An alumnus of the University of Arkansas Engineering School, Mr. Wellborn was first employed by the Arkansas Highway Department in the Department of Materials and Tests from 1933 to 1940. During this period, he pioneered the use of asphalt for soil stabilization and other types of low cost asphalt pavements. After leaving the Arkansas Highway Department he served two years as Chief Engineer and Assistant Manager of an asphalt pavement construction firm. He entered the U. S. Navy in 1942, serving in the South Pacific, Alaska and Washington State, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Following this service he spent a year with an asphalt emulsion producer and in 1946 was employed by the Navy as Engineer in Charge of Design and Construction of Airfields in Cuba, resigning in 1949 to join The Asphalt Institute as Managing Engineer of the Pacific Coast Division. During this period he served as consultant to the Atomic Energy Commission in preparation of blast areas at the Las Vegas, Nevada, testing grounds. He retired from The Asphalt Institute in February 1971.
One of his first assignments as chief engineer was to plan and put into effect a program of writing a complete library of technical publications on asphalt construction. This program was completed in 1969 and consists of 23 manuals covering all aspects of asphalt pavement technology and construction.
Mr. Wellborn served the asphalt industry as primary representative on the advisory committees of the WASHO road test in Idaho and the AASHO road test in Illinois.
Most of his career was devoted to the improvement of technology and construction procedures of asphalt pavements. He contributed much in this field of engineering and was a Registered Professional Engineer in Arkansas, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Chemical Society, and many other professional and social organizations.
Mr. Wellborn passed away in 1983.
Elected: 1972
