Message from the Department Head - CEMS - University of Minnesota

CEMS NEWSChemical Engineering
& Materials Science
A Newsletter for Alumni, Students and Friends of the Department • Spring Semester 2005
Message from the Department Head
Frank S. Bates
U
niversities are busy places, and the Chemical Engineering and
Materials Science department is one of the busiest places in the
University of Minnesota. A typical day will find a faculty member
engaged in many tasks: teaching undergrads and/or graduate students,
preparation of research proposals, actually conducting research (well maybe
for the younger faculty), paper writing, advising, industrial collaborations,
journal and proposal reviewing, administrative chores, meetings, travel, visiting
with alumni, and lots more. It’s easy to lose sight of those activities that
distinguish a University from just another place to work. Fortunately, for a
semester every three or four years, we pause each Tuesday, just after lunch,
and take stock of our mission as educators in this place of higher learning. We owe this essential
wake up call to Rutherford “Gus” Aris.
More than forty years ago Gus Aris instituted a department seminar series – one that required
no formal, or informal for that matter, connection to chemical engineering, materials science, or
anything technical. Mind you, technical was acceptable, just not required. So, what was the point of
assembling this unpredictable, often eclectic lot of speakers to stand up in front of the students,
faculty, and staff and lecture about something foreign to the audience? Aris recently offered the
following rationale.
“The Commune Vinculum Lectures are presented in the assurance that the very high
quality of graduate student that the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science attracts will be best maintained and grown by contact with other disciplines of
the University. The mission of the University is well expressed (with a few changes to
accommodate modern sensibilities) in the inscription on the pediment of Northrop
Auditorium.”
THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA IS ROOTED IN THE BELIEF THAT THE
MIND IS ENOBLED BY THE PURSUIT OF UNDERSTANDING AND THE
SEARCH FOR TRUTH, AND THAT THE STATE IS WELL-SERVED WHEN
INSTRUCTION OF YOUTH TAKES PLACE AT AN INSTITUTION DEDICATED
TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. THESE PRINCIPLES ARE
REFRESHED BY THE RECOLLECTION THAT THERE IS A COMMON BOND
THROUGH ALL THE ARTS.
COMMUNE VINCULUM OMNIBUS ARTIBUS
Past lecture series have delved into Creativity, Elegance, and a host of other issues. This semester
we address the topic of Education, a timely and academically rich subject. And, respecting Gus’
desire, these lectures will now be formally referred to as the “CVOA Seminars”. Unless of course
you know Gus, or the department, or you have been to one of these marvelous lectures, in which
case you will quietly call them the Aris Lectures.
Inside... Stay Connected, p. 2 • Second Annual CEMS All-Class Gathering , p. 3 •
W. Richard Schmeal: Gas Pipeline Innovations, p. 4 • So Many Wonderful Stories:
Highlights from the 1940’s, p. 5 • Marvin D. Dunnette, Being There: A Journey from
Chemistry to Industrial/Organizational Psychology, p. 6 • Development Corner, p. 7
• Undergrads in the Lab, p. 8 • Class Notes, p. 10

CEMS News • University of Minnesota
DEPARTMENT UPDATE
STAY CONNECTED!
C E M S R E C E P T I O N O N T U E S D A Y N O V E M B E R 1, 2005
A T T H E A N N U A L A I C h E M E E T I N G I N C I N C I N A T T I, O H
FACULTY HONORS AND DEPARTMENT EVENTS
BATES WINS TURNBULL LECTURESHIP
Frank Bates was awarded the Materials Research
Society (MRS) Turnbull Lectureship at the Fall 2004
MRS meeting in Boston, MA. Frank won the lectureship
for his "pioneering contributions to the fundamental
understanding of structure and properties of complex
polymeric materials, particularly block copolymers and
polymeric vesicles, coupled with outstanding lecturing,
writing, teaching, and educational leadership."
The David Turnbull Lectureship is awarded to
recognize the career of a scientist who has made outstanding
contributions to understanding materials phenomena and
properties through research, writing, and lecturing, as
exemplified by the life work of David Turnbull. The
Turnbull Lecturer receives a $5,000 honorarium and a
citation plaque.
SCHMIDT ONE OF THE TOP 50 SCIENTIFIC
AMERICAN RESEARCH LEADERS
Regents Professor Lanny Schmidt was one of the 2004
Scientific American 50 Award Research Leaders. He was
nominated for his work in energy, specifically for
"developing the first chemical reactor that produces
hydrogen from renewable fuel".
The nominees were chosen by Scientific American
magazine's Board of Editors who put together a list of
scientists who "exhibited outstanding technology leadership
in the realms of research, business and policymaking in
2003-04."
AYDIL JOINS DEPARTMENT
Dr. Eray Aydil joined the department
as a professor in March. Eray came to
us from the University of California,
Santa Barbara, Department of
Chemical Engineering. His research
is in the areas of electronic and
photonic materials, catalysis, kinetics,
and reaction engineering. Welcome
Eray!
CHELIKOWSKY MOVES TO U TEXAS
Jim Chelikowsky accepted a new position at the
University of Texas at Austin as the Institute for
Computatonal Engineering and Sciences (ICES) Chair of
Computational Materials. He will also be a Professor in
the Departments of Physics, Chemical Engineering,
Chemistry and Biochemistry. Jim will be missed!
TIME AND PLACE TO BE ANNOUNCED.
Coming Soon:
An Initiative Critical For The Future
International Top op Ranking of CEMS
A group of volunteers have assembled to help
the department retain it’s #1 ranking. The Fall
2005 issue of the CEMS newsletter will contain
a formal announcement explaining the
details….for now it is our pleasure to share with
you the distinguished group of alumni and
friends who have assembled to help secure the
future of CEMS.
Neal R. Amundson
Frank S. Bates
Bruce uce A. Finla
inlayson
James R. Getchell
Robert W. Gore
Kenneth H. Keller
Lester C. Krogh
Franklin M. Orr, Jr
Edward W. Remus
us
Robert t C. Sundahl,
Jr.
W. Richar
hard d Schmeal
Gary y F. Teletzke
Matthew V. Tir
irrel
ell
See page four for an interview with committee
member, W. Richard Schmeal.
REDESIGNED CEMS WEBSITE DEBUTS
Take a look! The departmental website has a new
design: http://www.cems.umn.edu
Tell us what you think. You can send your comments
to Julie Murphy at jjmurphy@umn.edu or give her a call
at 612-625-4356.
CEMS News (Vol. 5, No. 2) is published two times per year by the
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science for alumni,
students and friends of the department. Circulation is 5,908. Spring
2005 edition editor: Julie Murphy; Special thanks to Class Notes
contributors, CEMS Alumni, and alumni from the 1940’s, 2nd Annual
CEMS All-Class Gathering attendees, Scholarship Donor luncheon
attendees, Andres Abin-Fuentes, Matt Awde, Frank Bates, Wallace
Belin, Ed Cussler, Jonathan Derocher, Marvin Dunnette, Jeff Derby,
Boris Goldman, Jon Grzeskowiak, Kim Haglund, Franklin B. Lee,Tim
Lodge, Chris Macosko, Don Perwien, Jennifer Pogatchnik, Julie Prince,
W. Richard Schmeal, Douglas Stauffer, Jann Jarvis and Faye Bodenhamer.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and
employer. ©2005 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota. All
rights reserved. This publication is available in alternative formats upon
request. Printed by University of Minnesota, Printing Services. Contains
a minimum of 10% post-consumer waste.
2

DEPARTMENT UPDATE
SECOND ANNUAL CEMS ALL CLASS GATHERING
The second annual CEMS All-Class Gathering on Friday, October 22, 2004 was a success. It was wonderful
to see everyone and hear what they are doing. The Class of 1943 was well represented by Bob Helvig,
Clarence Nelson and Christie Geankoplis. A special thank you to all of the alumni who came to this event.
Make a note: The Third Annual CEMS All-Class Gathering will be held on Friday, September 23, 2005
(the day before the Homecoming game). Consider yourself invited. This party is a celebration from the
department in honor of you!
More pictures from the CEMS All-Class Gathering can be found at www.cems.umn.edu/alumni.
Bob Helvig (BChE 1943), Esther Helvig,
Clarence Nelson (BChE, 1943) and Helen
Nelson.
Gretchen Lennon, Michael Ng (BChE, 1977) and
H. Ted Davis
Dave Yarusso (BChE 1978) and Chris
Macosko
Noel Jagolino (MS, MetE, 1970) and Wei-
Shou Hu.
Anne Maurer (BS, MSE 2001), Ann Sullivan and
Jonathan Sullivan (BS, MSE, 2001).
Mark Smeltzly (MS, ChE,
1989, BChE, 1980).
Chloe Cairncross, Rich Cairncross (PhD,
ChE, 1994) and Francisco Lorrenzano (PhD,
ChE, 1995)
CEMS News • Spring 2005
Angela Schnuerch
(PhD, MatS, 1999) and Rachel Kile
Teresa Bredahl, Raul Caretta (PhD, ChE, 1979),
Jeff Schott (PhD, ChE, 1978; MS, ChE, 1974;
and BChE, 1970) and Julie Murphy.
3

