OBITUARIES

Curtis Allen

Funeral services were held Oct. 26 for Curtis Howard Allen, 67, of Laurel, Miss., who died on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, at his residence.

Allen was a regional sales manager for Baroid-Halliburton Co. He and his wife, Eva Ann, traveled the world extensively with Baroid.

His family formerly owned Walkaway Springs and he spent much of his childhood there. He received an engineering degree from Mississippi State University, where he was a football player. He was also in the Knights of Columbus and a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. He will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.

Survivors include his wife, Eva Ann Allen of Laurel; sons, Jerry Perkins of Lake Eddins and David (Lori) Perkins of Hattiesburg; daughters, Joan (Greg) Jones, Patty (Brent) Bullock and Heather (Drew) Brown, all of Laurel, and Beth Bergin of Hattiesburg; nine grandchildren; a brother and sister, as well nieces and nephews.

Dr. Henry Liu

Dr. Henry Liu, an emeritus professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an active member of ASCE Pipeline Division, died in a one-car crash on Dec. 1.

Liu had Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from the Colorado State University and B.S. in agricultural engineering  (hydraulics) from the National Taiwan University. He had more than 37 years of teaching, research and development experience in civil engineering specifically serving the pipeline and underground infrastructure industry. He was emeritus professor of civil engineering and founder and past director of the Capsule Pipeline Research Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He served as president of the Freight Pipeline Co. in Columbia, Mo. He was recognized as a pioneer, authority and leader in the field of pipeline engineering. He had authored three recognized books and more than 50 journal (refereed) research papers and more than 150 conference papers. He was a recipient of major research grants (totaling more than $6 million) from federal, state and private agencies, such as the U.S. National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. He was a patent holder for more than 13 inventions.

Dr. Liu was a life member and fellow of ASCE, with his most notable work achieved as a member of the Pipeline Division. He was a frequent contributor to the annual Pipeline Division’s conferences and workshops serving as committee member, session chair, reviewer and speaker. He was vice chair of the Pipeline Research Committee and associate editor of the new ASCE Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice (JPS).