DISTINGUISHEDALUMNus
DANIEL MAYNES Class of1989
By Lauren Matthews In a quote widely misattributed to Socrates but most likely a variant of Plutarch’s, education is defined as “the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel,” meaning that a life of learning doesn’t end at the classroom door. The life of Dr. Daniel (Dan) Maynes (’89), a 2020 Distinguished Alumnus, reflects that adage: a life of curiosity and passion that warms his community, family, and students. Snow College has long been a presence in Dan’s life. He grew up in Manti, as the youngest of 11 children. Ten of the Maynes children, including Dan, attended Snow College. “I think nine graduated,” he said. “This may be a record number of brother/sister Snow alumni.” Dan’s childhood was strongly rooted in nature and the outdoors. “My friends and I were often found riding and repairing bicycles, fishing, hunting, camping, and participating in most outdoor activities. In the evenings through the summer, we could be found at the Manti city tennis/ basketball courts. We played a lot of basketball, but we also spent a lot of time philosophizing.”
attended Snow College on an academic scholarship. With his five closest high school friends, he attended most of the home football games and celebrated when Snow College won the 1985 National Championship. “I was undecided on a major, but knew it would be in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math],” Dan said. He described himself as a “fairly average student,” but he “enjoyed hanging out at the student union and institute building,” where he played ping-pong and foosball. Returning to sophomore year post-mission, he decided on his major: mechanical engineering. School became a higher priority, and Dan worked harder and studied more seriously. “When I returned to Snow, I took all of the pre-engineering, physics, and math classes that I hadn’t already taken,” Dan recalled. “While taking these classes, I often found myself helping other students, and soon several of the students started to call me ‘Dr. Dan.’ This is what planted the seed for me to consider getting a Ph.D. and becoming a professor.”
After his sophomore year, Dan left academia and worked for an engineering firm (Rollins, Brown, and Gunnell Engineers), where he conducted engineering tests between Green River and Salina. He then returned to the classroom, studying at Utah State Dan (far right, second row) is the youngest of 11 children - 10 of them attended Snow. University, where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. During this time he worked for the Space Dynamics Lab (providing engineering support for a small military observation satellite) and Argonne National Laboratory (analyzing nuclear power plant operations). The U.S. Air Force funded his M.S. research, where he explored the aerodynamic characteristics of air-to-air missiles. When Dan was 19, he left Sanpete County to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission. Prior to his mission, Dan
During his time at USU, Dan met his sweetheart, Jilline Smith. Jilline hailed from Fairfield, California and transferred
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