Theodore R. Tauchert ’57

Ted’s career fit Princeton’s urging in our time that we “serve the nation.” His service included 33 years as a professor of engineering at the University of Kentucky. Thereafter, he continued writing and research, including work on the Encyclopedia of Thermal Stresses.

  Ted came to Princeton from the Pomfret School. He majored in civil engineering and belonged to Charter Club. His senior-year roommates were Leo Byrnes, Denny Freeston, Craig McLanahan, Jack Schlegel, and John Wallis.

He was an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and then worked three years at Sikorsky Aircraft while earning a doctorate in engineering from Yale University. From 1964 to 1970, Ted taught in Princeton’s Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences. 

At the University of Kentucky, he was mechanical engineering department chairman and a member of the university senate.

Ted traveled the world with his wife, Ann, and sometimes their children, taking sabbaticals in England and Italy. He was a good tennis player and drove a moped, “Wanda the Honda,” to and from tennis matches and work.

Ted died Dec. 10, 2021. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Ann; five children; and several nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. His family described him as quiet but at times “terribly funny.”