Skip to main content

Memorial Tributes Volume 25 (2023) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:

DELON HAMPTON
Pages 184-193

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 185...
... His formal education had ended in 8th grade, but he had a collection of classic books by Shakespeare, Churchill, and Plato, which Delon devoured; an avid reader, he also became a frequent visitor to the local library. The neighborhood was rough, but, after Uless left, Elizabeth Hampton scraped by financially and was attentive to her new son's upbringing.
Read the entire page →
From page 186...
... With an introduction from a friend, he was offered a teaching position at Kansas State University. After a successful year there, he was offered and accepted a 1-year appointment as interim head of the soil mechanics research program at the US Air Force Shock Tube Facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Read the entire page →
From page 187...
... Teaching the soil mechanics course required of all civil engineering students, he was known as extremely demanding but also fair. At the beginning of the year, he told the students exactly what they would have to know at the end of the course and gave them a list of questions they would have to be able to answer.
Read the entire page →
From page 188...
... DHA added program and construction management services to its capabilities and grew throughout the 1980s to provide nationwide services. Major projects included the Archer Avenue heavy rail transit station, a tunnel and r­eservoir project, and renovations to Soldiers Field and Comiskey ­ Park, all in Chicago; the Omni Rail Transit Station of the
Read the entire page →
From page 189...
... He also chronicled his experiences and challenges as an aspiring African-American engineer in his autobiography A Life Constructed: Reflections on Breaking Barriers and Building Opportunities (cowritten with Bob Keefe; Purdue University Press, 2013)
Read the entire page →
From page 190...
... • Building Research Board (1992–94) • Panel on Transit Cooperative Research Program Strategic Planning Process and Strategic Plan (chair, 1993)
Read the entire page →
From page 191...
... Though he was undoubtedly proud to have been selected as the first Black president of ASCE, he was likely equally disappointed that, so far, he is the only one. He succeeded beyond all reasonable odds to create a highly successful engineering firm, but he was quick to point out that there are still no more than a handful of Black CEOs of major engineering or construction companies in the United States.
Read the entire page →
From page 192...
... With them and others, he was frank while offering constructive advice on how they might advance themselves and their careers. His own life story of achievement put him in an ideal position to help others rise to their full potential.
Read the entire page →

Key Terms

  • delon hampton
  • elizabeth hampton
  • role model
  • soil mechanics
  • purdue university

  • engineering advisory
  • nae civil
  • foundation engineering
  • transit authority
  • kansas state

  • transit station
  • illinois institute
  • rail transit
  • major engineering
  • successful engineering

  • engineering company
  • engineering services
  • engineering firm
  • engineering students
  • engineering firms

  • local engineering
  • celebrate civil
  • engineering peer
  • civil engineers
  • engineering building

  • engineering section
  • engineering practice
  • engineering skills
  • strong engineering
  • engineering office


    • This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
    More information on Chapter Skim is available.