Dr. Richard E. Llorens (born January 24, 1930 in Philadelphia) died at Abington Memorial Hospital on August 24, 2009 after a brief illness surrounded by family.

Dr. Llorens was a professor of Engineering and Mechanical Science at Penn State University where he received his Masters Degree in 1958 and his Doctorate in 1961. He was a founding professor of the Penn State King of Prussia Graduate Center (Radnor Center) from 1965 and was the Interim Dean at the dedication of the Great Valley Graduate Center in 1989. He retired from Penn State in 1990.


He was in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957 before he began his more than three decade relationship with The Pennsylvania State University. He also belonged to a number of professional societies including: Tau Beta Pi, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Engineering Education, Pi Mu Epsilon, Pi Tau Sigma and the Franklin Institute.

He began an association with the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) at Warminster, PA in 1967 where he worked as an engineer for the Navy until his retirement from government service in 1997. He was instrumental in the building of an academic relationship between Penn State and the U.S. Navy that continues to this day.

Dr. Llorens remained active in academia even after his retirement from Penn State and the U.S. Government; he was the author of many academic and technical journal articles in his field of study. His last paper titled “Scaled Similarity Solutions” is currently awaiting publication by the Journal of Applied Mechanics (a publication of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers).

While Dr. Llorens excelled in his chosen career path, family was also a very important part of his life. He was active with his son’s Boy Scout Troop #659 that met at St. Albert the Great Church in Huntington Valley during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to “Memorial Gift in Honor of Richard E. Llorens”, The Pennsylvania State University College of Engineering Development Office, Hammond Building, State College, PA 16802 for the purpose of a graduate student scholarship.