CEMS ALUMNI
W. . RICHARD SCHMEAL (PhD, ChE, 1965): GAS PIPELINE INNOVATIONS
We can all be proud to be associated with the first class
educational program ongoing in the Department. I have personally
benefited and enjoyed my relationship with the University and
the CEMS program. I feel that the program should continue as
the top rated one in the country.
Experiences at Shell Development
I was fortunate to participate in a wide range of industrial areas
at Shell and to work with some really first class people. I
worked in an array of areas in petrochemicals, polymers, and
refining, spanning research, plants, and strategic/business
planning.
One of the best experiences at Shell was in hydrocarbon business planning, developing
the strategic plan during the chaos of the Iranian Revolution. The public blamed the oil
shortage on us since the lines for gasoline led up to our stations, and prices were high.
We worked 15 hours a day or more trying to deal with that and devising a plan for
securing adequate oil supplies. We also negotiated a very large petrochemical supply
contract with DuPont at the same time.
When I supervised the materials and corrosion group, we had numerous interesting
projects. One involved a problem wherein a series of deadly ruptures of equipment
occurred in gas processing plants which we licensed in Canada. We put together a
team of electrochemists and metallurgists to work on the mystery (only a small fraction
of plants had any problem at all). Our diagnosis was that a few plants had small areas
where the carbon dioxide absorbed in a solution actually came back out again by a
boiling process which had the effect of introducing hydrogen into the metal. This was a
case in which chemical engineering knowledge allowed me to put a complex picture
together, and no single discipline could be used to surround the problem.
Gas/Electric Ventures
I started an S Corporation after leaving Shell in order to manage a contract from the
Electric Power Research Institute to operate a small research center in Houston, the
EPRI Chemicals & Petroleum Center. This center managed projects for electric utilities
to expand the use of electricity in the subject industries. We expanding the scope of the
center to include natural gas, as electricity was beginning to be used in gas compressors.
After five years, I began to handle gas pipeline activities outside of EPRI (Its always
good to change now and then to keep from going stale). I changed the name of the S
Corporation to Gas/Electric Ventures. Now, I coordinate workshops and am developing
software in the gas pipeline sector. This helps to keep me off the streets.
Gas compressor station software
My experience in dealing with gas pipelines allowed me to become acquainted with
many people in the industry and to learn something about the wide array of equipment
combinations they can choose to use for compressor stations. The software under
development is an Expert System for planners of gas pipelines to select and evaluate
equipment for compressor stations. A compressor station will have one or more units
consisting of a compressor, a prime mover (motor, engine, etc.), and something to
allow the flow to be controlled (sort of like a transmission in a car).
A planner defines his or her problem in its most basic form, how much flow and
pressure increase is needed. Our program features logic that addresses a data base of
all specific models of major manufacturers of equipment to select specific combinations
that will meet the planner’s requirements. Then the planner is provided an array of
charts of the performance of each of the options which are of most interest. The program
allows the planner to instantly see the way the equipment performs under not only
design conditions, but up to ten alternative conditions. Then it provides charts and data
of the life cycle economics of up to six different equipment options so the lowest cost
options can be found for the life of the project. Development is being coordinated with
several excellent engineers who work for gas pipelines.
There are not very many experienced engineers in the gas pipeline industry, and a
good deal of the work is done by inexperienced people nowadays. This is part of the
trend for companies, especially in this industry, to try to operate with minimum personnel.
This is sad, in a way, but it does open up an opportunity for our software.
Gas pipeline workshop program
I coordinate an annual workshop called the Gas/Electric Partnership, in which invited
industry engineers and executives give talks on subjects related to gas pipeline
compression. I began this program with some electric industry people in 1994 when I
started with EPRI. Its original purpose was to introduce a relatively new technology for
gas pipeline compression in which electric motors and adjustable speed drives are
used. The scope has expanded to include all issues and types of equipment for gas
pipeline compressor stations, including environmental factors. We are now sponsored
by equipment manufactures such as Rolls-Royce, General Electric, Siemens, etc, and
a few research companies, such as the Southwest Research Institute. The gas pipeline
CEMS News • University of Minnesota
planners provide guidance through a planning committee. Papers are presented on
our site, www.GasElectricPartnership.com.
Which area of your current work is most exciting or intriguing for you?
I think there is a good deal of potential in our software development, although it
involves tedious work at times, and sometimes the end just keeps moving farther
away. The potential customers who are testing the software are quite demanding as
they are everywhere. But most of them see the value if we can ever get the bugs
out.
Another interesting area is archaeology. I chair the committee at the Museum of New
Mexico to support the state’s Office of Archaeological Studies (see http://
www.museumofnewmexico.org/inst.cgi?_fn=Inst&_instid=OAS). The latter is a
department of 50 to 60 archaeologists who do contract work for people who want to
build buildings or roads. We organize field trips around the southwest and raise
money for archaeological research through events like benefit dinners at archaeological
sites and auctions of odd things like atlatl’s (an early weapon). The archaeologists
are like chemical engineers, in that they love to push back the frontiers of their
discipline —— so it is fun working with them.
Who and/or what influenced your decision to study engineering?
A very close family friend, Bob Shattuck, founded a chemical company, Borg
Warner Chemicals, which is now part of GE Plastics. When I was a kid, this
company was working on inventing ABS (ABS is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, if
I recall), a plastic now found inside all refrigerators. The work was carried out in a
garage in Gary, IN, and we would sometimes visit this facility after the midday meal
on Sundays. Bob is a very charismatic person and he could make polymers come
to life in a conversation. He was very colorful, for example he would carry firecrackers
with him and fire one off every once in a while (the safety standards nowadays in
plants would not allow that). Of course, my high school chemistry teacher was very
good also.
Why did you choose to attend the University of Minnesota?
First of all, I was fascinated with Minnesota with its north woods, even though I had
never been there. When I heard the professors at Northwestern talk in glowing terms
about the chemical engineering program at the University of Minnesota, I became
interested in transferring after completion of my Masters. It turned out that my new
wife, Jacqueline, was very interested also in Minnesota, and she had actually been
there many times.
What factors influenced your choice of research area?
I decided I wanted to work for Professor Neal Amundson, because of his great
reputation, and the fact that mathematics was more of a strength for me than working
in a lab. At that time, the procedure for selecting a major professor included interviewing
all professors before a decision could be made. Neal would only take one or at most
two students, so it could be a competitive situation. So Jacqueline and I cut short our
honeymoon in Colorado to come to Minneapolis before the other students arrived. I
interviewed all the professors and coerced Professor Amundson to agree to take me
on just as the second new graduate student to arrive, Donn Armstrong (PhD,
ChE, 1966) was coming in the door. The early bird gets the worm, they say.
Professor Amundson turned out to be a great boss, by the way.
Who were your favorite professors at the University of Minnesota?
People like Arnie Fredricksen, Skip Scriven, and many others, including some
young guys who were just breaking in — like Ted Davis, Lanny Schmidt, and Ken
Keller. Arnie lived next door, and provided me the opportunity to ride in a red
Corvette. All these guys were (are) solid people, outstanding teachers, and of
course, the best researchers around. There were a lot of others, who I did not know
as well.
Experiences in the department
We had a very good class of grad students, all of whom have become world famous
in something, either academia or industry. There were many fine and interesting
people, and we had a pretty good time during the work hours and afterwards. We
had a German classmate who tried to learn the vernacular and idioms of the English
language, including some foul language. One night we had a social event of some
sort in the Union, and one of the Presidental candidates, Eugene McCarthy, walked
into the room to find a few votes. He introduced himself, and our classmate did not
realize he was THE Eugene McCarthy at first. When it hit him, he said $$#//**7%%,
using very excellent idiomatic English, but I can’t put it in print.
What were your favorite classes at the U.?
I can tell you what my least favorite was — thermodynamics. Several of us
flunked it multiple times. The faculty decided to find a way for me to learn it —— I
was asked to teach it. I also learned to swim that way.
4

CEMS ALUMNI
SO MANY WONDERFUL STORIES: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ‘40’s
Wallace K. Belin (BChE, 1941)
The first thing that came to mind
was having Tom Valenty (BChE,
1941, retired president Onan,
Inc.) and Earl Johnson (BChE
1941) bouncing cars sideways
in the parking lot, so we could
squeeze my ’27 Chevrolet in
the space (bought for $65).
Next, came the big snow in
1940, when the streetcars
stopped running. I could not
get out of the E.E. building,
where I was editor of the
Techno-Log office, to get a bed at AXZ house six blocks
away. I phoned my mother, and stretched out on a table with
a big Webster’s dictionary as a pillow, and went to sleep.
Slightly more serious was the initiation into AXZ and Plumb
Bob (honorary scholarship and leadership), like carrying a
bowling ball on an all night treasure hunt, getting lost in the
tunnels under the University of Minnesota, being dressed
as a girl and applying at a sorority house. We had to attend
classes that morning. Tom Valenty and Orfeo Befer (BChE,
1941) were co-sufferers. Dr. Mann, Department Head of
Chemical Engineering, probably had the most influence on
my life vision. I really had to work hard to pass his courses
and the summer lab course in making a silver bar out of the
lab waste. I remember my friend, Donald Lindsten (BChE,
1940, deceased) blowing the head off an autoclave. I also
remember the field trips to various manufacturing plants
including the tannery (it stank) and the whiskey distillery, after
which many classmates passed out in the hotel lobby after
too many samples. Other memories are of winning the BMOC
Tug of War with Football players on our side, and AXE winning
the most active fraternity title. We had some fun when the
Minnesota Daily reported a meeting as the Chemical English
Society. Just for your information, Monsanto signed me up
for a job in November before my graduation in June for $300/
month. The first man to get a job was a fellow by the name of
Willard D. Stenborg (BChE, 1941). He was a straight A
student, which I was not. I stayed with Monsanto for 18 years,
was plant manager at several locations and general manager
of Monsanto Operations in Mexico. I then became a finances
consultant (stock broker) with Smith Barney for 20 years. I
retired when I was 76 years old. I almost forgot my most
exciting memory. While sitting at the printers, I rushed out
an editorial on how chemical engineering took the
discoveries of the chemists and converted them to profitable
processes for industry. Several other colleges copied the
editorial with credit to me. Some praised it and some
ridiculed it. All in all, I never became rich but have had a
wonderful life.
CEMS News • Spring 2005
Franklin B. Lee (BChE, 1941)
Franklin Lee, 1945 in
service at the
Manhatten Project in
Oak Ridge, TN
I graduated from chemical engineering in
1941 and accepted a job at Union Carbide
(U.C.C.) that same year. I had a B average
grade, due partly to a hearing problem, and
an annoying tendency to do things my way,
which didn’t always work. I soon had a job
at Union Carbide in Niagara Falls, NY,
paying a wonderful salary of $160 a month.
The job consisted of finding more efficient
or cheaper ways to do things. As the war
progressed, U.C.C. had to reduce its
number of deferments, and, since I had
hearing problems, U.C.C. assumed I
probably would not be taken anyway, so they
cancelled my deferment. I got drafted
anyway, and, after two months of basic
training, I was summoned to an interview where I was asked
about my chemistry ability. After a few questions I had an idea
about what he was looking for, so I asked him if this had anything
to do with an atomic bomb. He stared at me, then waved me off,
and yelled “Next!” I returned to my unit. Two hours later I got an
order to report to a place with all my belongings. There was a
bus waiting, and 20 G.I.’s were delivered to the Manhattan Project
in Oak Ridge, TN. Many of us had advanced degrees, but no
practical experience. I found myself involved indirectly in many
projects. As an example, one of my cohorts had worked out a
simple analytical procedure that saved a lot of time. But, he told
me it did not work well when copper was present. I went over his
work with him and suggested he put in something to complex
the copper. He tried cyanide, and it worked fine. Later he told me
his method was rejected because the tiny amount of cyanide
was poisonous. Well, let’s see what else we can use. We went
to the stockroom to see what else we could find, but the only
thing we found that would work was pyridine. Pyridine smells
awful, but it was accepted for two weeks until people in that
building could no longer stand the odor. Common sense
prevailed, and the cyanide was accepted. After all just about
everything in chemistry is poisonous. After the war, I returned to
U.C.C., married, started a family, and decided I would like more
time off. In 1953, I took a lower paying job at Erie Community
College (ECC) which had three month vacations, and shorter
hours and paychecks. Most of the faculty were older with
considerable industrial work experience. We also made a lot of
the teaching apparatus. I started making and selling apparatus
used for teaching physics. I had a small machine shop in my
cellar. Three or four students would come two nights a week
and every other Saturday. Finally, I had to leave ECC to run a
company called Morris and Lee. Later, my son-in-law came in
and expanded the company a lot more. My wife and I are well
along into our 80’s, are not very mobile, so we live in an apartment
building with a lot of assistance. Now that I am 83 and on the
other side of the hill, I have taken to writing about errati that are
still on my mind and of general interest to others. Many of them
are about embarrassment of Ph.D. bosses who “knew everything”
versus employees who through their ignorance were forced to
think. When I was first out of college I got a copy of the Tao Te
Ching and a Chinese dictionary. I found this saying which helped
me very much in my life. (loosely translated) “The world is full of
wise men, who know all the answers, and since they know all
this, they don’t have to think. Fortunately I was born stupid, it has
forced me to think.”
5

