Tryon, John G.

John G. Tryon was born December 18, 1920 and grew up in Washington, D.C., the oldest of three sons. His father worked with the National Bituminous Coal Commission during the Depression and his mother was editor of the American Association of University Women's Publications.

Tryon went directly to University of Minnesota after high school graduation and earned a bachelor's in physics. During World War II, he served in the United States Army Signal Corps and then went back to Cornell University to get his doctorate. Dr. Tryon met his wife-to-be while attending the university. Tryon’s post-doctoral work experience includes six years at Bell Telephone Laboratories, eleven years at the University of Alaska, and six years at Tuskegee Institute.

In 1974, Dr. Tryon was hired at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). While working for the university, he introduced a senior engineering design course modeled after one that pioneered at Dartmouth University. Tryon was a member of the Academic Standards Committee at UNLV, which helped set standards for academic probation and semester length.