National Academies Press: OpenBook

Memorial Tributes: Volume 6 (1993)

Chapter: Eugene B. Waggoner

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Suggested Citation:"Eugene B. Waggoner." National Academy of Engineering. 1993. Memorial Tributes: Volume 6. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2231.
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Page 232
Suggested Citation:"Eugene B. Waggoner." National Academy of Engineering. 1993. Memorial Tributes: Volume 6. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2231.
×
Page 233
Suggested Citation:"Eugene B. Waggoner." National Academy of Engineering. 1993. Memorial Tributes: Volume 6. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2231.
×
Page 234
Suggested Citation:"Eugene B. Waggoner." National Academy of Engineering. 1993. Memorial Tributes: Volume 6. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2231.
×
Page 235
Suggested Citation:"Eugene B. Waggoner." National Academy of Engineering. 1993. Memorial Tributes: Volume 6. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2231.
×
Page 236
Suggested Citation:"Eugene B. Waggoner." National Academy of Engineering. 1993. Memorial Tributes: Volume 6. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2231.
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Page 237

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EUGENE B. WAGGONER 1 913-1 991 BY WILLIAM W. MOORE EUGENE B WAGGONER an internationally recognized engineer- ing geologist and former chief executive officer of Woodward- Clyde Consultants, died in Napa, California, on November 30, 1991. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1913, Gene Waggoner received his B.A. and M.A. in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1937 and 1939, respectively. He began his professional career as a petroleum geologist during the heightened need for oil in World War II. After the war he worked for nearly a decade in government service for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, where he was a staff geologist in the Office of Chief Engineer and Assistant Commissioners, with technical control of engineering geology in western Reclama- tion Regions II and III. His responsibilities in this work included coordination of geologic work on the boundary between the United States and Mexico and of the Snowy Mountain Diversion Project for the government of Australia. He supervised all phases of engineering geology in this work, from site selection and investigation through design, specification, and construc- tion of all types of irrigation and hydroelectric projects. In 1954 he founded in Denver a private consulting practice to provide services to major engineering firms, contractors, other private firms, and foreign governments. His work included field reconnaissance and appraisal of groundwater potential, recom- 233

234 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES mendations on methods of development, design of wells, prepa- ration of specifications, supervision of construction, and comple- tion and testing of wells. In June 1960 he merged his firm with Woodward-Clyde and Associates, and he became executive vice-president and comanager, providing engineering and geologic consultation on major engineering projects throughout the United States and foreign countries. Seven years later Waggoner was ap- pointed president and chief executive officer of Woodward- Clycle. In 1973 Waggoner retired to a private consulting practice . . . in engineering geo ogy. During his career Waggoner served as a consulting engineer- ing geologist for major hydroelectric, irrigation, and tunneling projects throughout the world, working in some fifty countries, and his credentials and accomplishments in his field are second to none in both quality and quantity. The important theme that served as the foundation of all of his work is the amalgamation of theory and practice toward the successful completion of major works for society. His advice was actively sought by owners, designers, and contractors. What established his reputation was his outstanding ability to understand a regional geology, inter- pret the exploratory work in that context, arrive at remarkable definitive conclusions, and then to explain them. His work ultimately brought meaning and demonstrated the value of practical, understandable consulting geologic service to grouncI- water development and control in the United States and foreign countries. Because he was an advocate of a multidisciplinary approach to distribution, conservation, power generation, and pollution control of water, he was called upon to lead assign- ments on projects such as the West Pakistan Salinity Control and Reclamation Project, the Bhumipol Dam and Power plant in ThailancI, and similar major projects worldwide. He was also highly regarded for his expert testimony and skill in translating complex geologic conditions into everyday language. Perhaps Mr. Waggoner's greatest contributions came as a result of his service to the engineering profession, applying his technical knowledge en cl management skills for the benefit of professional practice. He contributed his time generously to a

EUGENE B. WAGGONER 235 number of organizations, including the American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC), where he served as national presi- dent in 1966-1967. AtACEC he contributed important improve- ments to engineering practice such as developing peer review programs for engineering practice that came to be widely used by ACEC. He actively supported the national Association of Soil and Foundation Engineers (ASFE), in particular in his support of the ASFE Peer Review Program. He was requested to peer review more than a dozen ASFE anti ACEC firms, another measure of the respect with which he was held within the profession. He also gave unstintingly of his time to various other professional organizations, including the Association of Arneri- can Geologists, International Society of Rock Mechanics, Inter- national Commission on Large Dams, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Mr. Waggoner contributed substantially to the work of the National Research Council (NRC), primarily through the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology. He participated in the writing of several NRC documents, including Better Man- agement of Major Underground Construction Projects and Better Con- tractingPractices. One of Waggoner's major contributions to the NRC was his chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Site Investi- gation for underground structures of the U.S. National Commit- tee on Tunneling Technology. As chairman he led the efforts of fifteen of the country's top professionals in the tunneling indus- try toward the publication in 1984 of the two-volume report Geotechnical Site Investigations for Underground Projects. An honorary member of the Association of Engineering Geologists, Waggoner was also a member of Sigma Xi, honorary science fraternity; and Phi Delta Kappa, honorary education fraternity. Mr. Waggoner was an elected member of the Board of Educa- tion in LakewoocI, Coloraclo; a member of the Intercountry Regional Planning Commission in Colorado, and served as a president of his Kiwanis Club. He also was a member of the Vallejo Gem and Mineral Society, Vallejo Yacht Club, Vallejo Symphony, Vallejo ConcertAssociation and Historical Museum, and the Navy League. He was a 32nc3 degree Mason.

236 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES Mr. Waggoner is survived by his wife of fifty-three years, Wini, of Vallejo, California; two daughters, Diana Davies of Dixon, California, and Teri Nebeker of Sacramento, California; a son, Alan, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and six grandchildren.

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This series presents biographies of deceased members of the National Academy of Engineering.

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