Dr. Ralph L. Webb, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at Penn State University, passed away in State College on Sunday.
He was born to Grace and Kenneth Webb on the family farm in Parker, KS. The family survived the Depression by relocating to Illinois, where Dr. Webb’s father worked the oil fields.
After graduating with honors from Kansas State University, Dr. Webb served in the U.S. Air Force in Las Vegas. He earned his master’s at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and doctorate from the University of Minnesota. After 14 years as the manager of heat transfer research at The Trane Company in La Crosse, WI, Dr. Webb joined Penn State’s mechanical engineering department in 1977. He achieved pioneering research in the field of enhanced heat transfer, authoring the text Principles of Enhanced Heat Transfer and founding the Journal of Enhanced Heat Transfer. During his tenure, Dr. Webb guided to graduation 49 master’s and 17 doctoral students. He was awarded the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Heat Transfer Memorial Award and the Institute of Refrigeration Hall-Thermotank Gold Medal for outstanding career contributions to the field of heat transfer design. As a hobby, Dr. Webb enjoyed repairing antique clocks.
He is survived by his wife, Sylvia Apple of State College; two daughters, Janet Lee and her husband, Seungbi, of San Diego, CA, and Laura Tymas and her husband, Baron, of Durham, NC, and their children, Elias and Jesse. He is also survived by two stepchildren, Scott Atkinson of Springfield, MO, and Amy Cowperthwaite, of Wilmington, DL.
A memorial service will be held 1:00 PM Saturday, April 23rd at the University Baptist & Brethren Church, 411 S. Burrowes St. in State College. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Vasculitis Foundation, P.O. Box 28660, Kansas City, MO, 64188-8660.