Charles Simmons BSPE ’48
After serving four years as a naval aviation cadet, Charles Simmons went on to receive a petroleum engineering degree from UT Austin in 1948.
Following his graduation, Charles went on the work with the Western Company of North America, where he worked for 38 years, serving in various positions including chief engineer, division manager, marketing manager, and senior vice president of corporate sales. He served as director of the corporation from 1966 to 1985. Charles served as a director of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and was an active direction of Photoprotective Technologies.
In 1954, Charles invented the perforation ball sealer process, which became an important part of a well-completion process designed and used by Exxon Mobil. Charles' invention has been used all over the world in well-drilling processes and has resulted in the recovery of billions of barrels of oil and cubic feet of gas.
Charles retired from Western Company in 1985 but continued to be involved in the petroleum industry. He was a president of the Petroleum Club of Fort Worth and president of River Crest Country Club. Charles served as a distinguished lecturer for the Society of Petroleum Engineers in 1987 and 1988, presenting a talk naming strategies for the petroleum industry in various locations all over the world. Charles was named a Distinguished Graduate of the Cockrell School in 1987. Charles passed away on January 4, 2011.
