Ralph Disney, professor emeritus of IE at Texas A&M, dies

Dr. Ralph Lynde Disney Jr., professor emeritus of industrial engineering at Texas A&M University, died on Nov. 11, 2014.

Born in 1928 in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Disney joined the faculty at Texas A&M University in 1988 and was considered a world leader in queueing theory, a branch of applied probability and stochastic processes mathematics. He authored or co-authored more than 70 research articles, three books and numerous chapters in compendia in his field.

He was also considered a prolific reviewer of articles both pre- and post-publication, including more than 150 reviews for the Mathematics Reviews. He advised and mentored more than 20 doctoral students from around the world and in different academic disciplines.

Dr. Disney earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1952 and a master’s degree in systems engineering in 1955, both from Johns Hopkins University. He earned his engineering doctorate from the university in 1964. He retired from the Texas A&M in 1996.

Throughout his career, Dr. Disney earned many honors for his work including the David F. Baker Award and the Albert E. Holzman Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers for teaching, research and other contributions to his field. He was also a recipient of the prestigious Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Award in 1993.

He is survived by his sister, daughters and grandchildren.