Theme: Mechanical Engineering
George Abed Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
December 16, 2014
George Abed (b. 1938), a native of Jordan, attended Oregon State from 1958-1962, graduating
with a degree in General Social Science. During his undergraduate years, Abed was
heavily involved with campus life and especially with student government, ultimately
serving as the school's first foreign-born student body president. After completing
a Ph.D. in Economics, Abed went on to a lengthy and multifaceted career in international
development and public policy, including more than two decades spent working for the
International Monetary Fund. The founder and former director of the Palestine Welfare
Association, Abed is also a former head of the Palestine Monetary Authority, which
he oversaw for two years at the invitation of Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the
State of Palestine. Abed's interview focuses on his Oregon State years, his career
in public policy, and his association with development efforts all across the Middle
East.
Terry Baker Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna and Chris Petersen.
June 25, 2014
Terry Baker (b. 1941) is among the most accomplished and celebrated athletes in Oregon
State history. Winner of the 1962 Heisman Trophy as the nation's most outstanding
college football player, Baker's Oregon State basketball team also reached the Final
Four of the 1963 NCAA tournament. That same year, Baker was named "Sportsman of the
Year" by Sports Illustrated magazine. Baker graduated from OSU in 1963 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Following a brief stint in professional football, Baker earned a law degree and enjoyed
a successful career practicing in the Portland area. Baker's interview focuses primarily
on his Oregon State memories, including his remarkable successes in 1962-1963 and
the tremendous attention that they garnered.
Eric and Jeff Ball Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
July 13, 2015
Eric and Jeff Ball are brothers who were raised on a ranch near Roseburg, Oregon.
Both attended OSU in the early 1980s and graduated with degrees in Mechanical Engineering.
From there, both Eric and Jeff returned to the Roseburg area to help their father
build a company, Orenco Systems Industries, that today is a world leader in wastewater
treatment systems. Initially operated out of the Ball family home, Orenco now conducts
business on an international scale and stands as the eighth-largest employer in Douglas
County. The Balls' interview focuses on their experiences - both individual and shared
- as brothers attending OSU. They also chart the growth of Orenco through their years
of association and comment on the contemporary challenges facing their region of Oregon.
The Lives of International Students
Three life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
March 3 - 6, 2015
In 2015, Oregon State University served as a home away from home for over 4,000 international
students hailing from 107 different countries. Over the course of three interviews
conducted in March 2015, the experiences and perspectives of four current OSU international
students were recorded, with particular emphasis paid to changing perspectives on
U.S. culture, contrasting systems of education around the world, and the major social
and cultural adjustments required of international students studying at Oregon State.
The international students who shared their stories are Jenny Urbina, a Ph.D. candidate
from Colombia; Kong Zheng Yeang, an undergraduate from Malaysia; Andrea Jara, also
a Ph.D. student from Colombia; and Chidi Okonkwo, a master's candidate from Nigeria.
LaMont Matthews Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
July 1, 2015
LaMont Matthews (b. 1934) graduated from Oregon State College in 1956, earning a degree
in Mechanical Engineering. As a senior at Oregon State, Matthews began working part-time
at a local engineering firm called Cornell, Howell, Hayes, and Merryfield. The thirtieth
employee hired by what was later known as CH2M Hill, Matthews spent nearly fifty years
as an engineer, project manager and executive with the company, ultimately rising
to the position of Vice President of Industrial and Energy Systems and serving on
the CH2M Hill Board of Directors. His interview is largely devoted to reflections
on Matthews' many years at the company, with memories of undergraduate engineering
study at OSC included as a secondary topic.
Jim Welty Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
April 21, 2015
Jim Welty (b. 1933) earned three degrees from Oregon State, completing bachelor's
(1954) and master's (1959) studies in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a doctorate
in Chemical Engineering, which he finished in 1962. His Ph.D. in hand, Welty was
promptly hired to the Oregon State Mechanical Engineering faculty, where he remained
until retiring in 1996. During this time, Welty served as department chair for fifteen
years, from 1970 to 1985. A respected scholar of fluid dynamics and heat transfer,
Welty, along with two OSU colleagues, co-authored a hugely successful textbook that
was first published in 1969 and is still used in classrooms today. His interview provides
an overview of a personal association with Oregon State's College of Engineering that
has few parallels, one that spans parts of seven decades.