Minor, Joseph 2021-06-03
This interview features Joe Minor as he discusses his involvement with the big five in researching wind missile damage and making changes to building codes to address the damage. In this interview, Minor provides background information on where he lived and his education. He explains why he decided to pursue engineering and some early fortuitous events that shaped his career. Minor recalls the Lubbock Tornado of May 11, 1970 and how that tornado further shaped his career as he worked alongside other researchers to document damage and figure out possible wind missiles and the damage that they cause to structures. The interview closes with Minor discussing how shared credit in publishing put bumps in his career path, and the May 11, 1970 tornado memorial wall in downtown Lubbock.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Joseph Minor
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: June 3, 2021
Location: phone interview
Interviewer: Zachary Hernandez
Length: 02:35:39
Abstract
Introduction and background information; Attending Texas A&M and pursuing engineering; Marrying his wife; Medina Facility explosion; Thoughts on the space race; the Hemisfair; Moving into academia at Texas Tech; The Lubbock tornado of May 11, 1970; Documenting the damage the tornado had done; discoveries; Studying window breakage after the Lubbock tornado; Collecting data on a hurricane that hit Corpus Christi on August 03, 1970; Windspeeds and damage caused by high windspeeds; Development of the research program at Texas Tech; Redefining the Fujita Scale; Contributions to research; Cyclone Tracy; Hurricane Alicia; Leaving Texas Tech; Consulting; Sharing credit in published works; closing thoughts
Access Information
Original Recording Format: born digital
Recording Format Notes: patrons may listen to audio in our reading room
Transcript: transcript available on dspace <https://hdl.handle.net/10605/374102 >
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