Professor Larry G. Wells Scholarship Fund
Dr. Larry G. Wells, who passed away after a short illness on March 7, 2021, was both a student and a career faculty member of the BAE Department. He was passionate about teaching and mentoring future engineers. The Larry G. Wells Scholarship Fund has been created to honor his memory. This scholarship will establish an important legacy of support for future students and provide an enduring continuation of his work.
Larry was born in 1947 in Falmouth, Ky. He grew up on a farm experiencing both the freedom and confinement of farm life. Long days of sometimes exhausting labor created a desire to develop machines to make things easier. He developed a lifelong interest in agricultural mechanization from these experiences.
Larry was a graduate of the University of Kentucky (B.S. with honors 1969 and M.S. 1971) and, after completing doctoral studies at North Carolina State University, in 1974 he returned to UK to assume a faculty position in the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department.
Dr. Wells began his career in teaching and research associated with the design and development of agricultural machinery and made valuable contributions related to tobacco mechanization, mine reclamation, alleviating soil compaction and soil/machine interactions. He contributed to many departmental courses especially in the machinery automation area, served on departmental and college committees, directed the research of graduate students, and actively participated in his professional organization, ASABE. Dr. Wells authored more than 50 scholarly articles, was named on three U.S. patents, and made numerous presentations of his work in the U.S. and abroad. In 1987, ASABE selected him to receive the prestigious Sunkist Young Designer of the Year Award. He was further recognized for a career of professional distinction with ASABE’s highest honor when he was named to the 2014 Class of ASABE Fellows.
Larry was a man of strong and unwavering faith, integrity and regard for his fellow man and was held in high esteem by everyone who had the good fortune to know him. He was a humble leader in both his personal and professional life, tirelessly giving of his affection, wisdom and time with no expectation of acknowledgment or reward. He will be deeply missed by his family, many former students, colleagues and friends. He was a devout Christian and deeply devoted to his family. Larry was a member of Southland Christian Church in Lexington and served as chairman of Elders and the General Board in 1987.
The Professor Larry G. Wells Scholarship Fund will support an annual scholarship for undergraduate students who are accepted or enrolled at the university and majoring in Biosystems Engineering, with preference given to students interested in agricultural mechanization. The annual amount of the scholarship is expected to be a minimum of $1,350 but could be more depending on the investment earnings.
