Distinguished Engineer Citations

Lynn Lovell 

Distinguished Engineer

2024

Degree

Citation

At time of Nomination in 2023

Troy Lynn Lovell '68, ‘69

Emerging from humble beginnings in the oil fields of West Texas, Troy Lynn Lovell, PE, D.WRE, CFM, boasts a storied civil engineering career spanning more than 50 years. After graduating from Abilene High School in 1961, Lynn began his career as a roughneck on drilling rigs, sparking his pursuit of a more fulfilling vocation.

Lynn attended McMurry College and Hardin Simmons University before enrolling at Texas Technological College. Working his way through school, he completed his bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1968. Lynn later earned his master's degree in civil engineering focusing on water resources in 1969, through a one-year Graduate Fellowship program with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Lynn spent 13 years at the Corps' Fort Worth District, quickly advancing into management of the largest Floodplain Management Branch in the Corps' Southwest division. During 1978–80, he managed a $3 million FEMA flood insurance study for Dallas County and 30 surrounding communities, the largest of its kind in Texas.

In January 1981, Lynn joined Halff Associates, Inc., a Dallas-based consulting firm, and led the launch of its Fort Worth office after just five months at the firm. In 19 years, the office grew from five to 42 employees, including 14 Texas Tech graduates. Lynn's business acumen and technical expertise were instrumental in setting the foundation for Halff's recognition as a Top 100 U.S. design firm by Engineering News-Record in 2023.

During his tenure at Halff, Lynn managed several major projects, including the largest flood-related, basin-wide study in Texas for the Lower Colorado River Authority. He presented this study to an international reservoir conference at Guangzhou, China in 2005. He also conducted a unique water supply and demand balance study for the Rio San Juan watershed, covering 13,000 square miles, for the Mexico National Commission.

Lynn has impacted the future of engineering by teaching hydrology-hydraulics classes to over 3,000 students from 1974 to 2019, including lecturing twice yearly on river hydraulics from 1974-2000 at the University of Texas.  Lynn conducted 15 formal classes on engineering ethics and led 25 internal ethics seminars for Halff.

Lynn served in multiple professional leadership capacities including as ASCE Fort Worth Branch President (1995–96) and Texas section Vice President for Technical Affairs (1989–90). He was designated as a Diplomate by the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers and was recognized for his work in civil engineering advancements. Lynn also served on the City of Fort Worth's Trinity River Corridor Select Committee for three years and dedicated 40 years assisting the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).

Never forgetting his roots at Texas Tech, Lynn often traveled back to campus to recruit more Red Raiders to work at Halff. Presently, there are more than 100 Texas Tech graduates working for the firm including 10 Red Raiders holding senior leadership positions. His steadfast dedication to Tech led to Lynn advocating and leading the establishment of Halff's Texas Tech Civil Engineer Endowed Scholarship in 1999, which now stands with an endowment of more than $130,000. He was inducted into the Texas Tech Civil Engineering Academy in 1990 and served as the Academy secretary in 2007-08 and vice chair in 2008-09.  

As an accomplished civil engineer, Lynn has received multiple awards, including the Roy D. Sedwick Award from the Texas Floodplain Management Association (TFMA). Other honors include the Professional Service Award (ASCE Texas), the William C. Ackerman Medal for Excellence in Water Management (AWRA), Distinguished Engineer of the Foundation (Texas Engineering Foundation), Pioneer Award (TFMA), the Years of Service Award (ASCE Fort Worth) and the Professional Engineer for over 50 Years award (TBPELS). 

Lynn retired from Halff in 2017 but served as an advisor on special projects until 2022. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Lynn has been active, along with his wife and three children, with The Hills Church in Richland Hills, Texas, for 55 years. Lynn was married to the late Oleta Chisum for 51 years and later remarried Jeri McDowell in 2018. Lynn and Jeri have five children, 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.