Reginald I. Vachon

Reginald Irenee Vachon (January 29, 1937 – December 24, 2020) was an American mechanical engineer, business executive, lawyer and inventor, known as former president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Biography Youth, education and early career Vachon was born in Norfolk, Virginia, son of Rene Albert Vachon and Regina (Galvin) Radcliffe Vachon. After his high school graduation in 1954, he attended the United States Naval Academy in 1954–55. He continued his studies at Auburn University, where he obtained his BSc in mechanical engineering in 1958, and his MSc in nuclear science in 1960.

Vachon further continued his studies at Oklahoma State University, where he obtain his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1963. In 1969 he would also obtained his Bachelor of Laws at the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law. In the meantime Vachon had started his academic career at Auburn University in 1958 as a research assistant, became a research associate in 1963, and was associate professor from 1963 to 1978.

Selected publications Articles, a selection Fong, J. T., Ranson, W. F., Vachon, R. I., & Marcal, P. V. (2008, January). Structural Aging Monitoring via Web-Based Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Technology. In ASME 2008 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference (pp. 1565-1613). American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Patents, a selection Vachon, Reginald I. "Apparatus and method for determining stress and strain in pipes, pressure vessels, structural members and other deformable bodies." U.S. Patent No. 4,591,996. 27 May 1986. Vachon, Reginald I., and William F. Ranson. "Apparatus and method for determining the stress and strain in pipes, pressure vessels, structural members and other deformable bodies." U.S. Patent No. 5,065,331. 12 Nov. 1991. Vachon, Reginald I. "Finite element analysis fatigue gage." U.S. Patent No. 6,874,370. 5 Apr. 2005.