Joe had a zest for life, creating rap songs to help students learn, running his first marathon at age 70 and raising eight children with his wife, Lynne. Joe graduated from Loyola University in 1957. Professionally, Joe spent a short time in private industry before beginning his LMU teaching career, which spanned from 1958 — 2002. Joe served as dean from 1981 – 1990, overseeing the fund raising campaign, “Tradition of Excellence,” which raised $3 million dollars and built Doolan Hall. He is featured in the university’s Faculty Hall of Fame, was a recipient of LMU’s Distinguished Alumni Award and is noted on Seaver College’s Wall of Fame.
A historian by personality, Joe wrote a history of the College of Science and Engineering (now Seaver College) and kept many important items. Among these items is an original letter signed by then-president of Loyola University, Charles S. Casassa, S.J., awarding Joe an annual scholarship of $175. The letter encourages Joe to “repay” the scholarship by creating a scholarship for future students who, like Joe was, are meritorious and need assistance. Joe, always a man of his word, donated to scholarships when alive and, now, his family created this scholarship in his memory. We miss Joe, who passed away in February 2014.
Devoted to academics, Joe presented his dissertation at MIT, served as a visiting associate at Caltech and a visiting researcher at University of California, Irvine. In addition, he was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Los Angeles County Pollution Control District and was a heat transfer consultant to the Ralph M. Parsons Company.
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