CEMS ALUMNI
BEING THERE: A JOURNEY FROM CHEMISTRY TO INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
by Marvin D. Dunnette (BChE, 1948; PhD, Psychology, 1954) and Leatta Hough
In large part because I admired my father, who had served in the US Marine Corps
during Work War I, I too enlisted in the Marines. I was 17. Because of my age,
because it was in the middle of World War II, and because I had my father’s blessing,
my mother threatened to divorce him. I assured her that there was no need to do so,
because I was to be sent to college for training to become an officer. What I did not
know then is that, because I am red-green color deficient, I was not officer material.
After failing the color vision test, I was to be shipped off to Iwo Jima. My father, a
highly articulate lawyer, wrote a long letter on my behalf to the Marine Commandant
requesting that I be given the chance to re-take the exam. Although I did my best to
memorize the correct answers, I nevertheless failed the test again. Inheriting my
father’s gift for persuasion, I suggested to the doctor that he pass me with “poor score”.
He paused for a moment, then, scribbled the magic words, “pass with poor score”.
I was extremely fortunate to be off to the University of California at Berkeley for an
undergraduate degree paid for by the Marines.
Two years into my pursuit of an undergraduate degree, the war ended. I returned to
Minnesota to complete my studies in chemical engineering, and marry my high
school sweetheart. Upon graduation from college in 1948 I got a job as a chemist.
After a dissatisfying year working as a researcher in a chemistry laboratory, I realized
this was not my calling and entered law school, thinking I would follow in my father’s
footsteps and perhaps go into practice with him.
We needed additional income and I landed – quite by accident – a half-time job
counseling engineering students who were on academic probation. In order to get that
job, though, I had to enroll in Donald G. Paterson’s course in Occupational and
Vocational Psychology. As part of the course, Jack Black (who later founded the
Stanford Counseling Center and Consulting Psychologist Press) provided me with
vocational counseling. After administering the Strong and after talking to me for three
or four minutes about my scores (he was in a hurry to go to lunch), Jack concluded
that I should go into psychology.
I loved the law, but I was most entranced by the substance of that psychology course
and the charisma and intellect of Donald G. Paterson. I applied to the doctoral program
at the University of Minnesota. “Pat,” who would become my mentor and life-long
friend was a very direct, no nonsense kind of guy. He grilled me during an interview
as to whether I could survive the rigor of the doctoral program. Upon learning that I
had a degree in chemistry, he accepted me.
For my doctoral dissertation I developed an engineering analogies test known as the
Minnesota Engineering Analogies Test (MEAT) for which I still receive a few dollars
each year. I received my doctorate in 1954. The next step in my career was to do
psychology.
As part of a two-year internship at Minnesota’s Industrial Relations Center, I became
involved in several team research efforts. One involved the development of criterion
measures for Air Force Officers; another involved building a scale designed to measure
attitudes about unions and membership in unions.
Next was what might be termed a five-year residency at 3M Company as Manager
of Employee Relations Research. On my first day on the job, my boss told me he
knew nothing about psychology and did not want to learn anything about it. His
laissez faire style combined superbly with my own autonomous nature to give me
opportunities to carry out a vast array of interesting studies in applied psychology.
Between 1952 and 1961, my co-authors and I published over 50 articles, chapters,
and reviews.
The outpouring of publications during the 3M years made it rather easy during the
academic year 1961 for Minnesota’s Department of Psychology to justify hiring me as
an Associate Professor with tenure to replace D. G. Paterson – as if anyone could –
upon his retirement. This action was, in fact, part of the plan that had been made
between Paul Meehl, chair of the Psychology Department, and me at the time I had
taken the 3M job. I had suggested to him that my career aspirations were to return to
the University within a span of five or six years to handle that part of Paterson’s
functions that entailed Industrial Psychology.
I was much less aware at that time than I am now that I was indeed exercising great
wisdom by shrewdly avoiding having to serve an academic apprenticeship as an
assistant professor. The timing of this move was also important because my 3M
salary had already climbed to over $11,000 per year, a figure that threatened to make
the transition quite difficult financially. But, I had a strong urge to try to carry on that
facet of Paterson’s work that emphasized the psychology of individual differences and
the development of properly constituted Industrial and Organizational Psychologists.
In spite of my gaining immediate tenure, the move was not an easy one. My teaching
load was rather heavy and diverse. Over the first few years in the department, I
taught general psychology, statistics, survey research methods, differential
psychology, and undergraduate courses and graduate seminars in I/O psychology.
The reinforcement schedule was notably different. At 3M, morsels of reinforcement
were frequent and tasty; in academia, they were infrequent and usually ambiguous.
Getting underway on a research program required different strategies and a much
more obvious individual effort than had been the case at 3M. Plus, by nature I tend
to be somewhat introverted.
Classroom teaching is not my forte. I would get up at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. to prepare
my lectures. Although I was admittedly not a great teacher in the formal classroom,
I am told that I was an excellent mentor. Over the years 62 students received their
Ph.D. with me as their advisor or co-advisor.
Wayne Kirchner and I formed Dunnette Kirchner Associates through which the
Marine Corps could fund research proposed by my first graduate student, Richard
Hatch. More serious entrepreneurship came about as a result of another quirk of
circumstance. In 1967 a local consultant died suddenly, and I was contacted by a
member of the consultant’s Board of Directors – a now fulfilled and highly successful
owner of an R&D company that I had previously counseled to strike out on his own
and be his own boss – who asked me to take over the deceased consultant’s former
clients. The timing could not have been better. My colleague Wayne Kirchner and
I had been moonlighting some on consulting activities We changed the name of
Dunnette Kirchner Associates to Personnel Decisions, Incorporated (PDI), and we
were in business.
The founding of Personnel Decisions Research Institute was also based on an
unusual convergence of circumstances. We had decided to respond to a Request for
Proposals issued by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The request was
intriguing, because the purpose was to develop demographic and personality predictors
of adolescent drug involvement and drug abuse. We submitted a proposal through
PDI and within days learned we were funded and were underway with our research.
But, within six weeks we received a Stop Work order from NIDA. President
Nixon’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was curtailing funds throughout
the federal government. Our contract monitor informed us that OMB did not have the
same control over grant research as it did over contract research but NIDA could
only provide research grant funds to non-profit organizations. I asked Wally Borman
and Leaetta Hough if they wanted to join with me in creating a non-profit research
group – Personnel Decisions Research Institute (PDRI). They were eager, and in
spring of 1975 we founded PDRI.
Over the last 24 years, my personal life has been wonderfully enriched by the love,
warmth and companionship between my wife, Leaetta Hough, and me. We both
have found much happiness in sharing our lives and in the excitement and exhilaration
of sharing our zest for the science/practice of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
in our closely intertwined careers. I also have three daughters, Alex, Peggy, and
Sheri, and two granddaughters, Pauline and Rosalie, that have been very important
to me and for whom I feel tremendous love and pleasure in being part of their lives.
I retired from the University in December 1998. The hallmarks of my career included
a highly supportive father, a highly supportive mentor, a focus on problems of
practical significance, the ability to synthesize the empirical literature as well as to
draw upon theory in successfully pursuing those problems, and attracting, as well as
creating nurturing environments for, brilliant graduate students.
In spite of the rather haphazard circumstances that have marked the unfolding of
my career, there are some consistencies. Here they are:
1. Choose and reinforce good bosses. Actually for me this has almost come
to mean not having bosses.
2. Learn to write with clarity. I take as axiomatic that muddled writing is the
mark of a muddled mind.
3. Take yourself with a grain of salt. Have fun in what you do.
4. Live with ambiguity. Build new insights out of confusion.
5. Expect much from yourself and others. Let excellence be the primary
value. Difficult goals result in high accomplishment.
6. Don’t burn bridges. This does not mean looking back. Build new bridges
too. Extend and broaden your field of endeavor instead of constraining it.
7. Be there for both yourself and others. Grasp opportunity. Help others
grasp it too.
8. Avoid pomposity. Pomposity is the pre-cursor of much that is evil – the loss
of self-knowledge, cessation of humor, the blunting of achievement, and the
dulling of wisdom.
CEMS News • University of Minnesota
6

CEMS ALUMNI
W h i c h
Who
What
...were your favorite classes
...were your favorite professors
...is your advice to students and recent graduates
“My favorite class was ‘Occupational and Vocational Psychology.’
“Donald G. Paterson was my favorite instructor.”
“Expect change. Don’t be satisfied with the status quo nor seek stability simply for the
sake of stability.”
Marv Dunnette
In December, scholarship donors were invited to campus to meet
the students they support through their generous gifts to
scholarship funds. Department Head Frank Bates awarded 13
exceptional students with departmental scholarships funded solely
by alumni contributions and the local chapter of AIChE. These
scholarships were presented for a variety of reasons established
by the donors on the basis of academic merit, financial need and/
or community involvement. The amount distributed to these
deserving students totaled $18,250! Thank you CEMS alumni
for making these scholarships possible!
AIChE Scholarship:
Brian Kelly
Sara Mallie
Bobbie Huston Cronquist Scholarship
Amber Runge
Archie B. Japs Scholarship
Roxanna Ahrar
DEVELOPMENT CORNER
Jennifer Payne Pogatchnik
Development Officer for the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
THIRD ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP DONOR
APPRECIATION LUNCHEON HELD
Donald Leask Fuller Scholarship
Kevin Tung
Wan Mohd Izria Yahaya
Henrik Van Lengerich
Wendell & Dottie Manske Scholarship
Jason Sontag
Charles Mann Scholarships
Ben Wiltsie
Jonathan Derocher
Nick Halla
Anna Carlson
Joan Mattern Scholarship
Kwok Yin (Victor) Lai
If you would like information on how to establish scholarships or
fellowships to support students in the department please contact
Jennifer Pogatchnik at 612-626-9501.
Back row (l to r): Cliff Japs, Roxanna Ahrar, Kevin Tung, Mary Japs, Jason Sontag, Kwok Yin Lai, Henrik Van
Lengerich, Anna Carlson, Galen Britz, Amber Runge, Ben Wiltsie, Wan Mohd Izria Yahaya, Jonathan Derocher,
Nick Halla, Matt Atkins, Brian Kelly and Frank Bates. Front row (l to r): Cal Dahlquist, Iola Dahlquist, Kathy
Britz, Sara Mallie and Kurt Waananen.
For estate planning information, contact Jennifer by phone at 612-626-9501 or email at jpogatchnik@it.umn.edu.
CEMS News • Spring 2005
7

