Purdue ASCE
In memory of John M. Hayes
In memory of John M. Hayes
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Memorial Resolution
John M. Hayes
Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering
John M. Hayes was born in Wingate, Indiana, on May 18, 1909, and grew up in the Wingate and Veedersburg areas. He died February 23, 1998, in Lafayette. He and his wife Coye M. (Cunningham) met in 1931 during their senior year in college. They married in June, 1935, in the Fountain City Methodist Church, Fountain City, TN. Mrs. Hayes and two daughters, Marian (Jernigan), Lewisville, TX, and Julia (Casey), Dearborn, MI, survive.
Professor Hayes obtained his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Purdue University in 1931. Afterward he held positions with the TVA and the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. While with the TVA, he eventually became in charge of designing steel structures encountered in hydroelectric and steam generating plants, industrial buildings, and highway and rail bridges. One of these bridges, the Little Tennessee River Bridge below Fontana Dam, in 1949 was cited by the American Institute for Steel Construction as one of the most beautiful steel bridges erected during the years 1942-1947.
He earned a master's degree in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Tennessee in 1944 and the professional Civil Engineer degree from Purdue University in 1946. In the years 1946-1948 as the District Bridge Engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, he was in charge of all the Federal bridge work in the State of Arkansas. He was a licensed Professional Engineer in Indiana and Tennessee.
Professor Hayes joined the Purdue faculty in 1948 as an associate professor and was promoted to professor in 1958. His extensive engineering experience was an important influence on his teaching. Who of his students could ever forget his original and favorite pedagogical symbol, the "Star of Structural Design" which emphasized the importance of theory, experiment, and practice? His research centered on performance of highway and railway bridges including effects of vibration. He authored a number of technical papers and papers on engineering education.
While an active faculty member, he held leadership positions in local, state, and national levels of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He was president of the Indiana Section, District 9 Director, and Vice President from Zone III. He chaired the Technical Activities Committee, the Committee on Society Objectives, Planning, and Organization, and the Executive Committee of the Education Division. For his leadership and service to ASCE, he was accorded the status of Honorary Member. Professor Hayes was an active member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Welding Society, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society for Experimental Stress Analysis, the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Railway Engineering Association, and the American Society for Testing and Materials. He was inducted into Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society, and Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society. The University of Tennessee recognized him as an Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in 1975.
Since 1948, John Hayes had been an active member of the First United Methodist Church of West Lafayette. He served as a lay leader, as a Sunday School teacher, was involved in many church activities and committees, and was a member of the United Methodist Men.
He was a long time member of the Lafayette Lions Club and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution where he served as a local officer and on committees at the local, state, and national levels. He was also a member of the People to People Club for many years. He and Mrs. Hayes traveled to Europe and Asia with that group.
Since retiring in 1975 and being named Professor Emeritus, he was the Indiana Section ASCE Contact Member to the Purdue Student Chapter of ASCE. The Student Chapter John M. Hayes Award for devoted service is named in his honor. He also continued for a number of years as the Senior Faculty Fellow at Cary Quadrangle. He gave much personal attention to his many students and to his profession. He gave special encouragement to the young women who were students in the School of Civil Engineering. He corresponded with former students, visited some of them, carried pictures of their families with him, and sent many annual hand-lettered birthday greetings. Many civil engineers across the country have become active leaders in the profession because of Professor Hayes' example and inspiration. His former students, friends, and colleagues will miss his total dedication to the "grand old profession" of civil engineering.
Vincent P. Drnevich, John T. Gaunt, V. James Meyers, and C. Douglas Sutton