Purdue News

January 29, 1988 Compton Named a Distinguished Professor West Lafayette, Ind. – W. Dale Compton, senior fellow at the National Academy of Engineering, will join the Purdue University faculty in the fall as the Lillian M. Gilbreth Distinguished Professor of Industrial Engineering. Compton will also serve as adjunct professor of physics and management. The appointments were confirmed by the university’s Board of Trustees Friday (1/29). His appointment brings to 38 the number of special professorships at Purdue. "Dr. Compton is recognized as a top national leader in the efforts to improve America's competitive position in science and technology,'' said Henry Yang, dean of Purdue's Schools of Engineering. "As a distinguished professor, he will bring to Purdue a wealth of experience and expertise in industry and academia, and will add national prominence to our Schools of Engineering." A native of Illinois, Compton, 59, received a bachelor's degree in physics from Wabash College, and master's and doctoral degrees in physics from the University of Oklahoma and the Unversity of Illinois, respectively. Experienced in government, industry and academia, Compton worked as a physicist for the U.S. Navy from 1951-61. He was professor of physics at the University of Illinois from 1961-70 and joined Ford Motor Co. in 1970 as director of the Chemical and Physical Sciences Laboratory. In 1973 he was named vice president of research for Ford Motor Co. He joined the staff at the National Academy of Engineering in 1986. As the first senior fellow of the National Academy of Engineering, Compton is responsible for developing a variety of programs related to international competitiveness. Last year, he worked with Purdue Professor James Solberg to organize a conference on the design and analysis of computer-integrated manufacturing systems. "Dr. Compton helped initiate the National Science Foundation's program to establish national research centers and has helped organize national conferences on manufacturing innovation," said Ferdinand Leimkuhler, head of the Purdue School of Industrial Engineering. "Purdue has been responsive to these efforts by forming the NSF Center for Intelligent Manufacturing Systems and the newly formed Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises," Leimkuhler said. " We expect Dr. Compton to play a major role in helping to coordinate these efforts at Purdue and in raising these centers to an even higher level of achievement." The Gilbreth Distinguished Professorship was established last year to honor former Purdue Professor Lillian M. Gilbreth, who is widely recognized for her pioneering contributions to industrial engineering, management and industrial psychology. Gilbreth served on the Purdue faculty from 1935 until her retirement in 1948. Before joining the faculty at Purdue, Gilbreth and new husband; Frank, ran a consulting firm that pioneered the time-and-motion study techniques used throughout the world today. After Frank's death in 1924, Lillian continued studies in the psychology of management and stressed the importance of the human element in the application of scientific techniques. She showed management that production could be increased with improved working conditions. She was the first woman awarded the Herbert Hoover Medal and also the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering. She died in 1972. In addition to being a respected engineer and management consultant, Gilbreth was the mother of 12 children, two of whom wrote "Cheaper By the Dozen" and "Belles on Their Toes," books and movies that immortalized the Gilbreth household. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page