b"Farewell toa Friend William C. Cullen died at hisof NRCA and the technical com Bill Cullen received the home in Potomac, Md. on Nov. 5,mittees, Cullen was involved infollowni g honors and awards 1997, one day before his 78thresearchprograms,technicaldming his lifetime: birthday.problems, writing reports and He was a long-time friend oftechnical articles, as well as rep 1962National Academy of Bob Lacosse is a technical editor formine and of many in the roofingresenting NRCA in Washington,Science, Building Contractors Guideand an MRCAindustry, as well as many govern DC at government agencies.Research Institute technical adviser.ment employees at the NationalFrom1981to1989,weCitation lnstilute of Standards and Tech enjoyed many trips to Europe as1965Department of nology (NIST) in Gaithersburg,members of the CIB/RILEM Inter Commerce Science Md.nationalJointCommitteeonFellowship In1948,CullenbeganhisElastomeric, Thermoplastic, and1968Construction career with National Bureau ofPolymerModifiedBituminousSpecification Institute Standards (NBS). where he beganRoof Systems. The committeeCitation working on projects to improvewas sponsored by the Interna 1968Department of the performance of residential andtionalCouncilforBuildingCommerce Silver Medal commercial roofing.He retiredResearch Studies and Documen Award from NBS in January of 1981. Hetation (CIB), Rotterdam, Nether 1972MRCA James Q. then became a research associatelands, and the International UnionMcCawley Award for the National Roofing Contrac of Testing and Research Labora 1973ASTM Award of Merit tors Association (NRCA) in 1981,tories for Materials and Struc and Desi g nation Fellow retiring from that position in Sep tures (RILEM), Paris.1974NRCA Joseph A. Piper tember of 1997. That's 49 yearsThe committee's membershipAward of dedicated service to the roof represented the design, manufac 1975NBS Edward Bennett ing industry.turing, contracting and technicalRosa Award I first met Bill Cullen in 1954,segmentsoftheinternational1978Carolina Roofmg and when he did some research androofing industry, which consistedSheet Metal Gordon 11. testing for me while at NBS. Thenof 38 experts from 18 countries.Waters Award I had the pleasure of working withCullen was the first chairman of1978ASTM Walter C. Voss him for more than nine years atthis committee and organized itsAward NRCA, prior to my retirement inbeginning.1979ARMA Citation February of 1990. Working withFollowing most of the meetthe technical services departmentingsinEurope,Cullen andI1979Letter of Commendation established manyfrom the White House contactst o 1980ASTM Honorary Life inspect roofs, visit11emher Award roofing contract 1981Department of ingcompaniesCommerce Gold \\ledal andmanufactur Award i n g plants involvedinallof those visits. aspects of roofing.With all those years in the Many coordinatedroofing industry, Bill Cullen was effortsandjointconsidered the dean of the U.S. programswithroofing experts - this, I believe, Field Tests in South Carolina (from left) Bob Lacosse, MRCAEuropeancoun could be extended to the dean of technical adviser and technical editor forContractors Guide;tries were estab roofing experts of the world. Dick Baxter, president of CRS Inc., Monroe, N. C.; Ray Johnsonlished as a resultContinued on page 10 of Empire Roofing Co., Tulsa, Okla.; and Bill Cullen. byB o b Laco s s e,C AE"