John C. Calhoun

Background

John C. Calhoun Jr. was born on March 21, 1917, in Betula, Pennsylvania, the fifth child of John C. and Martha Rowe Calhoun. He grew up with seven siblings and worked with them in the family grocery store. He graduated from high school as valedictorian before entering Pennsylvania State University. In June 1941 he married Ruth Elizabeth Huston, who remained his wife and intellectual partner for 71 years. They had a son and three daughters. Calhoun maintained a close family life centered on music, books, games, baking, and active involvement with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Education

Calhoun studied petroleum and natural gas engineering at Pennsylvania State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1937, a Master of Science in 1941, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1946. His doctorate placed him among the earliest petroleum engineers in the United States to receive a doctoral degree. He also attended Ripon College, completing the recorded college education there in 1975.

Career

Calhoun began his academic career at Pennsylvania State University, where from 1937 to 1946 he worked as a research assistant and instructor in petroleum and natural gas engineering while completing his graduate degrees. He joined the University of Oklahoma in 1946 as an associate professor of petroleum engineering and became professor and chairman of its School of Petroleum Engineering by 1950. That year he returned to Pennsylvania State University as head of the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas, serving there until 1955. In 1955 Calhoun joined Texas A&M University as dean of engineering and director and engineer with the Texas Engineering Experiment Station and Texas Engineering Extension Service. During his Texas A&M career he served successively as vice president for engineering, vice chancellor for engineering, vice chancellor for development, vice president for programs, distinguished professor of petroleum engineering, director of the Office of Sea Grant Programs and Center for Marine Resources, dean of geosciences, vice president for academic affairs, and other senior administrative positions. Within the Texas A&M University System he became executive vice chancellor for programs and deputy chancellor for engineering. He also directed the Crisman Institute for Petroleum Reservoir Management from 1984 to 1987. From 1963 to 1965 Calhoun took a leave from Texas A&M to serve as assistant and science adviser to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and acting director of the Office of Water Resources Research. He later chaired major National Academy of Sciences ocean-affairs bodies, advised federal agencies on energy, environmental, marine, and mineral-resource matters, and served on the National Advisory Committee for the Oceans and Atmosphere and the Department of the Interior's Advisory Committee on Mining and Mineral Resources Research. He helped develop the proposal that made Texas one of the first recipients of federal Sea Grant support, guided Texas A&M's successful Sea Grant effort, assisted in securing private funding for the university's marine campus at Galveston, and contributed to the development of the Water Resources Research Act. He authored more than 150 technical papers and reports and wrote Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering, an influential early textbook in the field. He retired from active administrative service in 1987 and held emeritus designations at Texas A&M and within the Texas A&M University System. He died in Texarkana, Texas, on November 29, 2012.

Achievements

• Pioneered petroleum engineering education as one of the earliest recipients of a doctorate in the field.

• Helped establish petroleum engineering as an academic and research discipline through teaching, department leadership, and reservoir-engineering research.

• Authored more than 150 technical papers and reports on petroleum recovery, reservoir engineering, energy, marine resources, and natural-resource management.

• Wrote Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering, an influential early textbook on reservoir fluids and petroleum reservoir engineering.

• Helped develop the proposal that brought one of the first federal Sea Grants to Texas.

• Guided Texas A&M University's successful proposal for Sea Grant support and helped make the university one of the first institutions to receive federal Sea Grant funds.

• Helped secure private funding for the establishment of Texas A&M University's marine campus at Galveston.

• Contributed to the development of the Water Resources Research Act.

• Provided national leadership in oceanography, marine resources, energy, environmental affairs, and mineral-resource research through federal and National Academy advisory bodies.

Works

• journal article

  • Experiments on the Capillary Properties of Porous Solids

    (Co-authored with Maurice Lewis Jr. and R. C. Newman and p...)

    1949

• technical book

  • Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering

    (Technical treatment of reservoir fluids and petroleum res...)

    1953

Religion

He was affiliated with the Presbyterian denomination.

Views

Calhoun emphasized the importance of an optimistic spirit and the necessity of having a dream. In a high-school commencement address, he used the theme, “You gotta have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?”

Quotations: “You gotta have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?”

