WALTER R. HIBBARD JR. ’39

WALTER R. HIBBARD JR., who retired as university distinguished professor of engineering at Virginia Tech, died Feb. 24, 2010. He was 92. A member of Delta Tau Delta, he received his degree with honors and with high distinction in chemistry, and was elected to both Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa. He was the brother of D He received a doctor of engineering in metallurgy from Yale University and then served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Before joining the faculty at Virginia Tech in 1974, he had been the manager of metallurgy and ceramics research for the General Electric Research Lab, the director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and a vice president of Owens Corning Fiberglass. He was also the director of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research. The author of numerous publications, and the recipient of many honors, including two honorary degrees, he received Wesleyan’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1979. His first wife, Charlotte Tracy Hibbard, died. His brother David S. Hibbard ’41 and cousin, Eric K. Begg Jr. ’49, predeceased him, as well. Survivors include his wife, Louise Brembeck Hibbard; three children, including Douglas T. Hibbard ’66; and two grandchildren.