Remembering Prof. Roy L. McCullough

There's a new addition to UD's Center for Composite Materials--a life-size portrait of the late Prof. Roy L. McCullough, who played an instrumental role in the founding of the CCM.

Dr. McCullough died unexpectedly on Dec. 21, 2001, at the age of 67, just a couple of weeks after teaching the last of his fall semester classes.

"People never had the opportunity to say goodbye to him. There was going to

be time for that at his retirement party," Diane Kukich, colleague and research administrator, says. "It's one of the things we all regret."

A distinguished professor in the University's Department of Chemical Engineering and the Materials Science Program for 30 years, Dr. McCullough combined his background in industry with a desire to nurture students and promote interdisciplinary research.

"He was like a professor out of a movie. He smoked a pipe and wore jackets with patches on the elbows," says Kukich, who knew Dr. McCullough for 14 years. "He had a great sense of humor, a dry wit and a compassion for everyone. He always had time to listen to students and staff alike. You rarely walked past his office without seeing someone sitting on his black leather couch, engaged in conversation with him, seeking his wisdom...and he always gave good advice."

To honor the many contributions of Dr. McCullough, former CCM director R. Byron Pipes, current director John W. Gillespie Jr., and associate director Suresh Advani commissioned a portrait by UD alumna Lisa Bartolozzi, AS '85, in 2002.

Bartolozzi, a 2001 recipient of UD's Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement, spent nearly a year completing the finely detailed portrait.

Bartolozzi met with Dr. McCullough's wife, Jan, and one of the professor's daughters shortly before she began her painting. "They were a tremendous help," Bartolozzi says. "It was so helpful to have their insight into his life."

Bartolozzi worked from a black-and-white photo of the late professor sitting in a lecture hall. She changed several items in the setting to personalize the scene, and she carefully chose accent colors to add subtle dimension. She painted the professor sitting in his favorite office chair and added the chalkboard from his office, complete with a representation of formulas and calculations that were actually on the board the last time Dr. McCullough had been in his office.

"Lisa really captured his personality," Advani says. "When I look at Roy's portrait, I feel like he's there."