Membership

Calhoun was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He held leadership roles in the Society of Petroleum Engineers, serving as its president in 1964; the American Society for Engineering Education, serving as president in 1974; and the Marine Technology Society, serving as president from 1975 to 1976. He also participated in the Engineering College Research Council, Engineers Council for Professional Development, Engineers Joint Council, American Association of Engineering Societies, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Texas Academy of Medicine, Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Gamma Epsilon, Phi Kappa Phi, and Tau Kappa Epsilon. His professional service included board, committee, honorary, and international-affairs responsibilities, as well as service on national science and natural-resource panels.

• Fellow.

  American Association for the Advancement of Science , United States

• President from 1975 to 1976; later a Fellow.

  Marine Technology Society , United States

  1975 - 1976

• Vice president; director from 1968 to 1972; president in 1974; honorary member from 1978; Fellow; recipient of the Centennial Medallion in 1993 and Collins Award in 1996.

  American Society for Engineering Education , United States

  1968 - 1972

• Elected in 1985.

  National Academy of Engineering , United States

  1985

• Vice chairman.

  Engineering College Research Council , United States

  1959 - 1962

• Board member.

  Engineers Council for Professional Development , United States

  1964 - 1967

• Board member.

  Engineers Joint Council , United States

  1972 - 1977

• Honorary member from 1976.

  American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers , United States

• President in 1964; Distinguished Member in 1984; recipient of the DeGolyer Medal in 1982 and Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal in 1997.

  Society of Petroleum Engineers , United States

• Executive committee member of the International Affairs Council.

  American Association of Engineering Societies , United States

  1980 - 1981

• Texas Academy of Medicine , United States

• Engineering and Science organizations , United States

• Sigma Xi , United States

• Tau Beta Pi , United States

• Sigma Gamma Epsilon , United States

• Phi Kappa Phi , United States

• Tau Kappa Epsilon , United States

Personality

Calhoun was remembered as deeply engaged in family life, generous with his time, and devoted to learning and music. His family associated him with an optimistic spirit, intellectual curiosity, and a strong commitment to education and service. He wrote songs for his granddaughters and took special delight in the expressive power of music and words.

Physical Characteristics: He was remembered for his beautiful baritone voice.

Quotes from others about the person

• Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin described Calhoun's work as instrumental in laying the groundwork for the academic and related developments that shaped the modern university. His daughters remembered him as a major presence in the lives of his grandchildren and as an optimistic educator who encouraged others to pursue their dreams.

Interests

• Books, games, baking, natural-resource management, ocean management, marine programs, and music.

• Music & Bands

  Music was an important part of Calhoun's family life. He sang in a baritone voice, wrote songs for his four granddaughters, and believed that life was incomplete without music.

Connections

Calhoun was married to Ruth Elizabeth Huston for 71 years, and they worked closely as lifelong intellectual partners. They had one son, John Huston, and three daughters, Emily Calhoun, Mary Beth Towles, and Ruth Ellen Whitt. He was the grandfather of four granddaughters and the great-grandfather of ten children. His daughters remembered his active participation in the lives of his grandchildren, including caring for them, rocking them to sleep, and feeding them. His family also recalled his homemade apple and berry pies and a household enriched by music, books, games, and baking.

Father:

John

Identified as John C. Calhoun.

Mother:

Martha

Identified as Martha Rowe Calhoun.

Wife:

Ruth Elizabeth Huston Calhoun

His wife and intellectual partner for 71 years; she died six months after him in 2013.

Son:

John Huston Calhoun

Their son, who preceded Calhoun in death.

Daughter:

Emily Calhoun

One of his three daughters; she later lived in Boulder with Robert Kerr.

Daughter:

Mary Beth Towles

One of his three daughters; she was married to Larry Towles.

Daughter:

Ruth Ellen Whitt

One of his three daughters; she was married to David Whitt and lived in Texarkana, Texas.

References

• The Penn Stater Magazine Memorial profile describing Calhoun's education, Texas A&M administrative career, federal science-adviser service, Sea Grant and water-resources work, family life, and death in 2012.
  2013
• National Academy of Engineering Memorial Tributes Memorial tribute describing Calhoun's origins in Betula, Pennsylvania, education, academic and administrative career, federal and National Academy service, petroleum-engineering contributions, family, music, and death in 2012.
  2014
• In Memoriam - John C. Calhoun Society of Petroleum Engineers memorial describing Calhoun's university career, professional leadership, federal advisory work, honors, and family.
  2013
• 45 Years of Texas Sea Grant Texas A&M account documenting Calhoun's role in developing the Texas Sea Grant proposal and helping establish one of the first university-based Sea Grant programs.
  2016