Dr. Harry "Fred" Tibbals III, BS '65
Contribution to the Professions: Research
Awarded to an individual for dedication to advancing his or her chosen field and making a significant impact in our world.
The research of Dr. Harry Fred Tibbals III, BS ’65, has led to devices, technologies and treatments that improve quality of life and deepen understanding of the physical world. He has developed methods to measure pressure in the eye for Glaucoma research and in muscles, such as labor contractions in childbirth, and to monitor the effects of anesthesiology and the functionality of space suits and vehicles. He led teams that developed the first digital cardiology catheterization imaging systems for minimally invasive heart vessel repair.
A chartered chemist with expertise in spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and electrochemistry, Tibbals has researched in chemistry’s application to biomedicine, energy and sustainable engineering. He has authored dozens of journal articles and award-winning books on nanoscience, nanotechnology and nanomedicine. He also created computer software that applies mathematics to chemistry, physics, medicine and to industrial control and communications, including financial transactions.
The first in his family to go to college, he attended Baylor on a scholarship, earning a degree in chemistry and mathematics. As an undergraduate research and teaching assistant in Baylor’s chemistry department, he worked on electrochemistry research for NASA and other research projects for fuel cells, catalysis and all aspects of electrochemistry. He played in the Baylor Symphony, served with BSU missions and as President of the Baylor Student Chapter of the American Chemical Society, attended First Baptist Church and volunteered as a tutor and scoutmaster at the Waco State Children’s Home.
Tibbals went on to earn a PhD in chemistry from The University of Houston and spent five years in Houston working on computer applications in mass spectrometry, ion physics, space exploration and medical radiology. He completed an SRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Leicester in England and during the 1970’s had tenure at Glasgow University in Scotland and was a Durham University [England] Fellow.
Currently a research professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, he advises UTA graduate students on projects ranging from biomaterials for bone repair to advanced photovoltaics. He reviews research for the National Institute of Health and scientific journals, as well as advising technology firms and their venture backers. Tibbals is married to Cindy Gillean Tibbals and has two children–Faith Tibbals Iverson and Samuel Thornton Tibbals.