George D. Ebersole (PhD ’71, Chemical Engineering) holds the distinction of being the first PhD student mentored by Professor Emeritus Francis “Frank” Manning, a renowned and beloved professor of chemical engineering who retired in 2018 after 50 years of service to The University of Tulsa.
Ebersole says he was drawn to TU for his PhD studies due in great part to then-President J. Paschal Twyman and the University’s Presbyterian roots, and he was fortunate to have funding for his tuition from Phillips 66.
After graduation, Dr. Ebersole launched a fascinating and successful career working for Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Frito Lay, Inc. in Irving, Texas, Hoover Universal in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and finally, as President and CEO of Energy Absorption Systems in Chicago, Illinois, from which he retired.
Among his career accomplishments, Dr. Ebersole helped initiate highway safety legislation that has saved thousands of lives each year. His work led to the development and international use of impact attenuators, including sand-filled yellow barrels, water-filled barricades, truck-mounted attenuators, and the permanent mounted impact attenuators that we see on highways. Ebersole also helped automate the cooking processes at Frito Lay, and he identified a design to improve the handling of Miller’s beer kegs to yield a safer process.
Dr. Ebersole also enjoyed a fulfilling family life with his wife, Beverly, and their three children: Kent, Karen and Kyle. George and Beverly have expressed their loyalty to TU through many generous gifts over a span of nearly 50 years, during which they supported the TU Annual Fund, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Program, and the TU Annual Fund for the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences.
In 2019, George and Beverly Ebersole established the Dr. George D. Ebersole Endowed Scholarship in Chemical Engineering as a way to show appreciation for the education he received at TU. George says his TU studies taught him to “think outside the box,” an ability which proved to be a vital component of his successful career.
With this endowed scholarship fund, Dr. and Mrs. Ebersole are helping others achieve their goals. The University of Tulsa is grateful for this philanthropic effort to “pay it forward” by helping deserving students enjoy the benefits of a TU chemical engineering education.
