Locke earned his bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas. He spent 11 years working in industry before taking a teaching post at the University of Oklahoma, where he taught for 13 years. He additionally served as director of the School of Chemical Engineering and Material Sciences for 6 of those years.

In 1986 Locke came to the University of Kansas, taking over as dean of the School of Engineering. He held that position for 16 years, retiring at the end of the 2001-2002 academic year.

Locke has been active in professional service, holding several offices in the Association of Corrosion Engineers (ACE) since 1963 and serving as accreditation visitor in chemical engineering and for the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS). He was also the chair of the Professional Engineers in Education section of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in 1998 and in the early 2000s chaired the Engineering Dean's Council of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). Additionally, Locke served as chair of the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers (KSPE)'s legislation committee and was named by that group the Kansas Engineer of the Year in 1996.