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Joseph Scott Thornton Jr. (Scott) died Nov. 23, 2014, at his home in Austin, Texas, at the age of 78. He was the founder and only president of Austin-based TRI.
A memorial service is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 12, 3 p.m., at 9225 Bee Cave Road, Building A, 3rd Floor, with a reception to follow. All are welcome to attend and celebrate the life of Scott Thornton. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Communities for Recovery, 4110 Guadalupe St., Building 635, Austin, Texas 78751.
Thornton, who was born in Pennsylvania, graduated in 1968 from the University of Texas at Austin with a doctorate in mechanical engineering. He was successful in developing a series of engineering solutions and enhancements for industries and other critical entities such as the U.S. Navy.
In 1975 he co-founded Texas Research Institute (TRI), later renamed Texas Research International. He engendered the employee-owned company with a culture of scientific excellence, encouragement, and trust. The company flourished over the years, expanding into Asia, South America, and Australia while providing technical, scientific, testing, materials engineering, and consulting expertise to a diverse range of industries and government agencies.
One of his many accomplishments was receiving an International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) Service Award in 2002 at the 7th International Conference on Geosynthetics in Nice, France.
Read more about Scott Thornton.