Joe R. Fowler
Joe R. Fowler is co-founder of Stress Engineering Services, Inc., (SES) a 420-person engineering consulting firm based in Houston with additional offices in Cincinnati, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Calgary. SES is a world leader in floating systems design, fitness-for-service evaluations, consumer-product mechanical design, measurement and control systems, and third-party testing of full-scale systems and equipment. He was President from 1984-2014. Currently he is President of Stress Engineering & Construction Inc., a Stress subsidiary formed to supply complete constructed solutions to client problems.
In 2010 SES was named the #1 Best Place to Work in Texas and the #2 Best Place to Work in Ohio. The company was cited from 2011-2014 on the Houston Chronicle List of the Best Places to Work in Houston, the #3 Best Place to Work in Ohio, and one of the Best Places to Work in New Orleans. In 2012 Stress celebrated its 40th year in business. Stress has twice been named to the Aggie 100.
Stress is a 100 % employee owned company and every full time employee has a stake in the company after a year’s service. Turnover rate has been below 4 % for many years. One reason is 360 degree peer evaluations each year where cooperation is measured and rewarded. Last year over 800 clients came to Stress for their most difficult problems. Our technical staff (2/3 with advanced degrees in engineering) loves the challenge,
Dr. Fowler received his BS with honors, MS, and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas. He is a Fellow of ASME, and in 2000 he received the Outstanding Alumni Honor Award from the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. He received the Rhodes Oil Drop Industry Leader Award in 2003 and the Titanium Crawfish Award for oil industry achievements from ASME and the University of Houston in 2004. In 2000–2001 he served as President of ABET, which accredits all engineering, technology, applied science, and computer science programs in the USA. Currently, he serves as Chair of the Advisory Council of the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University, is the incoming Chair of the Board of Directors of the Offshore Technology Conference, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Pearl Fincher Museum. In In 2012 he was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the Business Services category for the Gulf Coast Region.
He and his wife Linda enjoy their 3 children, their spouses, and 9 grandchildren. This year they will mark their 50th wedding anniversary. They help many charities primarily supporting higher education for deserving youth.