Dr. Robert Lyle Young of
Tullahoma, who pulled together the first academic program for The
University of Tennessee Space Institute in 1964, and pioneered as
professor, associate dean, and director of academics, died early today
at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville. He was 81 years old.
Dr. Young had led UT’s graduate program at Arnold Engineering
Development Center for seven years before UTSI was established Sept.
24, 1964, and played pivotal roles in the life of the Institute before
retiring in 1990. He
was inducted in 1994 as an AEDC Fellow.
Known for his intellectual brilliance, penetrating questions and biting
humor, “Bob,” as he was called, remained an active member of the UTSI
Support Council until his death.
Visitation for Dr. Young will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 2) at Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home in Tullahoma. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church, Tullahoma, and burial will be in Neoga, Ill.
Survivors include his
wife, Sara Crawford Young of Tullahoma; three sons, Scott Allen Young,
Tullahoma, Ronald Young, Franklin, and Scot Robertson, Estill Springs;
four step-children, Daniel Crawford, Matthew Crawford, Michael
Crawford, all of Tullahoma, and John Crawford of Jacksonville, Fla.,
and two grandchildren, Dillon and Dryden Young, both of Tullahoma.
“Our dear friend and colleague was a UTSI institution – a true pioneer
-- and will be greatly missed,” said Dr. Donald C. Daniel, UT associate
vice president and UTSI chief operating officer. “Bob was always quick
with a smile and kept us foremost in his thoughts. He was also a
trusted and valued advisor to many of us.”
Dr. Young was an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at
Northwestern University – where he received his undergraduate, master’s
and in 1953, his Ph.D. -- before moving to Tullahoma in 1957 to succeed
Dr. Joel Bailey as head of the UT-AEDC Graduate Study Program.
As the September 1964 opening of UTSI approached, the first director,
the late Dr. B.H. Goethert, had been named chief scientist of the U.S.
Air Force Systems Command, which meant he would spend a lot of time in
Washington, D.C. So the task of assembling an academic program fell to
Dr. Young, the first deputy director of UTSI and professor of aerospace
and mechanical engineering. He later was named the first associate dean
and director of UTSI’s academic program. In 1978, he returned to the
classroom and assumed his favorite role as professor. At UTSI, he was
major professor for 80 students completing degrees (with thesis) for
master’s degrees and for ten students who completed Doctor of
Philosophy degrees.
Robert E. Smith Jr. of Manchester, one of the 22 graduates of the UT
graduate school operated at AEDC before UTSI was established, once
commented that Dr. Young, one of his professors there, “had a knack for
phasing questions on his tests so that if you knew the principle, you
could work the problem in a couple of hours. If you didn’t, you could
never work it.”
Born on a small farm four miles from Neoga, Ill., on April 3, 1925, Bob
Young was an avid student from the start. After his mother taught him
to count and to spell his name, he could hardly wait to enter the
one-room country school in Lambert – the only one in his class. He
later said he felt a special incentive to learn his assignments. He
graduated from Neoga Township High School with excellent grades.
As a 15-year-old high-school sophomore, he wrote as his ambition to
“land a job in a little high school as a math teacher and coach.” At
that time, he declared that he would be satisfied “if I could afford to
live in a fairly modern bungalow, drive a fairly new car, and have a
paid subscription to some good magazines and newspapers.”
It was only after he moved to Coffee County that Dr. Young learned that
his great-great-grandfather James Dryden had been born in the Blue
Stocking Hollow in southern Bedford County. After the death of his
ancestor’s wife, Mr. Dryden walked 400 miles and settled in central
Illinois, near Mattoon and Neoga, Dr. Young said.
A long-time member of Tullahoma’s First Presbyterian Church, Dr. Young
sang in the church choir as recently as two weeks ago. He was an active
member of Tullahoma Rotary Club.