Ducker, William Lyon 1973-11-02
William Lyon Ducker, Texas professor of petroleum engineering from 1948 to 1971, tells his life history.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: William Lyon Ducker
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: November 2, 1973
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Interviewer: Jeff Townsend
Length: 1 hour
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1:
Family background,
Education,
Engineering background recalled,
Does not have a Petroleum Engineering degree,
Designed plant equipment for petro-chemical operations,
Worked for Consolidated Gas Service Corporation,
Was unemployed for 1 1/2 years,
Describes his 2 brothers and 1 sister,
Went to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1933 and found a job,
Built geo-physical equipment,
Was in charge of research, development, and manufacturing subsidiary,
Traces the company's expansion
Tape 1, Side 2:
Became chief engineer with an oil field equipment firm,
Set up a project engineering company in 1940,
Became state manager of the War Production Board,
Lists conflicts he had,
Opened up his project engineering company again,
In 1947 Texas Tech asked him to being their petroleum engineering department,
Describes the department beginnings,
Problems with Dr. Patton of the Geology Department,
Opinion of the college's name change,
Committees he has served on,
Was the only full professor and department head with no graduate degree
Range Dates: 1930s-1947
Bulk Dates: 1930s-1947
Access Information
Original Recording Format:
Recording Format Notes:
Transcript:
Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.