plant in Alabama. Shortly after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor, Lymon joined the U.S. Navy Seabees
as a chief carpenter’s mate (surveyor). At 25 he was one of the
youngest chief petty officers in the 66th Naval Construction
Battalion. He served in the Aleutian Islands and on Okinawa
constructing airfields.
Following World War II, Lymon began civil engineering
studies at Rice University, where he lettered on the golf team.
He transferred to the University of Texas (UT) and using the
G.I. Bill received a B.S. in civil engineering in 1949 and an M.S.
in civil engineering in 1950. While at UT he met and married
fellow student Eva Lee Jett. Lymon was a spiritual person
and met his future wife at church in 1948. After receiving his
M.S., he became an assistant professor of civil engineering at
Mississippi State University. After a year there, combining
G.I. Bill and competitive fellowships, Lymon went to the
University of California at Berkeley. He completed his Ph.D.
program at Berkeley in 1954, receiving the doctoral degree in
1955. In the fall of 1955 he joined the Texas faculty. Returning to
Texas with Eva Lee and their three children, Lymon began 33
years of active service on the UT faculty as teacher, researcher,
and administrator. From 1965 to 1972 he was chair of the
civil engineering department, and from 1972 to 1979 he was
associate dean for research. He held the Nasser I. Al-Rashid
Chair from 1981 to 1984. A year after his retirement from UT
in 1984, Lymon founded Ensoft, Inc., in Austin, a developer
of engineering software. He carried out his worldwide
consulting activities through a subsidiary, Lymon C. Reese
and Associates.
Although Lymon began his college education at age 29,
his widespread survey experience and Seabee “can do” spirit
served him well as a firm foundation on which to build an
active civil engineering teaching, research, and consulting
career. He was a dedicated problem solver, always interested
in challenging practical applications for his knowledge. In
his early years at UT, he spent summers working with Shell
Development Company and quickly became immersed in
a host of geotechnical problems connected with offshore
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LY M O N C . REE S E 253
structures. Working closely with his faculty colleague Hudson
Matlock, they developed numerous applications of soil-
structure interaction with both analytical and experimental
breakthroughs. Lymon’s pioneering papers on piles laterally
loaded with wind and waves were recognized as breakthrough
classics by the Offshore Technology Conference. For decades
major oil companies and offshore constructors sent their new
personnel to a specialty short course on offshore structures
developed by Lymon and Hudson at UT.
Around 1965, Dr. Reese’s interests began to shift toward
development of rational design and construction criteria for
axially loaded drilled piers, spawning the very important
drilled-shaft construction industry. His comprehensive studies
showed the reliability of load transfer by skin friction, reducing
reliance on end bearing and belled footings. He clearly tied in
the effects of various construction methods on drilled-shaft
capacity in a landmark 1999 Federal Highway Administration
manual. The entire drilled-shaft industry recognized Lymon
as a legend.
While Lymon Reese was always interested in challenging
applications of soil-structure interaction and conducted many
notable full-scale pile and drilled-shaft load experiments, he
always relied on advanced mathematical and computational
techniques. In his studies he used many finite difference and
finite element solutions. He created user-friendly software for
engineers interested in soil-structure interaction computations.
The company he founded continues today to be successful,
with numerous users spread across the globe.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Lymon received the
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Middlebrooks
Award in 1958, was the ASCE Karl Terzaghi Lecturer in 1976,
received the ASCE Terzaghi Award in 1983, and was named
an ASCE honorary member in 1985. The Offshore Technology
Conference recognized him with a Distinguished Achievement
Award for Individuals in 1985, and the same year he was named
a distinguished graduate of the UT College of Engineering.
Throughout a career in which he supervised over 70
graduate students, authored or coauthored more than 160
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254 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
journal papers, 280 technical reports, and 4 textbooks and
received 3 patents, Lymon provided continuing counsel to
his university, his profession, and his former students and
coworkers.
Lymon Reese was deeply dedicated to his family and
served faithfully as a deacon and a Sunday school teacher at
his church. Near the height of his career, his beloved wife had
a debilitating and almost fatal condition. Lymon set a great
example for all who knew him with the love and determination
with which he helped his family nurse her back to a greatly
improved quality of life. He deeply loved his family, his
children and grandchildren, his golf games, and his country.
He was a patriot in the true meaning of the term who looked
on his Navy service as a duty and a great opportunity. Just as
Lymon Reese greatly influenced his students and his industry
colleagues, he left an example of wisdom, dedication, and love
for his family. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife
Eva Lee in September 2003 and is survived by daughter Sally
Reese Melant and her husband Michael Melant, by son John
Reese and his wife Judy Reese, by daughter Nancy Reese, and
by 11 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
Lymon Reese will not be forgotten by anyone who had the
opportunity to know him. He leaves a large group of former
students and colleagues who proudly extend his geotechnical
applications.
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