Thread by @MichaelEWebber

I am very excited to share with you that as of September 1, 2023, I have the honor of holding the John J. McKetta Centennial Energy Chair in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

It is humbling to be selected for the McKetta Energy Chair.

Who was John J. McKetta?

He was a professor of mine when I was an undergraduate & a colleague when I joined the faculty. He was a beloved teacher, excellent administrator, advisor to presidents and executives & always available for students as a mentor.

alcalde.texasexes.org/2016/01/100-an…

Thankfully his grand-daughter @ESMcKetta wrote a biography, so we can get more details. He was Ukrainian (I’m 25% Ukrainian). He grew up in a Pennsylvania coal town the son of a coal miner. He worked in the coal mines and decided it wasn’t for him, so he pursued higher education.

@ESMcKetta As she writes, he was a “once-upon-a-time coal miner, trumpet player & mischievous youngest son” of Ukrainian ancestry who bridged academia, government and industry, advising policymakers and teaching students with a singular focus on “using energy well”.

news.utexas.edu/2019/01/15/bel…

People who know me understand how much this aligns with my life and mission.

He kept his old coal-miner’s cap on his desk as a reminder of the dreary manual labor he escaped: “I compared my life with the coal-mining days and always felt like I was the luckiest teacher alive.”

As as an undergraduate @UTAustin I requested & was granted permission by the president to create & teach a class called “Technology & Society”.

Dr. McKetta gave a guest lecture titled “The Beautiful Future of Man.”

That optimism was infectious and still guides me today.

He was so beloved by generations of students, they raised money to name the Chemical Engineering department at UT Austin in his honor. Here I am flashing a hook ‘em in front of the chemical engineering building.

He was also an alum of @TrineUniversity whose department of chemical and bioprocess engineering is also named in his honor.

trine.edu/news/2019/mcke…

McKetta himself endowed a teaching award in honor of his parents at Trine University. My grad school colleague and friend Professor Jon Koch won the award earlier this year.

trine.edu/news/2023/facu…

He himself was a towering figure in academia and the world of energy, but other holders of the Chair were themselves giants in their fields

James R. Fair 1985-1992
Hans Mark, 1992-2014
Clint Dawson, 2014--2023
Michael E. Webber, 2023—present

Hans Mark (the “god of Aerospace”) was my hero and mentor. He fled the nazis & ultimately became the Sec’y of the Air Force, Deputy Director of NASA and Chancellor of the @utsystem

He was my undergraduate thesis advisor and professional champion.

statesman.com/story/news/202…

Holding a chair named for a great man like Dr. McKetta—the same chair held by another great man and personal hero, Dr. Mark – is deeply meaningful.

Thank you to Dr. McKetta, his amazing students, and my amazing students, all of whom made this honorific full-circle possible.[End]

Many groups made this possible: @CockrellSchool @WebberEnergy @TexasChE @utmechengr @UTAerospace

My gratitude to everyone!

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