Jon W. Bayless is president and CEO of Xtera Communications Inc. in Dallas, a private company that develops ultra-broadband and long-reach fiber communications transport systems. He also serves as a general partner with Sevin Rosen Funds in Dallas, which is a multi billion-dollar venture capital partnership that invests in technology based start-ups. Prior to his work at Sevin Rosen Funds, Bayless served as director, Advanced Systems, for Arthur A. Collins Inc. in Dallas, a research and development organization. He also has worked in executive and technical positions at the Defense Communications Agency, E-Systems and Motorola Government Systems, as well as holding faculty positions at Southern Methodist University, Virginia Institute of Technology and the Catholic University of America. Bayless earned his B.S. in electrical engineering from OU in 1964.
BS Chemical Engineering 1956
Larry B. Evans is the founder and chairman of the board of Aspen Technology Inc., a leader in supplying process engineering, manufacturing and supply chain solutions to the process manufacturing industries. Evans founded Aspen in 1981, focusing on the strategic, long-term direction of the company and on developing and maintaining relationships with outside organizations. Aspen has grown from eight employees at its start to more than 1,800 employees today. Evans was a professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1962 to 1990, where he was the principal investigator on the ASPEN Project, which led to the founding of Aspen Technology. Evans received his B.S. in chemical engineering from OU in 1956.
BS Aeronautical Engineering 1959
Fred W. Haise graduated with a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from OU in 1959. He then began his 20-year career with NASA as an aeronautical research pilot at Lewis Research Center. Further assignments included serving as a research pilot at the NASA flight research center and as an astronaut at the Johnson Space Center. Haise served as back-up crew for the Apollo 8, 11 and 16 missions and flew on the aborted Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, which was dramatized in the movie Apollo 13. In 1979, he left NASA to join Grumman Aerospace Corp. as vice president for space programs. He then served as president of Grumman Technical Services until his retirement.
