Associate professor of mechanical engineering Bruce L. Cain, 51, died unexpectedly Monday.Mechanical engineering instructor Mary Emplaincourt said Cain suddenly became ill Sunday afternoon and collapsed at his home.
After being taken to the Oktibbeha County Hospital, Cain was airlifted to Memphis, where he died early Monday morning, Emplaincourt said.
An autopsy was performed Monday, but Emplaincourt said she has not heard the results.
Cain was born in Texas into a military family that eventually settled in Mississippi.
He graduated from MSU in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science from the department of nuclear engineering and held a grade point average of 3.96.
While at Mississippi State, Cain received a four-year Army ROTC scholarship and served as a U.S. Army ROTC Cadet. He served as president of the National Society of Scabbard and Blade (Army ROTC Honorary), was an Army ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate and received the Legion of Valor’s Bronze Cross for Academic Achievement.
He was on active duty with the U.S. Army from 1979 to 1981 as Platoon Leader, U.S. Army 307 ENGR BN, 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C.
From 1981 to 1983, he worked as principal investigator and research officer with the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory in Champaign, Ill.
Cain received a Meritorious Service Medal and honorable discharge as Captain.
He received his Master of Science from the department of nuclear engineering at the University of Illinois and graduated in 1987.
Cain then received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1989. He majored in nuclear engineering and minored in materials science.
In Aug. 1989, Cain returned to MSU as an assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering. In 1993, he became the assistant professor in the department of mechanical engineering.
He held his latest position as associate professor in the department of mechanical engineering since 1996.
Cain served as the faculty adviser of American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter at MSU. In 2006, he was named outstanding faculty advisor of ASME in the ASME Southeast Region.
Emplaincourt said Cain’s primary research interest was experimental techniques. Cain wrote and contributed to many publications about various engineering subjects. The faculty Web site gives 24 selections that were published from 1982 to 1998.
Cain’s visitation was Wednesday, and the funeral was Thursday, followed by a burial at Oktibbeha Memorial Park Cemetary.
Professor and interim head of mechanical engineering Louay M. Chamra said in an e-mail to faculty and staff that mechanical engineering classes were cancelled for Thursday to allow faculty, staff and students to attend the funeral.
Senior mechanical engineering major Sam Leggett took a class taught by Cain over the summer. He recalled a time in which he was overwhelmed with one of Cain’s homework assignments. Leggett said Cain sat down with him and helped him work.
“He handled my frustration overload very well,” Leggett said, “He definitely always knew what he was talking about and teaching.”
Senior mechanical engineering major Matt Brown said Cain helped him stay in the program.
“Every time I thought about changing my major, he encouraged me to stick with it,” Brown said. “He made me feel better about it.”
Senior mechanical engineering major Jennifer Inghram said Cain genuinely cared about his students.
“He was energetic and compassionate about everything that he taught,” Inghram said.
Leggett, Brown, Inghram and Emplaincourt all said Cain was known for his colorful and expressive coffee mugs and t-shirts.
“We knew his political views by the t-shirts and caps he wore and by his coffee cup,” Emplaincourt said.
She also said Cain was an artist and displayed several of his paintings in his office.
Cain’s family was of primary importance to him, Emplaincourt said. He also enjoyed anything dealing with mechanics, was passionate about his work and liked to be organized and neat.
“He was well rounded, well read and a good writer,” she said.
Professor of mechanical engineering Keith Hodge said Cain performed his duties with excellence.
“As a faculty member, Bruce was always somebody that I appreciated because he did his job well and timely,” Hodge said. “He did anything that the department assigned him quickly and well.”
His wife Diane, who works at MSU in accounts payable, survives Cain. He is also survived by son, Johnathan, a freshman at East Mississippi Community College, and daughter, Jennifer, a junior at Starkville Academy.