David Renfroe
David A. Renfroe graduated from BYU in 1972 with his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He continues to tell his story in his own words:
“One month after returning (from Germany on an LDS mission), I married my BYU sweetheart who had served a mission in Argentina. I then worked for two years at Alcoa in Rockdale, Texas. Realizing I didn't like working for a living, I went back to school at Texas A&M, and acquired a PhD and three children. Upon graduation, I taught mechanical engineering at General Motors Institute in Flint, Mi. I was then offered a teaching position at the University of Arkansas. David Bednar (now, a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles) helped us move in to Fayetteville where our families grew together. (David Bednar was the stake president at the time, while David was the bishop of the local congregation.) Our family grew in Fayetteville where we now have deep roots, often say ‘y'all’ and ‘reckon,’ and can call the hogs. “
David has a unique tie to the Mechanical Engineering Department through our department chair, Daniel Maynes.
Dr. Maynes served his LDS mission in the Tulsa, Oklahoma mission. One of his transfers sent him to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he met the Renfroe family. "We had pre-Dr. Maynes as a guest in our home while he served his mission," says Dr. Renfroe. ‘Pre-Dr. Maynes’ was inspired to become an engineer because of Dr. Renfroe’s vast knowledge in the engineering field. “We ate dinner at his house frequently and he took us to his lab on the university of Arkansas campus and showed us cool projects he was working on,” Dr. Maynes states. “This was the genesis of me thinking seriously about mechanical engineering, although I had many subsequent events (post-mission) that cemented this.”
A major focus of Dr. Renfroe’s has been in vehicle dynamics. He’s currently working with a Chinese firm designing and building off-road vehicles. They recently had one vehicle compete in the Baja 1000. This was the first Chinese built vehicle to do so, with the race team being from Georgia Southern University, the first student team ever to compete in the Baja.
Ghana is the Renfroes' current adventure! David and his wife began serving a two-year LDS church mission in Ghana in April 2016.
