MSU Alumni Association honors national engineering alumnus
February 22, 2016
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Mississippi State University Alumni Association recently recognized outstanding alumni from across the country, including a notable Bagley College of Engineering alumnus.
Photo by Russ Houston
William “Bill” M. Cobb represented Bagley College alongside eight additional esteemed alumni during MSU’s 2016 Alumni Association Awards Banquet, held on February 12. MSU’s Alumni of the Year are chosen for outstanding personal, professional and community achievement.
Cobb has impacted the field of petroleum engineering by both leading and educating others since graduating from MSU with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in petroleum engineering in 1966 and 1967, respectively.
In 1972, with both a doctorate degree from Stanford University and experience as a research engineer under his belt, the Kewanee, Mississippi, native returned to the MSU campus, serving as a petroleum engineering faculty member for three years. Cobb followed his teaching career by establishing William M. Cobb & Associates, Inc., a worldwide petroleum engineering and geological consulting company.
Cobb has continued to impact the petroleum engineering program at Mississippi State by serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council for Bagley College and by creating the endowed Bill and Carolyn Cobb Chair in Engineering. In 2006, he was honored as Bagley College’s Alumni Fellow. Most recently, Cobb assisted in developing the program curriculum for MSU’s petroleum engineering program, which was re-started in the fall of 2015.
Photo by Russ Houston
Along with an achievement-filled career, Cobb was elected president of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in 2008. He represented the worldwide organization for three years, after previously serving a five-year term as vice president of finance for the organization. In 2011, he was named as a SPE Honorary Member, the organization’s highest professional honor.
Cobb now resides in Dallas, Texas, with his wife Carolyn, serving as President Emeritus of William M. Cobb and Associates, Inc.
For a full list of honorees, visit http://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2016/02/msu-honors-national-alumnus-others-annual-banquet/.
The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu.
By: Amanda Meeler