THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411240562
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B14 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Gennaro L. Goglia, Ph.D., of the 7400 block of Gardner Drive, former chairman of the Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics Department at Old Dominion University, died Wednesday at his residence.
He had retired from ODU after 24 years service. He was a Catholic, a member of St. Pius X Church, St. Pius X Men's Club and the Knights of Columbus Council 367.
Goglia, a native of Hoboken, N.J., received his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University in 1949 and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1959. Goglia joined the Old Dominion University faculty in 1964 as a professor of Mechanical Engineering after five years industrial experience and 19 years teaching at Ohio State University, University of Detroit, North Carolina State University and the University of Maine.
From 1964 through 1975, Goglia served as chairman of the thermal engineering group in the School of Engineering at ODU. During this time the doctoral program in Mechanical Engineering was established. From 1975 through 1984, Goglia served as chairman of the mechanical engineering and mechanics department. He also served for three years as the graduate program director in the department and developed an evening undergraduate program in mechanical engineering. Goglia was considered a chief architect in the building of the ODU engineering school and indeed the founding chairman of the mechanical engineering and mechanics department. The first Ph.D. student to receive his degree at ODU was a student under Goglia's tutelage. He served as an assistant dean of the school of engineering during the 1971-72 academic year.
Goglia was a member of a number of honor societies including: Pi Tau Sigma, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi and Phi Kappa Phi. He was also a member of a number of professional societies among which were: The American Society of Mechanical Engineering, the American Society for Engineering Education, the Virginia Academy of Science, and was a registered professional engineer in both the states of Ohio and Michigan.
Goglia is listed in Who's Who in America, American Men of Science, Who's Who in Virginia, Blue Book-Leaders of the English Speaking World, among other listings.
Goglia served on various regional, national and professional committees. He was the single most instrumental leader in ODU's engineering school in the establishment of strong ties with the NASA-Langley Research Center. He, during his tenure at ODU, administered over a million dollars of research grants that he secured. He developed and managed the jointly sponsored NASA-American Society of Engineering Education Summer Faculty Post-Doctoral Research Programs at the NASA-Langley Research Center.
Goglia was the recipient of a number of honors and awards. He, in 1980, was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his outstanding contributions to mechanical engineering and engineering education. In 1980 he was also designated as an eminent professor of Mechanical Engineering. In 1983 he was awarded the ODU's Tonelson Award.
Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Lieselotte P. ``Lottie'' Goglia; two daughters, Diann L. Kinder, Colonial Heights, Va., and Linda R. Goglia, Ph.D., Herndon, Va.; two brothers, Mario Goglia, Ph.D., Atlanta, Ga., and Fred Goglia, Naples, Fla.; three grandchildren, Jeff and Brad Kinder, Colonial Heights, and Todd Goglia-Chatlos, Herndon.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 26, at noon in St. Pius X Catholic Church by Father Joe Metzger. Burial will be in Rosewood Memorial Park. A Christian Wake/Rosary Service will be held Friday at 6 p.m. at the Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, Tidewater Drive Chapel, where the family will remain to receive friends until 8 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the St. Pius X Building and Maintenance Program.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB