Distinguished Engineer Citations

                 

Patrick R. Gallagher

Distinguished Engineer

1995

Degree

Electrical Engineering – 1964

 

Citation

At Time of Nomination in 1995

A native of Odessa, Texas, Patrick R. Gallagher attended high school in Anadarko, Oklahoma, and began his college career at Oklahoma Baptist University and Oklahoma State University before entering the United States Air Force. After his military service, Mr. Gallagher came to Texas Tech University, graduating in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu.

Immediately after graduating from Texas Tech, Mr. Gallagher joined the Houston–based Industrial Products Division of Texas Instruments, Inc., where his first assignment was as an industrial instrumentation design engineer. Within one year, he was promoted to section manager in charge of special applications. For the next nine years, Mr. Gallagher advanced through a series of positions with TI, the last being in 1973, when he became responsible for minicomputer sales for the Mid–Atlantic area. He held that position for five years, with his organization ranking among the top three national sales districts.

In 1978, Federal Data corporation (FDC) of Bethesda, Maryland, recruited Mr. Gallagher to create a new division for establishing supply contracts to sell computer equipment through the U.S. General Service Administration. This move would enable the FDC to compete with manufacturers for the exclusive right to sell manufacturers’ products on the GSA Schedule – FDC won the first major contract within six months of establishing the new division.

Mr. Gallagher founded the highly successful Tisoft, Inc., Fairfax, VA, in February 1980. He continues to serve as the chairman of the company, which is a computer systems integrator serving the Federal marketplace with sales exceeding $70 million. Tisoft’s most notable accomplishments are implementation of the AMICUS and EAGLE contracts for the United States Department of Justice. These contracts have totaled $250 million in revenue and involved installation of more than 20,000 workstations. Other major customers of Tisoft include the U.S. Army Recruiting Service, the U.S. Air Force Logistics Command, the Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Community activities in which Mr. Gallagher has taken part include serving as trustee for the Fairfax County Public Schools Education Foundation and past membership on the board of directors of the Fairfax Symphony. His dedication to Texas Tech is evident from his service to the Texas Tech Mentor Match Program and the Electrical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board. He is a member of the Russell H. Seacat, Jr., Scholarship Founders Committee, the Travis L. Simpson Scholarship Foundation, and the Texas Tech Electrical Engineering Academy.

Mr. Gallagher is married to Ashley Wade Gallagher. His daughter, Robin, is employed with Tisoft. Ashley has a daughter, Paige Burkes, and a son, Allan Burkes.

Texas Tech University is very pleased to bestow upon Patrick R. Gallagher the designation of DISTINGUISHED ENGINEER.

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