Glover, Robert E. (Robert Ellsworth), 1896-

A civil engineer with the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U. S. Geological Survey, and Colorado State University, Robert Glover (1896-1984) conducted significant research on concrete cooling, dam construction, groundwater flow, and more.

A civil engineer with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Colorado State University, Robert Glover conducted significant research on concrete cooling, dam construction, groundwater flow, and more. A small portion of his lasting legacy is found in a formula that bears his name, as well as a plaque on Hoover Dam listing him as one of its contributors.

Robert Ellsworth Glover was born in Ord, Nebraska, on January 22, 1896. He began his college education at the University of Nebraska in September 1915 but enlisted in the Army two years later after the United States entered World War I. He served as a Private, First Class, with Company D, 342 Machine Gun Battalion, of the 89th Division. Glover was deployed to France on June 4, 1918, and saw combat at the Battle of St. Mihiel that same year. Glover returned to the U.S. in 1919 and was discharged in March.

In September 1919, Glover returned to the University of Nebraska to finish his degree. In 1921, he graduated with a bachelor of science in civil engineering. Not long afterwards, he served as an engineer for the construction of the capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska.

While at the University of Nebraska, Glover formed his life-long relationship with the United States Reclamation Service (later the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation). He worked as a rod-and-planetable man at the Service's Flathead Project in St. Ignatius, Montana, in 1917 and 1920 while still a student. After graduation, Glover returned to the Reclamation Service and within two years began serving as an assistant engineer, first for the Rio Grande project in Texas and then for the Pecos River project in New Mexico. In 1924, Glover was assigned as an engineer in the Denver office of the Bureau of Reclamation. While there, Glover worked on such notable projects as Gibson Dam, Owyhee Dam, and Boulder (Hoover) Dam (see Appendix for list). Glover was promoted to Head of Technical Engineering in 1936, where he stayed until 1949 when he transferred to the Research and Geology Division. This position led to his promotion to Special Assistant to the Chief Designing Engineer, a post he held until his retirement in 1954.

Robert Glover had a distinguished career with the Bureau of Reclamation. During his time there, he developed the trial-load method which is still used to design arch dams. He also developed a penstock analysis, a water-hammer analysis, and the stiffener design. His extensive work on Hoover Dam led to the development of a refrigeration system to accelerate concrete cooling. Glover's valuable contributions were recognized by the Bureau, which awarded him both silver and gold medals for outstanding service.

Glover's achievements extend to the field of hydrology as well. He developed many mathematical equations applicable to groundwater flow analysis, including the formula bearing his name. His transient-state equations have helped engineers solve groundwater problems. He also developed equations to describe river-aquifer relationships, effects of well field pumping, and other groundwater problems. He published numerous articles and books on groundwater movement and recharge, the trial-load method, and thermal properties of concrete, among many others.

During his many years of work, Glover completed a professional degree in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska (1936) and a masters in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado (1950). After retiring from the Bureau, Glover worked for the Boeing Aircraft Company as a structural engineer and then for the U.S. Geological Survey as a hydraulic engineer on a contract basis.

Robert Glover developed a working relationship with Colorado State University (CSU) starting in 1956. He was employed by the CSU Experiment Station as a civilian engineer and as a professor emeritus with the Civil Engineering Department where he developed and taught a course for the solution of groundwater problems. He also eventually published a textbook he had developed for his classes in the 1960s: Transient Ground Water Hydraulics (1974).

Glover was a member of many organizations, including the American Concrete Institute, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Geophysical Union, the American Mathematical Society, the American Legion, the National Audubon Society, and the Colorado Mountain Club. In addition to other awards received was the one named after him, the Robert E. Glover Distinguished Service Award, given by the Colorado Ground Water Association, presented to him as first recipient in 1983.

Despite his busy work life, Glover remained involved with his family and pursued many hobbies. He married Carol Rosalie Morris on June 25, 1925, and raised three children: daughter, Marjorie Carol (Clark), and sons, Robert Morris and William Frank. Glover followed many interests and hobbies, among them: astronomy, genealogy, hunting, fishing, ornithology, photography, politics, and environmentalism. He participated in many annual Christmas bird counts and Wilderness Review Panel trips and also ground prisms for the Observatory Park telescope in Denver. Following his retirement from work in 1980, Robert Glover spent much time engaging in his hobbies and being with his wife and family in his Denver home until he passed away on March 26, 1984.