Harold Conner, Jr. (BS ChE ’68 / MS ChE ’78) began his career of more than 55 years as a UT co-op student at the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant before going on to specialize in safe nuclear cleanup projects, including the Manhattan Project cleanup, and spent time at Lockheed Martin gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio.

Conner’s career also included being chief operations officer at the Savannah River site in South Carolina and associate director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, after which he returned to Oak Ridge to accept his position at UCOR.

Through it all, he remained a devoted alumnus of UT and a firm believer in the opportunities that co-op and internships provide engineering students.

In recognition of that, the college recently dedicated Room 161 C of the Zeanah Engineering Complex as the “Dr. Harold T. Conner Jr. and Joyce G. Conner Office” as part of the Office of Engineering Professional Practice, currently occupied by Senior Coordinator Suzanne Sawicki.

“It is an honor to have people like the Conners who care deeply about the university and give back over a lifetime as they have, be honored in a beautiful facility like this office that serves roles that specifically affect students in the college,” Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Engagement Paul Frymier, who is also interim department head of chemical and biomolecular engineering, said at the dedication. “We are very grateful to the Conners for many things such as their willingness to support a cooperative corporate partnership between UCOR and the University of Tennessee, their continued and longstanding support for the Office of Diversity Programs and co-op/internship programs, their support of students through scholarships, and service on the college and nuclear engineering advisory boards.”

Conner, a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Society of Engineering Management, and his wife previously established the Dr. Harold T. Conner, Jr. Endowed Scholarship.

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