Dr. Norris Stubbs, professor in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, passed away August 9, 2014. Dr. Stubbs served the department for over 30 years.
Dr. Stubbs was born in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas and was an Olympic runner for his home country in the 1968 games in Mexico City at the age of 19. He ran the 100 and 200 meter races and was a member of the 4x100m relay team that set a national record of 39.45 seconds, which went unbroken for 25 years. Dr. Stubbs was also an accomplished musician on French and baritone horn. He published the book “A Survey of the Folk Music of Dominica”.
He received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics at Grinnell College in Iowa and went on to Columbia University and received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Structural Mechanics and a Doctor of Engineering Science degree in Engineering Mechanics in 1976.
He began his professional career as an assistant professor at Columbia University before moving to Texas A&M University in 1983. He was heavily involved in structural engineering research and published countless articles and books on the subject. He was also involved with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute as a Research Engineer in the Major Highway Structures division. In 1994, he received a patent for his “Apparatus and Method for Damage Detection”. He was also part of the Texas A&M University team that was part of the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center that examined the World Trade Center after the 2001 tragedy.
Dr. Stubbs leaves behind a legacy with the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering as a long-time colleague and valued researcher. The impact Dr. Stubbs made with students and the structural engineering profession will always be remembered.