Focus On: UNDERGRADUATES IN TH
ANDRES ABIN-FUENTES
Major: Chemical Engineering
Year: Junior
Job: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Advisor: I used to work for Professor Chris Leighton from
(January to October 2004). Recently,I have been working
for Professor Yiannis Kaznessis.
Research Area: Magnetism and Bioinformatics
In Chris Leighton’s lab I worked with magnetic thin films;
taking magnetic measurements at different temperatures. In
Professor Yiannis Kaznessis’ lab I simulate gene networks
to come up with optimal rate constants so as to engineer better proteins.
What is your favorite part of working in the lab? My favorite part of working in the
lab is seeing how the physical intuition developed in classes can be used to solve
everyday problems in the lab.
Has anything humorous or interesting happened as part of your work in the
lab? I was the first to learn how to use a particular piece of equipment. It was funny to
see that grad students wanted me to train them on this machine even though I really had
only used it once or twice.
How did you get position in the lab? I told Chris Leighton that I would work for free
for a month, and if he liked my work after that time then he could start paying me.
What is your advice for others who want to work in the labs? Do it because it will
open many opportunities when you graduate and are looking for jobs or internships.
Make sure you don’t spend more than 10 hours a week in the lab, especially if you are
a junior. You will not be able to keep up with coursework.
Additional comments? It can also be very interesting if you are not in an area where
you would need lots of studying to get some idea of what it is you are exactly doing.
MATT AWDE
Major: Double major of Chemical Engineering and
Chemistry
Year: Fifth year Senior
Job: Undergraduate Research Assistant II
Advisor(s): Professor Chris Macosko and Professor L.
E. Scriven
Research Area:Polymers and Coating Process
Fundamentals
I currently work as an undergraduate research assistant II
for graduate student in the polymer research group, Joel
Bell, who is advised by Professor Chris Macosko. I analyze scanning electron
micrograph images (SEM images) of immiscible polymer blends. The end result of my
analysis is used to determine the interfacial area per volume between the two phases.
I also process the blends into discs that are microtomed and then analyzed via SEM.
The polymer blend systems we are interested in typically depict co-continuous,
interpenetrating morphologies near 50/50 compositions. I have also worked on coating
processes as a summer undergraduate participant advised by Regents Professor L. E.
Scriven. My duties involved theoretical and experimental work in curling and cupping
after effects of multi-layer lamination processes. The goal of my research project was to
determine if it were possible to eliminate or minimize curling and cupping in lamination by
altering processing conditions or more specifically the tension each layer is under prior
to lamination. The experimental aspect of this project regarded design and construction
of a “bench-top” laminator.
What is your favorite part of working in the lab? My favorite part of working in the
lab would have to be the flexibility and independence of the undergraduate research
experience. Research positions in the department are wonderful part-time positions
during the school year. Professors understand how rigorous course work can be and
will be flexible to your schedule. Research can also be fun and exciting. Working in a
research lab is great experience whether you wish to pursue a graduate degree in
engineering or want to immediately go into industry. In my first research experience, I
was able to develop industry contacts that eventually led to an internship this past
summer.
Has anything humorous or interesting happened as part of your work in the
lab? The most humorous experience I have had working in the laboratory involved
construction of the “bench-top” laminator. After the actual laminator had been constructed,
I implemented a few cosmetic improvements to the apparatus. Let’s just say that
adventure ended with more paint on me than the laminator.
How did you get position in the lab? I received my position with Professor Scriven
by dropping off a resume in his inbox. I was contacted and had a meeting/informal
interview with him shortly thereafter. I received my position with Professor Macosko
by talking to him after class. The next class period I gave him a copy of my resume and
CEMS News • University of Minnesota
UNDERGRADS IN THE LAB
transcript. He contacted me, and offered me a job shortly thereafter.
What is your advice for others who want to work in the labs? My advice to others who
want to work in the labs is to not be afraid to approach professors and ask them if positions are
available. Many professors hire undergraduate help. With a little work you should be able to
find a position. In my search for a research position, I noticed that many professors do not
advertise openings on the University’s online student job posting. I would definitely recommend
pursuing an undergraduate research position. If you are thinking about graduate school in
chemical engineering, it is highly recommended to take part in research because the experience
provides you with a taste of what may come in graduate school. Research experience also
looks great on resumes, and can open many doors for you in the future.
JONATHAN DEROCHER
Major: Chemical Engineering
Year: Fourth year senior
Job: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Advisor: Professor Ed Cussler
Research Area: Transport in polymer films
My job is basically to run diffusion experiments. This
includes measuring transport of acid and base through porous
and flake-filled polymer films. I also run gas permeation
experiments on porous films and block copolymer
membranes. In conjunction with this work, I also prepare
and cast the films as well as characterize them using scanning electron microscopy, wide
angle x-ray scattering, and small angle x-ray scattering. Transport in polymer films includes
acid transport through polyvinylalcohol/clay composites, gas transport in lamellar block copolymer
films, and some recent work on transport in self-assembled nanoporous materials made from
block copolymers.
What is your favorite part of working in the lab? The work is challenging and applies the
abstract material in the curriculum to real-world research problems. I am fascinated by the
materials that we make and how effective they are. For example, the porous filims I work on
now have 20 nm diameter holes and the PVA/clay composites I worked on before could
reduce the permeability 10x with a relatively low clay content. I also enjoy the relationships
I have formed with my advisor, other faculty, and the graduate students.
Has anything humorous or interesting happened as part of your work in the lab? I
was a part of Ed’s (in)famous guar pool experiment. That was an experience. I helped put the
guar in the pool, took data, and even swam in the pool. To see the number of media outlets
there to watch our silly little experiment was amazing. I was interviewed by the Minnesota
Daily and MPR even though I was not really a big participant. I also received emails from as
far away as France looking for pictures and information on the experiment.
How did you get position in the lab? I received an Undergraduate Research Assistant
Scholarship my first year which provided a scholarship and invited me to work in a research
Become
lab for ~10 hrs/wk
An
during
Official
second semester.
Corporate
Since the scholarship
Sponsor
paid me, Professor Cussler
did not have to, so it was a nice test drive for both of us. Ed asked me to stay on for the
summer and I enjoyed what I was doing so I accepted. I have been there ever since.
What is your advice for others who want to work in the labs? Find something you are
interested in and an advisor or grad student you can get along with well. Also, consider getting
a UROP or working for credit at first because advisors may be reluctant to pay you at first.
BORIS GOLDMAN
Major: Chemical Engineering
Year: Sophomore
Job: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Advisor: My main advisors are Professor Wei-Shou
Hu and graduate student Sarika Mehra. For my lab activities, my
advisors were also graduate students Karthik Jayapal and Wei Lian.
Research Area: Biochemical Engineering
In the laboratory, one of my tasks was growing culture of bacteria
called Streptomyces Coelicolor. I prepared special media for this
bacteria, so that it would sporulate. In the computer lab, one of my
main tasks was working with data. This data was collected from
experiments with the bacteria. I wrote programs in Excel, Visual Basic, and Matlab. Recently,
Sarika started introducing me to her mathematical models, differential equations that she wrote.
My task is coding and solving the equations in Matlab. Professor Hu works in many areas
of biochemical engineering, one of which is metabolic engineering. Research is done with
gene-protein networks of bacteria called S. coelicolor, a species with a fully sequenced
genome. Bacteria is grown in various conditions and microarrays are made. Graduate student
Sarika Mehra writes differential equations that model activity of genes and proteins in bacteria.
Also, Sarika’s recent works were in expression of bacteria’s genes. She uses boolean
networks in analyzing gene expression.
What is your favorite part of working in the lab? My favorite part of this experience is the
8

UATES IN THE LAB
THE LAB
math behind the biochemical systems. The best part includes learning and trying to understand
how equations can be written based on biochemical theory. In the lab, I learned some techniques
that are helping me in Organic Lab, and I learned some math. I have enjoyed analyzing equations
and producing mutli-color 3-D graphs of their solutions.
Has anything humorous or interesting happened as part of your work in the lab? Much
of my work helps me in my classes, because there a certain overlap of the material. For instance,
this fall, I will be taking ChEn 3701, Biomolecular Engineering. By then, I will have learned some
material covered in this class from work. Most of the TA’s for that class will also be from Professor
Hu’s lab. Even now, one of my TA’s is Joon Chong Yee, who also works in Professor Hu’s
group. I go to his office hours right before I start work.
How did you get position in the lab? During the summer of 2004, I looked for work in a lab that
does research in biotechnology or in bio-related topics. At first, I looked at the CEMS website and
viewed research interests of many professors. When I was reading Professor Hu’s research, I
found that one of his many research activities was mathematical modeling. Being also interested
in math, I wrote an e-mail to Professor Hu. Within several hours, I received a reply from two of
his graduate students: Ziomara Gerdtzen and Sarika Mehra. Soon, I began to work with Sarika.
What is your advice for others who want to work in the labs? My advice is to try to
understand what the concepts are behind some of the tasks that you can perform. For instance, if
possible, it is better to try to learn some of the chemical, biological, or engineering theory behind the
equations or behind laboratory techniques. Then, it is likely that the equations or techniques
themselves will be better understood.
JON GRZESKOWIAK
Major: Chemical Engineering with a general emphasis
Year: Fifth year student due to a semester-long co-op after my
junior year
Job: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Advisor: I work in Professor Macosko’s group, primarily with
Michail Dolgovskij, a graduate student.
Research Area: Polymer Processing
My duties have evolved with the research. I began by helping
work through old chemical inventories, moved into assisting with
co-extrusion processes, began running the DACA mixing and molding equipment, running the
rheology equipment to analyze the samples I had produced, and lately have been running the twin
screw extruder. Additionally, I have attended a number of the group meetings to listen to the student
lectures. The research I have worked on has primarily focused on the dispersion of nano-particles
by polymer processing.
What is your favorite part of working in the lab? There are many aspects of working in the
lab that I appreciate. The people I have met and work with are certainly at the top of the list. ,
followed by the flexibility and shared focus on my academic success.
Has anything humorous or interesting happened as part of your work in the lab? The
best anecdote I have thus far came the first week I worked in the group. I was inventorying the
chemicals in the flameproof cabinets and found an old bottle of THF. The THF used for these
experiments is not stabilized and forms explosive peroxides over time. I casually informed them
I found this bottle and the bomb squad was promptly called to remove it.
How did you get position in the lab? I put on my best suit and tie, delivered my resume to
Professor Macosko and told him I was interested in gaining some lab experience.
What is your advice for others who want to work in the labs? I hope you get as lucky as
I did.
KIM HAGLUND
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Year: Sophomore
Job: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Advisor: Professor Bill Smyrl
Research Area: The research deals with fuel cells; my advisor
works in the Corrosion Research Center.
There are basically two parts to my job. I am the manager of the
dry room, so I deal with people from other research groups who
want to use it, along with general maintenance of the dry room. I
also help a grad student with his work - I prepare samples and run
tests so he can use the data.
What is your favorite part of working in the lab? I like any lab work in general, so I like pretty
much every aspect of my job. The atmosphere is nice. It is pretty laid-back even while everyone
is working hard, which makes it more fun and easier to get to know the other people in the group.
Has anything humorous or interesting happened as part of your work in the lab?
Hmmm...not really anything I can think of.
How did you get position in the lab? I had a connection to the person who held the position
before me. When he graduated he offered me an interview for the job.
What is your advice for others who want to work in the labs? Get started early. Do not be
afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes happen to everyone and sometimes that is the
best way to learn.
Additional comments. At the time I took this job, I was considering switching my
major to chemical engineering. I have since decided to stick with biomedical
engineering (although this job did not have any negative influence on that decision),
however I think lab work in any area is useful for all engineering fields.
DOUGLAS STAUFFER
Major: Chemical Engineering
Year: Fifth Year Senior
Job: Undergraduate Research Assistant II
Advisor: Professor Chris Leighton
Research Area: Materials Science/Solid State
Physics
I start with the high temperature reaction of powders
to create doped Cobaltite (a type of ceramic)
compounds with unique magnetic properties. I then
characterize these compounds for electrical and
magnetic properties.
What is your favorite part of working in the lab? I like seeing the end result of
experimentation and problem solving. Also, playing with a big magnet is fun, in a
nerdy sort of way.
Has anything humorous or interesting happened as part of your work in the
lab? I have made some good friends. I published a peer reviewed paper. In March
I presented at the American Physical Society conference.
How did you get position in the lab? I asked Professor Leighton, who was my
instructor for MatS 4013.
What is your advice for others who want to work in the labs? 1. Keep a good
lab notebook. 2. If in doubt, go get a cup of coffee.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
New IT Dean: Dr. Steven Crouch, formerly the Associate Dean
for Finance and Planning in the Institute of Technology, is the
new Dean of the Institute of Technology. Dr. Crouch is also a
Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. H. Ted Davis,
who held this position previously, is back in the Department of
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Dr. Mos Kaveh,
formerly the Head of the Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department, is now the Associate Dean.
Scholar’s Walk: The Scholars' Walk is complete. The walk, with
benches, pavers and beautiful plantings runs from the
McNamara Alumni Center to behind Northrop Mall. The Walk
was built and will be maintained with private funds.
University called “A Model of Fiscal Responsibility:” Cliff
Hoffman of Deloitte Touche, LLP’s Minneapolis office has been
auditing the University’s books for seven years and just finished
this year. “The university has really tightened itself up. It is an
excellent example of an organization that is very focused and
very efficient. I’d call it a model of fiscal responsibility.” These
quotes ran in an editorial piece by the Star Tribune on Sunday,
November 21, 2004.
3Visit the Chemical Engineering and
Materials Science Department Website
www.cems.umn.edu
CEMS News • Spring 2005 9

x CLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
NEXT ISSUE: FOCUS ON ALUMNI FROM THE 1950’s
We have added four more pages for Class Notes!
It is back to the 1950’s for Fall 2005 The class note
request letters will be sent to our 1950’s CEMS alumni
in April. I can not wait to hear from you! Responses
received by July 15, 2005 will be included in the Fall
2005 newsletter. All submissions are subject to editing.
Send your contribution to:
Ms. Julie Murphy
University of Minnesota
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
393 Amundson Hall, 421 Washington Ave SE
Minneapolis MN 55455-0132
E-mail: jjmurphy@umn.edu
Phone: 612-625-4356; Fax: 612-626-7246
2004
Cordell Hardy (PhD, ChE, 2004) Isaac
Ethan Hardy was born on December 30,
2004 at 4:19 pm. He weighed 6 lbs., 13oz.
and was 20 inches long. I never thought four
hours of sleep would seem like so much until
now.
Caroline Beiser (BChE, 2004) and Matthew Thery
(BChE, 2004) Announcing the marriage of Matthew
Thery and Caroline Beiser! Matt and Carrie were
married on Saturday, September 18, 2004 in the historic
Bristol Borough of Pennsylvania. In other good news,
Carrie started a new job as a “Plant Engineer” at
Advanced Lubrication Specialties in Bensalem, PA.
Submitted by Raul Caretta
2003
Michael C. Svensk (BChE, 2003) I have worked for
Sebesta Blomberg & Associates (a consulting Firm based
in Roseville, MN) as a Project Engineer since September
2003.
2002
Leeor Kronik (Postdoctoral Associate 1999-2002) On
October 27, 2004 my wife Natalie, myself, and our son
Harel welcomed Yaara into the world. She was born at
a hefty 9 lbs, 4 oz.
Yuching “Geoff” Wong (BS, MatS, 2002) I am getting
married on September 3, 2005 in Minneapolis, MN.
2000
Eric J. Hukkanen (MS,ChE, 2001; BChE, 1999) I left Amundson Hall,
after many nights of sleeping in the lounge, in August, 2000. I subsequently
entered the Ph.D. program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
and worked under Professor Richard Braatz. I defended my thesis, “A
Systems Approach to the Modeling and Control of Molecular, Microparticle,
and Biological Distributions,” in September 2004. I am currently a consultant
for Mettler-Toledo AutoChem, Inc., in Redmond, WA. I married Renee
Gamboa on October 5, 2002. She is finishing her residency in Comparative
Medicine at the University of Washington, Medical School.
Claire Hypolite (PhD, ChE, 2000) My husband, Salomon (Raul) Moya,
and I are pleased to announce that on September 6, 2004, Jerilyn Yvonne
Moya-Hypolite (aka “Lilo”) entered the world. She weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz
and was 19.5 inches long. She is now dominating the lives of her parents,
and has daddy wrapped around her long little finger.
Jill J. Majeski (BChE, 2000) I got married to my husband Vijay in Mumbai,
India on December 6, 2004 in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. I am
working for an NGO here as a teacher (www.akankasha.org). I have a
wonderful bond with my 60 students who are ages 13-18.
1999
CEMS News • University of Minnesota
Heather (Hayes) Bergstrom (BChE, 1999) My
husband, Eric Bergstrom (BChE, 1999) and I
recently celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. I
gave birth to our first child, Aidan Jacob on July 22,
2004. Eric is employed at Sage Electrochromics in
Fairbault as a process engineer. After four years of
teaching high school science at Como Senior High
in St. Paul, I have quit my job to be a stay-at-home
mom.
Keith L. Hohn (PhD, ChE, 1999) I received tenure and was promoted to
Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Kansas State University in
July, 2004. My wife Joanna and I have a two-year old daughter, Elizabeth.
We are enjoying life in Manhattan, KS.
Milan Maric (PhD, ChE, 1999) I got married on October 10, 2005 to my
wife Anica.
Penny (Thompson) Starkey (PhD, ChE, 1999) Our second daughter,
Kayli Jade Starkey, was born on September 29, 2004. Her sister,
Teagan, was two in February. I am starting a new position at St. Paul
College teaching Chemistry. The school has recently become a community
college. I will help develop the chemistry curriculum and build the science
department.
Jason Payne (PhD, MatS, 1998) Our son, Ethan
James was born on July 8, 2004. He was 9 lbs, 1
oz and 20.5 inches long at birth. He’s now 23 lb
and 27 inches long at 8 months - big boy! He has
recently become mobile so the house has been
locked down i.e., all the fun, decorative furniture
and accessories have been relegated to the attic.
Such a great age! We love it!
1997
Rodney Hehenberger (BChE, 1997) I am still married to my wife Staci. It
has been eight years now. We have a four year old daughter, Abigail. I
currently manage the elastic lab in 3M’s Personal Care and Related Products
Division. I was one of the first generation Six Sigma Black Belts. I have four
patents issued, with seven more pending. I am currently in the first year of
the Carlson Executive MBA program — one more degree.
Benjamin T. Liu (BChE, 1997) I received my Ph.D. in chemical engineering
with my advisors Susan Muller and Mort Denn (PhD, ChE, 1964) at the
University of California-Berkeley in 2002. I have been working as a
postdoctoral researcher in the computational geophysics group at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory.
1996
Rebecca (Rishavy) Cater (BChE, 1996) My
husband Scott and I had our first child, Kaylyn
Trinity, on June 11, 2003. We are having so much
fun watching her grow, change and learn! I am still
working at Deltak in Plymouth, MN. I was recently
promoted to a management position. I now head
up Deltak’s Small Gas Turbine HRSG sales group.
I am enjoying the transition from Engineering into a
Sales/Management position.
1995
Stephane Bancel (MS, ChE, 1995) We have
been in Belgium for seven months. We all love it
here. My job, running Lilly Belgium Office, is lots
of fun. We are launching seven new products in
2005... so things are hectic. Brenda is meeting a
lot of new people and is busy all the time. Chloe
goes to school in an English-French speaking
school. Olivia was one in February.
Katherine Nelson Jolly (BChE, 1995) I am employed at Medtronic in
Cardiac Surgery Technologies. I still love my job at Medtronic. After 4.5
years developing medical devices, I finally have had the chance to use the
chemical part of my chemical engineering degree. My challenge was to
make a bench top model of the human leg that consisted of life-like muscle,
10

xCLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
fat, veins, and skin. I have worked on many cadavers now to compare the
model against what I am seeing in the human model. Since human anatomy
can vary from one person to the next, this model will be a very important tool
to evaluate the differences in our medical device prototypes. The tool we
are working on is a Saphenous vein harvester. We will be performing
several DOE’s using this model for our tool optimization. I will be presenting
my model at Medtronic’s Science and Technology conference next spring.
Since the model is completed, I am currently in charge of finding the best
bleeding control options. There is so much involved in this task, such as,
what has been done before, drugs, FDA regulations, etc. On a personal
note, I competed in three triathlons this past summer and six 5K races, and
one 10K race. I have not won any races yet - but am working on it.
Oliver J. Passe (BChE, 1995) Following
graduation, I joined Cypress Semiconductor. I then
moved to Arizona to work with ultrapure systems
for STMicroelectronics. In Arizona, I earned an
MBA in international business with high honors,
and was inducted as a member of Sigma Iota
Epsilon (SIE). I married my wife Sharon on May
28, , 2004. Currently, I am President at Nventa
Incorporated in Scottsdale, AZ. Nventa
manufactures a line of innovative jewelry care and
jewelry cleaning products. Our research in
ultrapure water technology has led to 17 innovations
and the development of a gem-safe cleaner
optimized for use in cleaning platinum jewelry. For more information visit
www.Nventa.com.
1994
Jim Cai (PhD, ChE, 1994) I have been in Seattle, WA since this past
August, working as a Vice President at Washington Mutual Bank.
Richard A. Cairncross (PhD, ChE, 1994) and Marylin Huff (PhD, ChE
1994) We have been living in Media, PA for five years. I am an Associate
Professor at Drexel University. Marylin has taken several years off from
being a professor so that she can raise our daughters Emily (6) and Chloe
(4). The Cairncross/Huff family is spending a year in Minnesota as I enjoy
a sabbatical leave at the University of Minnesota. We are reconnecting with
friends and colleagues from CEMS.
Jon V. DeGroot (PhD, ChE, 1994) I am still at Dow Corning (despite
recent layoffs) working in the area of polymer materials for photonics. Our
kids, Ben (9) and Shannon (6) are keeping Heather and I extremely busy.
Ben is playing cello and swimming on the local team. Shannon is learning
violin and loves dance. Both are doing well in school. Heather is still
playing violin with the Midland Symphony. She loves it because she gets to
play with the likes of Sarah Chang and Itzhak Perlman occasionally. I am
still traveling too much for work. I enjoy off road bicycling (there are not too
many mountains around Midland, so I can not truthfully call it mountain
biking), and playing guitar when I get the time.
1993
John Shane (BS, MatS, 1993) Wanderlust has struck again. I tendered
my resignation at Jacuzzi, and accepted a Manager of Marketing position at
Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix, AZ.
1992
Ranil Wickramsinghe (PhD, ChE, 1992) I was awarded a Monfort
Professorship by Colorado State University in June 2004. Each year
Colorado State University makes two of these university wide awards to
junior faculty in recognition of research achievements. I started my sabbatical
leave in May 2004. The first four months were spent at the Max Planck
Institute für Dynamik Komplexer Technischer Systeme, in Magdeburg,
Germany. The name translates into the Max Planck Institute for Dyanmic
Complex Technical Systems which I find not very informative! I was also at
the University of Essen. Since mid-January 2005 I have been in Singapore
helping to establish a new Chemical Engineering Department at Nanynag
Technological University. I will also spend a month in Japan on a Japan
Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship.
1991
Neil A. Dotson (PhD, ChE, 1991) 2004 was a year of welcomed changes
for the Dotsons. The largest change was the smallest: God granting us
Joseph Paul, born on January 20. He is an avid proponent of entropy
(wants to be on the winning side, I guess) and, as I write this, is days away
CEMS News • Spring 2005
from walking. A real joy. Next, I changed
jobs. The business of which I was a part
was sold to Apollo Management on August
1, 2004 becoming RSM. I did not go with
that sale, but was able to remain at Eastman,
to do process improvement work in the plant.
I had greatly needed to change work
radically for the mental challenge if nothing
else. So I have traded emulsion
polymerization scale-up for distillation
columns, scrubbers, and the like, and I wear
my hardhat more now - I think of it as a return
to roots (fits in with my growing appreciation
of bluegrass, in a strange way). I am greatly
enjoying the challenge of learning a new
area, a larger plant, and recalling what I learned over 20 years ago - the
tough part. Then, not content with that level of disruption, we moved to
another house and sold the previous one, to be closer to church and have
more room for the five of us. I think that 2005 will be a year of settling in to
all these changes!
Erwin Sutanto (Ph.D. ChE 1991) (advised by Skip Scriven and Ted
Davis) The terribly disastrous earthquake and tsunami in December hit the
west side and northern tip of Sumatra, but not eastern Sumatra where me
and my plants are located. I am now Vice President and Director of Ecogreen
Oleochemicals, in charge of doubling fatty alcohol production by
hydrogenation to 188,000 tons/year by early 2006 to meet the growing
demand in China. It is an exciting time for our engineering department.
1989
Theodore S. (Ted) Frick (PhD, ChE, 1989)
My wife Lisa and I visited Minneapolis in August
with our daughter Maggie. Maggie turned 16
this year. Her “Sweet 16” present was a trip
with us to the city of her birth. We toured her
around campus and our old stomping grounds,
including a lunch at Annie’s Parlor in Dinkytown,
and almost every breakfast at Baker’s Square.
We also took Maggie to the church we were
members of, where she was baptized - then
called Bethany Presbyterian, now Stadium
Village Church. Who did we run into? Chris
Macosko! His wife is now pastor of the church.
Chris took us on a tour of the church. He then gave Maggie a grand tour of
Amundson Hall and my old labs as well. What a treat it was to see Chris
again, and for Maggie to see a top-class polymer research laboratory!
1988
T. Kyle Vanderlick (PhD, ChE. 1988) I became Chair of Princeton’s
Chemical Engineering Department on July 1, 2004. I hope the administrative
skills of my Ph.D. advisor Ted Davis have rubbed off on me, but just in case
they have not, I am offering Connie Galt one million dollars to leave Minnesota
and come to Princeton to help run the place.
1986
Jatin Sheth (MS, MatSci, 1986) I recently moved to Microsoft India as
Platform Strategy Advisor - Manufacturing. My goal here is to win mindshare
for various Microsoft products, platforms and technologies in India’s booming
manufacturing sector. This is a very exciting role and underlines Microsoft’s
continued commitment and recognition of the unique business needs of this
sector. So now I have the best of both worlds - I get to retain my deep links
with manufacturing and simultaneously ride the information technology wave
that is sweeping India.The things I remember most about student life in the
Twin Cities are a bunch of random images and impressions - late nights in
the Amundson Hall material testing lab, Bill Gerberich’s amazing course on
Failure Analysis, Roger Staehle’s class on corrosion (on day two he gave
us a test on memorizing the periodic table), ice-cream at Big 10 on Washington
Ave, Gopher football games at the Metrodome, pizza at Rocky Rococo’s in
Dinkytown, and of course those Minnesota winters.
1985
Carl A. Houtman (MS, ChE, 1985; BChE, 1983) I completed a Ph.D. with
Mark Barteau at University of Delaware in 1990. I did a postdoc in France
(1990-91). I taught Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at UW-Madison
(including Intro to Polymer Science) (1991-1994). I have been working
with the Forest Products Lab since 1994. I am now a senior scientist at the
11

x CLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
USDA Forest Product Lab. Our interest in adhesives is related to the impact
that PSAs have on paper recycling. We helped the U.S. Postal Service
develop test methods and write specifications that assure that stamp adhesives
are compatible with typical paper recycling processes. During this project,
I have been able to apply the understanding of polymer science I gained in
Chris Macosko’s lab to a problem of national significance. My current research
interests include paper recycling, fungal enzyme modification of wood
biopolymers, and specialty chemicals from wood.
1984
Dennis Coyle (Ph.D. Ch.E. 1984) I
am a project leader in the Optical
Polymer Systems Lab at GE Global
Research in Niskayuna, NY. I was
named the 2004 Coolidge Fellow
Award winner. The Coolidge Fellow
award is Global Research’s highest
individual award for technical
excellence. The award is named for
William D. Coolidge (1873-1975), a
GE scientist and inventor whose process for making incandescent filaments
and a type of X-ray tube are both still used worldwide today. The award
recognizes an individual’s extensive technical accomplishments, his or her
positive influence on the technical community, and significant impact on the
GE businesses. The award is based on a nomination from GE Global
Research, recommendations from several GE businesses, and letters of
support from peers in academic institutions and other companies. I was cited
for my contributions to GE Advanced Materials business in developing
optical films, various coated film products, productivity activities, die design,
and blow molding designs. I was also cited for contributions to GE Lighting
in coating process development and new product introductions. As part of
the award, I will be allowed a six-month sabbatical to study at an institution
of my choice anywhere in the world. My wife Linda and I recently celebrated
our 20 th wedding anniversary. See us in the photo above with our daughter
Megan, 12, and son Matthew, 15. Our golden retriever Missy and black lab
Mikey declined to sit still for the picture. We are raising Mikey for Guiding
Eyes for the Blind and will give him up next summer (but can get another
puppy right away!). I return to Minnesota annually to teach part the coating
process technology course with Skip Scriven.
CEMS News • University of Minnesota
1983
Carol T. Hockert (BChE, 1983) Here is a photo
of my two grandchildren, Sydney (left, 19 months)
and Lilly (three months). As you can see, both
girls are big Vikings fans. They are the children
of my son, Mark Nelson (BChE, 2000) also a
CEMS alumnus.
John M. Torkelson (PhD, ChE, 1983) I was the
winner of the 2004 Charles M. A. Stine Award at the annual AIChE meeting
in Austin, TX.
1980
Ronald G. Larson (PhD, ChE, 1980; MS, ChE, 1977,
BChE, 1975) I have been chairman of Chemical
Engineering at the University of Michigan for four years.
I love it here at the other “U of M” in the midwest and
enjoy Ann Arbor. I have a wife, Bebe, and four kids:
Rachel (15), Emily (14), Andrew (13), and Eric (10).
We enjoy downhill skiing, and watching star trek reruns.
1979
Yaman Arkun (PhD, ChE, 1979) In 1999, after an academic career in the
states, I moved to my home country Turkey as the founding dean of a new
college of engineering at a private university (KOC University) in Istanbul.
I became Provost of KOC University last year. I am married to Ulviye, and
we have a son (Selcuk) and a daughter (Burcum). Selcuk is about to
graduate from high school, and Burcum is an architect in Atlanta. We loved
our stay at the University of Minnesota.
Thomas E. Myers (BChE, 1979) After doing ultra-high vacuum surface
science studies on model catalyst surfaces in graduate school, my career
path has been a wild and crazy ride. I spent eight years working on “dirty”
catalysis, synthetic fuels, economic evaluation, and environmental
technologies for Amoco Oil (now BP). I then spent three years doing
environmental consulting and learning the harsh realities of government
contracts. My next career step was with Despatch Industries, where I was
Supervisor of R&D lending testing and technical support to customers,
Sales, Marketing, Engineering, and Manufacturing, with a project
management stint for an international client thrown in for good measure. I
now find myself in technical sales for a vendor used by Despatch called
Everson Tesla Inc. They manufacture electromagnet and superconducting
electromagnet assemblies and systems for National Laboratories and OEM’s
throughout the US, with their parent company, Tesla Engineering Ltd.
(www.tesla.co.uk). I have a son, and twin daughters. My son is about to
get his driver’s license. He is active in sports and honors classes. My
daughters are discovering the mysteries of Middle School. They love
music, sports, and having fun with their friends. My wife is a career teacher
currently serving as an adjunct professor at a local community college.
She is the glue that makes the family work, and I love her for that! Please
feel free to contact me at tmyers@charter.net if you’re interested in “feeling
the field”.
1978
Brant C. Schulz (BChE, 1978) Professor Fredrickson was right when he
told me, as a senior, that a chemical engineering degree was one of the
most universally applicable degrees. After graduation, I worked a couple of
years in plant production engineering. I then earned an M.B.A., eventually
working my way up to a position as Chief Financial Officer. My most useful
skill along the way has been my ability to do “cash flow engineering” using
the fundamentals we learned in chemical engineering. This allows me to be
one step ahead of any situation that develops (and one step ahead of the
competition). I would love to thank all the people at the “U” for the great
education I received, especially Dr. Fredrickson, for the powerful insights
he provided for life beyond the degree.
1977
Manfred Morari (PhD, ChE, 1977) I was the recipient of the 2005 Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Control Systems Award, the
highest honor of the institute in the control field. The award citation reads
“For pioneering contributions to the theory and application of robust process,
model predictive and hybrid systems of control.”
1976
Steve D. Lipshitz (PhD ChE 1976) My wife, Moni, and I visited the
department in July, 2004. It was our first trip back since we left with during
a blizzard in February, 1976. I worked for three years at Union Carbide
in Charleston WV, and then returned to Israel. I head up the quality control
lab for Nilit Ltd. Nilit is Israel’s largest producer of nylon, specializing in
textured fibers for hosiery and underwear. Victoria’s Secret is a major
customer! I won Nilit’s top technical award last year.
1975
Ross D. Malme (BChE, 1975) I am the President,
CEO and Founder of RETX, a leading provider of
energy information technology, applications and
services to the electricity industry. In November
2001, I was elected Chairman of the Peak Load
Management Alliance (PLMA). PLMA is a trade
association consisting of energy companies,
consultants, vendors and industry groups dedicated
to bringing Demand Response Resources into the
electricity markets in North America. I currently also serve as the “Operating
Agent” for a project with the International Energy Agency (IEA) Demand
Side Management Program called Demand Response Resources. This
project, which involves 11 countries, including the USA, is focused on the
development and implementation of demand response in global competitive
electricity markets. I am a strong supporter of the performing arts community
through my service as a member of the Board of Trustees of the William
Baker Choral Foundation, which supports six choral projects located in
Atlanta and Kansas City. Prior to starting RETX, I held executive management
positions with several major energy and energy technology companies. I
created a coalition of retail energy suppliers, vendors and end-users
instrumental in unbundling revenue cycle services in California, and
pioneered the development of automated meter reading technology. I also
created a new wireless automatic meter reading system awarded “Most
Innovative New Product of 1986” by the National Communications Forum.
I hold an MBA from the College of St. Thomas, St. Paul MN.
1974
Gary Frank BChE, 1974) I have been working in the paper industry for
the last 30 years. At this time I work for Meadwestvaco at our pulp and
12

xCLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
paper facility in Chillicothe, OH. I am the General Manager of the pulp and
utilities part of the facility. We supply pulp, power, steam, and water to three
paper machines which produce 1100 tons of carbonless and specialty papers
a day. It is a very challenging job in a industry that has seen difficult times in
the last five years. On the home front, my wife, Claudia, and I have a
beautiful 135 acre farm in south central Ohio. We have 150 sheep,10 goats,
four border collies, four Shetland sheepdogs, two guard dogs, four cats,
and 30 ducks. Claudia trains and shows the border collies in sheepdog
trials. I train and show the shelties in agility trials which are dog sporting
events. My young dog qualified for the 2003 world team tryouts (olympics of
dog agility), and just missed making the team. It is a great hobby.
1972
Peter R. Pujadó (PhD, ChE, 1972) I am not very
photogenic. I am sending you a photograph of first
granddaughter, Jessica Cole Hutchinson, born on
September 9, 2004. I have four daughters scattered
around in New York, Portland (OR), Phoenix (but soon
moving to Puerto Rico), and Chicago. Only one (the
youngest) is an engineer (civil engineer). I am continuing
work on the development of methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology. I am still
involved in programming activities for the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers (AIChE). I received the 2004 George Lappin National Program
Committee Service Award of the AIChE. I will be co-chairing the 2006 Spring
National Meeting in Orlando. I also have a couple of sessions at the 2005
Spring National Meeting in Atlanta. I have 32 issued US patents and a few
more still in the pipeline. We often vacation in Europe: Spain, Italy, Poland,
Czech Republic, etc., but with the low value of the dollar it is becoming
prohibitive; still managed to spend about three weeks near the Pyrenees
this year though. I am not yet retired, but getting closer (2006?) if I can figure
out what to do post-retirement.
1968
Rolland A. Adkins (BChE, 1968) I worked at 3M for a couple of years,
and then went into the stock brokerage business. I retired in 2001.
1966
Stanley Sandler (PhD, ChE, 1966) I am currently the H. B. du Pont chair
of Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware and Director of the
Center for Molecular and Engineering Thermodynamics. I am also the
editor of the AIChE Journal, having succeeded former University of Minnesota
Professor Matt Tirrell in this capacity (interestingly, Matt succeeded another
University of Minnesota alumnus Mort Denn [PhD, ChE, 1964]). During
the past year I received the Founder’s Award from the American Institute of
Chemical Engineers. I was elected Fellow of the Institution of Chemical
Engineers (Britain), and named to a five-year term as Honorary Professorial
Fellow at the University of Melbourne (Australia).
Tomio Umeda (MS, ChE, 1966) Since I left Minnesota in 1966 with a
Master’s degree, under the advice of Rutherford Aris, almost forty years
have passed. During the thirty years of this period, I worked for Chiyoda
Chemical Engineering and Construction Company in the area of Process
Systems Engineering. I received a doctoral degree in engineering from
Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1972. I contributed to and published a lot of
papers in English and Japanese. My last position at Chiyoda was as the
deputy manager of Engineering Division. The last fifteen years of the period
had been spent in universities. In 1989, I moved to the University of Tsukuba
as a professor in the graduate school of Management Systems Sciences
until 1995. I then moved to Chiba Institute of Technology where I stayed
until 2003. I had a chance of playing an important role in establishing the
Department of Project Management which has been still the only one in
Japan and of being assigned as the Dean of the Faculty of Social Systems
Sciences. Those experiences heavily relied upon many things including the
graduate study at Minnesota and the chances of having personal
acquaintance with the colleagues in the area of process systems engineering
world wide: Professors Harman Ray (PhD, ChE, 1966), George
Stephanopoulos (PhD, ChE, 1978), Manfred Morari (PhD, ChE, 1977),
and Arthur Westerberg (BChE, 1960) are those who are alumni of
Minnesota. There may be many others whom I cannot remember. My
research on the optimal design of chemical processes continues. The
problems of determining optimal design variables for a given process structure
will be classified as the 1 st generation of optimal design problem. The 2 nd
generation problems will involve the determination of optimal process
structures embedded the 1 st generation problem. The 3 rd generation problems
will be more real ones whose optimal solutions will be congruent with corporate
strategies. These problems are now underway on the basis of business
CEMS News • Spring 2005
strategies and real options. This means the problems should reflect the need
of corporative evaluation criteria for optimization resulting in the real integration
of engineering and management. Regarding several memorable events in
connection with the Minneapolis campus, I have visited more than fifteen
times in the past. In April, 1979, I was invited to give a one week lecture on
chemical process design. This was the strongest memory for me of all my
visits of the campus. The party for celebrating Rutherford’s retirement was
another strong memory. My wife Keiko and my eldest son Toshiaki came
with me to Minnesota in 1965-66. They enjoyed spending time there. Keiko
and I now enjoy playing tennis every weekend. We also enjoy listening to
the orchestra, often conducted by Toshiaki, who now has a regular position
as the conductor of Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan. My younger
son, Satoshi, is an assistant professor at Department of Psychology at Keio
University. His son is working on a doctoral degree in psychology. Finally,
we do hope that Rutherford and Claire Aris keep their good health and we
send our best wishes.
1964
Don Julian (B ChE, 1964 ) I received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from
Kansas State University in 1968. I worked for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati,
OH for 20 years in Product Development moving up from Engineer to
Group Leader to Section Head. I worked for Sara Lee for 10 years at their
Hillshire Farm and Kahn’s division as Product Development Director. I have
enjoyed my retirement starting in 1999. My hobbies include: playing drums
in local bands, travel, collecting movies (16mm and DVD’s), music,
photography, and financial analysis. I have been married to my wife Jean
since 1964. We have two daughters, Kathy and Karen, who are both
chemical engineers!!! They work at Procter & Gamble in the Engineering
Department.
1962
John E. Rehfeld (BChE, 1962) I went to work for IBM in Boston after
graduation. I then went to Harvard to get an MBA. I have been in the
computer business in sales, marketing and general management for the rest
of my career. I now live in Del Mar, CA just north of San Diego. I teach
marketing in the MBA program at Pepperdine. I serve on several Boards of
Directors, including ADC/Telecom in Minneapolis. I am married to Gunvor
(a good Swede), and we have four children.
1960
David J. Pilling (BChE, 1960) After graduation, I went to work for Standard
Oil of California as a design engineer in San Francisco. After two years, it
was clear that the action was south in Silicon Valley. So then I went to work
for Fairchild Semiconductor, the instrumentation on fractionation towers to
microchip design required that time constants and heat dissipation of days
and 10,000 BTUs per hour, became nanoseconds and milliwatts: Twenty
story towers to chips needing a microscope to view. Fortunately, the equations
remained the same. While at Fairchild under the tutelage of Andy Grove and
Herb Kromer, I picked up a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University
of California. At 69 years of age, I am still on the front lines in circuit design,
responsible for 10 Gigaherz SerDes interfaces, carefully watching every
picosecond with S parameter extractions on chips with typically ten million
transistors. I thank Professor Ceaglske who advised me to take his
instrumentation options. My wife of 45 years and I have six children, 16
grandchildren and one great granddaughter. My oldest daughter (45) and
youngest son (33) followed me in electronic design. My daughter is currently
working on a design in Scotland. My son is working on a Swedish hearing
aid design in the Cadence Design Center in San Diego. I visited the University
of Minnesota in 1986. I met Professor Scriven as I walked into the Chemical
Engineering building. To my amazement he remembered my name. (I was
not his outstanding student in Unit Ops lab). I often wonder what has
become of my classmates, Ken Pickering, Walt Wiski, Rob Robertson
and Pat Pilney.
Gerald T. Westbrook (MS, ChE, 1960) As a graduate of the department,
plus a grad (MA, Economics) from 1961, I look back at my days at University
of Minnesota with fond memories. I only wish I had had more time to get to
know the people (faculty, fellow students, others) and the state better. The
biggest event in my life today is the release of my first book entitled “‘Acid
Rains’ on Liberal Propaganda. “Ultra Liberals, Far Lefters and Global
Warmers Beware.”
1959
Donald Perwien (BChE, 1959) I am a bipolar engineer. My first job was
with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, OH. I was diagnosed
as bipolar (manic depression). I took what could have been seen as a
13

x CLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
detriment and turned it into a challenge and fought all the way through. In
1964. I returned to Minnesota. At this time, I took and passed the State of
Minnesota Professional Engineer’s exam in chemical engineering. I was
hired by the State of Minnesota to be part of the staff of the Water Pollution
Control Commission,(which became the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
(MPCA) in 1967. I was proud and thankful to be a member of that team. In
the earlier years, I did stream surveys, industrial waste water treatment and
handling systems, liquid storage, PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) for my
remaining nineteen years. I ran most of the municipal sanitary sewer review
program throughout the state involving the design and construction of
approximately one billion dollars worth of sewers. In 1971, my doctor put
me on lithium carbonate which I used until 2003. In 1999, when he retired
he told me that I was one of his over achievers. I retired in the beginning of
2002. After I retired, I did a considerable amount of varied selected reading.
I intend to increase my fitness, do some kind of structured volunteer work
and spend time with friends and family.
1958
John G. Szafranski (BChE, 1958) I have been retired for eight years.
1955
John W. Gorman (PhD, ChE, 1955; BChE, 1948) My first job was with the
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, General Electric Co., in Schenectady, NY
from 1948 to 1950. I returned to the University of Minnesota in 1950 to work
on a Ph.D. Amundson Hall had just opened up. My wife Ramona, our
daughter Mary, and I lived in the University Village. The five years we
spent there were some of the best years of our lives. Neal Amundson was
the “Chief”, and his staff was the best. To name a few: George Preckshott
(my advisor), Herb Isbin, Norm Ceaglske and Art Madden. Johnny Antolak
ran the machine shop, Verne Nelson the supply shop and Mrs. Nelson was
the first sergeant of the office staff. I completed my graduate work in 1955,
and went to work for the Standard Oil Company of Indiana. I worked in
Research and Development for 29 years. I was a staff consultant on the
applications of statistics in research and plant operations. I am a Fellow of
the American Statistical Association, and the American Society for Quality.
After a long illness, Ramona passed away a month before our 54 th wedding
anniversary. Last year, Patricia Zalaznik and I were married. Patricia was
Ramona’s cousin, and was in our wedding party in 1947. Between us,
Patricia and I have eight children, seven grandchildren, and two great
grandchildren.
1951
Leigh Nelson (BChE, 1951) This year we started up a cooling tower for
our snowmaking system at Welch Village. We were able to get Cannon
River water closer to freezing before pumping it onto our hills and slopes as
manufactured snow. As a result we opened November 26 for the season
with rather good snow conditions. Once again, here is chemical engineering
at work. Next spring will travel to Chamonix, France for a week of skiing with
about 40 of our Welch Village ski and snowboard instructors. I will also have
my four children, without their spouses along, to ski Mount Blanc and the
region, which is about equal to four Vail’s. I am still on the slopes every day,
at 76. Skiing keeps me young and alive. I recommend it to all U of M alumni.
1949
Richard J. Ambrosen (BChE, 1949) I worked at 3M Co, Girdler Catalysts,
Universal Oil Products and Bayer Corporation (Miles Laboratories). I have
been retired for 17 years, and spend my time golfing and fishing. I do parttime
work during disasters with the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA). I am married with five children, seven grandchildren and two great
grandchildren. I spend my summers near our children and grandchildren in
South Bend, IN.
Donald G. Berg (BChE, 1949) After graduation, I worked for the Richardsen
Corp., Koppere, Inc., and Kentile, Inc. I spent most of my career in the
flooring industry, primarily with the GAF Corporation in the positions of process
control management and plant management at locations in Texas and New
York. My wife Ardelle and I have four children, nine grandchildren and
three great grandchildren. Through our working years and retirement we
have enjoyed traveling throughout the country, and have been active in
church activities wherever we have lived. I have also helped newcomers
to the country learn English, through the Literacy Volunteers Program. I
also helped organize plant tours with the AIChE chapter when at Minnesota.
Irving B. Elliott (BChE, 1949) I worked in Quality Control at National
Storage Battery. I have been an engineering research associate, a technical
writer/editor, a computer programmer at Remington-Rand Univac, Control
CEMS News • University of Minnesota
Data Corporation and Honeywell, Inc. I was a research engineer at General
Mills. I was the manager of computer programming at Advanced Scientific
Instruments. I retired in 1988. I enjoy traveling, photography, website design,
graphic arts and woodworking. I am married to Lois. We have three girls
(all married).
David J. Huch (BS, MetE, 1949) I worked at Alcoa for four years as a plant
metallurgist. I was at National Presto Industries for 38 years with increasing
responsibilities as a metallurgist, general foreman, production trouble shooter,
Chief Tool Engineer, and processing and quality control. I was the vice
president of the Carton Sale and Carton Manufacturing Co. I retired after 42
years. I have been married to my wife Margaret for 53 years. We have four
boys, three girls and 15 grandchildren. I am 78 years old, and in reasonable
good health.
Robert J. Johnston (BChE, 1949) I married my wife Lois in 1951. We
have six daughters, one son, 12 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
I worked in the petroleum refining industry at: Mobil, Flint Hills Refinery,
Coastal Refining, President of Derby Refinery, and independent management
consultant with Fine, and Frontier Refining. I retired in 1991. I enjoy golf,
bridge, and my family. I winter in Arizona, and summer in Minnesota and
Texas.
Robert B. Liss (BS, MetE, 1949) Shortly after returning to the U.S. after a
few years with the army in Europe during WWII, I enrolled at the University
of Minnesota in pre-dentistry to further my education. After my wife became
pregnant, my advisor suggested I enroll in metallurgical engineering and
graduate in three years instead of six. We lived in a trailer for married
veterans, and did not mind running barefoot through the snow at night since
private living quarters were rare in those days. Shortly, we were promoted
to a new deluxe Quonset hut near the farm campus. I was fortunate to find
employment at the Campus Club where the professors had lunch. The best
part of the job was receiving the leftover food. Coach Bernie Berman would
often give me tickets to the football games. At that time, the University had an
excellent football team. Bud Grant was one of the players. After graduation,
jobs were scarce, but eventually I found employment at the Bureau of
Standards in Washington, D.C. I was fortunate to meet Albert Einstein when
he paid a visit to the Bureau. We were also fortunate to attend several
functions with Senator Hubert Humphrey. He remembered my wife and I
since we campaigned for him in Minneapolis. I then found employment with
Caterpillar Tractor Co. My last position was to chair a group that converted
the company to the metric system, since Caterpillar sold over 50% of its
product to metric countries. After approximately 30 years with Caterpillar, I
retired to Vista CA. I keep busy caring for my many fruit trees, and taking
long walks by the ocean. I am fortunate to have a wife who thinks that her
main job is to keep me happy.
Rennold Luger (BChE, BBA, 1949) After graduation, I began work in the
engineering department with Beloit Iron Works on the design of paper making
machinery, next as design for job shops, specializing in tool design, then at
Toro as Senior Design Engineer. I was the founder and President of Luger
Industries. Luger Industries was a company I started from scratch in the
manufacture and sales nationwide, of 8’ to 32’ power and sail boats. I retired
in 1985, and live in Florida. I have seven children, 18 grandchildren and 11
great grandchildren. After a few years of boring retirement, I started a new
business on the internet at www.regin-inc.com, which is another satisfying
challenge.
John L. Medbery (BChE, 1949) I entered the Navy V-12 program in
1944. I attended the University of Minnesota from 1946 until 1949. My first
job was as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation at South Dakota State College,
Brookings. I joined International Minerals and Chemical Corporation at
Mason City, IA in 1952. I was called back to the Navy 1952 to 1954 for the
Korean War. I did duty as a Training Officer at the Construction Battalion
Center. I returned to IMA in Cincinnati in 1954, and worked up to plant
manager. I became the Production Coordinator in 1964. By 1974, I was the
Manager of Technology, and the Director of Operations—Production. I
have one patent (U.S. No. 4,528,021) for “Granulated Fertilizer and Slurry
Process Therefore.” I retired at age 60 in 1986. I continued as a consultant
to the U.S. and foreign fertilizer industry. I am living quietly in retirement in
southern Alabama.
Paul E. Thorson (BChE, 1949) I worked in plastic laminated, oil insurance
rating, fatty acid chemicals and lithium chemicals. I worked for Honeywell for
34 years in chemical related processes: electroplating, organic coating and
chemical waste treatment. I was a registered Minnesota Professional
14

xCLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
Engineering from 1964-2000. I retired from Honeywell in 1991. I did
consulting through Sopheon (Teltech) with major projects to control
electroplating processes waste in Latvia in 1993, and in the Ukraine in 1996
for World Environment Center (USAID financed). My wife and I celebrated
our 50 th wedding anniversary! We have four children and six grandchildren.
We are enjoying retirement. I sing in the Nordkap Male Chorus, am a
reading tutor at Jefferson School, and I volunteer at our
church.
ChE Float, Engineer’s Day 1949
ChE Float,
Engineer’s Day
1949
Roland D. Wardell (BS, Met Eng, 1949)
We, the graduates of the 40’s, were recipients
of a great age of opportunity. As a
metallurgical engineer, the growing materials
research and knowledge of the time, fed our
desires for industrial growth. We were
participants of a time when our country
blossomed into great leadership. How did
we get there? Many of us came from the
farm following years of depression, then
came the war and the late forties brought crowds of veterans to the University.
The G.I. Bill was an enormous help for us. After my stint as a Naval Aviator,
I was a happy recipient of both the G.I. Bill and available housing in University
Village. Married with a child, my wife and I, both from old fashioned
backgrounds, felt very accepting of Quonset hut living. The old buildings
and staff at the University strained under the large enrollment of veterans.
The staff at my school (metallurgy) went the extra mile in finding good
positions for their graduates. Professors Dowdell and Joseph were wonderful
“P.R.” people with many contacts in the industry. They directed me to
Honeywell, and 30 years of professional work that I cherished. Honeywell
was very much a part of the industrial expansion throughout my career. As
a supervisor of materials engineering, and the metallurgical and chemical
laboratory, my work was both challenging and rewarding. Honeywell
encouraged participation in organizations pertinent to our endeavors. I
was fortunate to chair the ASTM national committee on bimetals, resistance
wires and magnetic materials. Now retired, my wife Gladys and I live
comfortably in Edina, MN. Our six “kids” all live in the Twin City area, are
successful in their careers, and have provided seven wonderful
grandchildren. Since I retired, I have taken about 15 courses at the
University and in the Compleat Scholar program. Gladys and I have taken
up tree farming. We are environmentalists and have planted multi-thousands
of trees. I have written four books. The latest, “To Fly” is about my flying
experiences as a Naval Aviator during WWII. Two are about family history
– we have ten close relatives in the Civil War. One book is about ancient
tools, including some ancient metallurgy. During my active years in the
Alumni Association, I was chair of the I.T. group in 1969-70.
1948
Lewis F. Allin (BChE, 1948) I worked for one year as a petroleum engineer
in Venezuela for Creole Petroleum. I then returned to Wisconsin, and
became a minister with a master of theology from Drew Theological Seminary
(NJ). I was a minister of the University Methodist Church until retirement in
1988. The churches I served were in Minnesota, with the exception of
three years as a missionary in Kentucky. I came to the 50 th anniversary of
my graduation from the University of Minnesota in 1998, and was amazed
at the facilities and equipment for chemical engineering training. My wife
died of Alzheimer’s disease in 1998. I have many memories of the University
of Minnesota including six months as an aviation cadet in the U.S. Air Force,
pre-meteorology taking courses which later counted towards graduation as
a chemical engineer. We lived in Pioneer Hall and marched to class each
day. We could sing, but not talk as we marched. At one point, many military
came down with flu at the same time. Beds were put in the dance hall at
Comstock where we were treated for a few days! I helped Chas Lea
(BChE, 1948) through one year, and he helped me through the senior
CEMS News • Spring 2005
year of chemical engineering. He retired from 3M after many years. We
were in each others weddings and wedding anniversaries through the
years.
Herbert H. Borsvold (BChE, 1948) Retired.
Jack W. Dallman (BChE, 1948) After graduation, I accepted a job with the
Standard Oil Company. I worked in the Refining Department of the Technical
Service Division doing engineering work on various types of oil refining
equipment. In 1953, I was transferred to the Toledo refinery where I did
about the same thing except in casual clothes. I met my future wife, Betty, a
Minneapolis girl then working in Cleveland. We were married in 1954. We
had four children. In 1955, I took a job on the staff of a small independent
refining company called International Refineries, Inc. in Wrenshall, MN. We
settled in nearby Cloquet, and remained there until the refinery was closed
in 1981. In 1959, the refinery and associated marketing was purchased by
Conoco. I did engineering work into the 1960’s, and then became the
refinery Process Superintendent, and eventually the Refinery Manager. In
1981, Conoco closed the refinery, and I was transferred to the main office in
Houston, TX for about a year, and then to the refinery in Ponca City, OK
where I served as a superintendent over a portion of the plant until 1985
when I retired. During my career I had the privilege of serving on the
American Petroleum Institute’s Refining Division Operating Practices
Committee. This committee was primarily involved with oil refinery safety. I
also served on the Minnesota Safety Council Board for a few years. We
moved back to Minnesota to our place on Lake Vermilion. We have learned
to enjoy small town living, as well as having a place for our children and
grandchildren to visit and play in the lake. Since we retired, I have spent a
lot of time working on house improvements and workshop projects mixed
with occasional axe and
chain saw chores. We
have now become
involved in the Cook
community activities – I in
the Lions Club and Betty in
PEO. Although we take an
occasional vacation trip, we
usually stay at home in the
winter – we just go inside
and close the door. I have
included a photo of (l to r)
Tom Zeien (BChE, 1948)
and his wife Shirley, me and my wife Betty taken in 2000.
Glen A. Fevig (MS, ChE, 1948, BChE, 1945) I worked at the Upjohn
Company in Chemical Process R&D for 17 years. I was promoted to
Section Head of the Chemical Engineering Division. I won the Upjohn
Award in 1957. I was in the Fine Chemical Production for 17 years, promoted
to Group Manager. I worked as the Director of the Fine Chemical Division
for two years. I retired in 1984. I have six sons, 15 grandchildren and one
great granddaughter. I received a patent in 1959 on a process for separation
of stigimasterol from a soya sterol mixture by counter current crystallization.
R. Robert Holl (MS, ChE, 1948, BChE, 1945) I was in the V-12 Program
in chemical engineering when Dr. Mann was the Head of Chemical
Engineering. I later gained an MS Degree when Drs. Montana, Piret,
Ceaglske, and Amundson (young) were present. In 1949, I started working
for Exxon, mostly in Europe, and retired from them in 1986. Since then I
have continued to work on a self-employed basis for several companies in
the chemical/petroleum consulting field, and others in the oil trading business.
I have been quite involved with the Institute of Petroleum (now Energy
Institute), and the Society of Chemical Industries (London).
Paul G. Nygren (BChE and BBA, 1948) Donald Lindblom, my cousin, and
I started in chemical engineering in September of 1940. We both volunteered
for the Air Force meteorology program, and were called up in February
1943. Both of us were transferred to the Air Transport Command after
completing the meteorology program. They had trained too many weather
officers. My assignment was in air traffic control with assignments in North
Africa and England. Don was killed in June of 1946 in an airplane crash
when returning home from Cairo, Egypt. I completed my service about the
same time. I was originally in the class of 1944, but left for the service in early
1943. This fouled things up when I got back, because we were in an
accelerated program starting in the summer of 1942. Since I could not get in
all the required courses in one year, I opted for an extra year to qualify for
the BBA. I spent my working life with Union Carbide, mostly in technical
15

x CLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
positions, retiring in late 1985. I spent a little over three years in the Air Corp.
I have been enjoying my retirement in Florida and North Carolina. My wife
Virginia and I celebrated our 56 th wedding anniversary in August. I originally
matriculated at the University of Minnesota as Gordon P. Nygren. However,
I had served in the Air Force as Paul G. Nygren, the name on my birth
certificate. Therefore, I used this name to complete my schooling under the
GI Bill and for graduation.
Carlton F. Schrader (BChE, 1948) I worked at 3M Co. for two years. I
worked at Inland Steel Co for 36 years. I then spent eight years consulting.
I retired in 1992. During my years as an executive in charge of the
metallurgical, chemical and technical services departments the study of new
steel making technology provided an opportunity to travel to Europe and
Japan. My wife, Mavis, and I have been married for 62 years, and hope to
share a few more. We have four children, 11 grandchildren, eight great
grandchildren. I built a home in Georgia to be near two of our daughters.
The last ten years have been spent between Georgia and our winter home
in Green Valley, AZ.
1947
John L. (Jack) Anderson (BChE, 1947) The head of the organic division
at the University of Minnesota sent me to the University of Illinois in 1947. I
spent three months in the summer of 1949 at Dupont Central Research
where I made an unlooked for discovery. In 1950, I went back to Central
Research where I was given a lab all to myself. Only one other chemist (out
of 125) had such a lab to himself, and he needed it for formaldehyde polymers.
I discovered at least five new polymerizable classes in six years. Then I got
frustrated and left Dupont. I received a Class A reward ($1710/year for four
years). I spent two years at Dupont in Buffalo, and two years at Bauer and
Black in Chicago. I went on my own in 1958 to Orlando where I worked as
VP of a small radioactive materials lab. In 1960 I was consulting for a firm that
cleaned pipes and fittings for Cape Canaveral (later Kennedy). I volunteered
as an engineer at General Dynamics to develop a test for cleanliness. They
had no way to test their LIG O pipes etc. for cleanliness. I tried an experiment
14
using a C -labeled Tridecane and observed the exact opposite the test
intended. A very broad series of patents were filed from that work, and
issued in 1967. From then on I have been on my own. The patents ran out
in the 1980’s. The methodology which I discovered was extended to a test
of degree of cure of coatings and inks. My customers still use them.
2
Furthermore, the test of cleanliness to less than one nanogram/cm has
continued and is used by a number of users. I am still active in the field at 82.
Bobbie (Huston) Cronquist (BChE 1947) I recently opened a floral
design company – Unique Florals by Bobbie - to counteract the lack of
engineering work caused by the slump in high tech work in the Silicon Valley
Area of California. However, I still keep involved in the engineering community
through Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), having served
on the Board of Directors for the past nine years of the IEEE Consultant’s
Network of Silicon Valley. I am also active in the Role Model and DiscoverE
Programs in San Jose, both of which involve visiting classrooms to encourage
youth to stay in school to complete their education. I also use this time to
expose the students to technical fields, encourage them to work as teams to
solve problems, and to show that women can be successful in what are
usually considered traditionally male fields. In fact, some of these at-risk
youth have no idea what an engineer does! Recently I was honored to
have my name placed on a theater chair for 20 years of service as a
volunteer usher at a local 2400-seat Center for the Performing Arts!
William T. Paulson (BChE, 1947) I retired in 1984 as Director of Research
from the Standard Register Company in Dayton, OH. Standard Register is
a business forms company. I have been married for 46 years. We have
three grown children. I have been retired to the Florida Keys for 20 years.
We moved to Colony Care Retirement Village near Brodenton and the Gulf.
I am enjoying life!
1946
Henry A. Hauser (BChE, 1946) I worked for UOP Inc. for 37 years: Pilot
Plants Operator and supervisor (1946-48); Field operator tech service
(1948-1954); Tech Services (1954-1963; Head Tech Services London
Office covering the areas of England through India and Africa (1963-79);
and Manager – Management Service to refineries (1979-1982) I retired
from UOP in 1982. I was the Interim operations manager for Petromin in
Riyadh Saudi Arabia in 1983. I have two patents. I have been happily
married for 60 years. I have nine children, nineteen grandkids, and four
CEMS News • University of Minnesota
2
great grandkids. I play golf year round, and fish in between.
William S. Reveal (PhD, ChE, 1946) I went to work for Union Oil in the
development department at the Willmington, CA refinery. Clyde Berg (PhD,
1940, BChE, 1936) was the department manager. After I arrived, John
Ballard (PhD, ChE, 1949) joined the group, and also Norman Chen-Hu
Chin (PhD, ChE, 1944). I returned to Minneapolis briefly to receive my
degree in December, 1946. I left Union Oil in 1947. I joined the faculty of
Montana State University as an Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering
for four years. During this period I received a letter from Chiao Shih-Jen
(PhD, ChE, 1945) in Shanghai, China. Chiao had been a very good friend
at school. I do not recall any details of the letter except that he asked whether
I could arrange to send him the previous year’s copies of Industrial and
Engineering Chemistry magazine. This I did, but I did not hear from him
again. It was about this time that General Mao marched into Shanghai, and
I am afraid that Chiao must have suffered the fate of many others who were
well educated or prominent citizens of Shanghai.
1945
Barton C. Brown (BChE, 1945) On April
24, 1945, I flew my 24 th and final sortie in
a B-24 bomber at the age of 24. I had
then gone directly into the Army Air Corps
after graduation. I was separated from
active duty in 1945. The North Koreans
attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950,
and I was recalled involuntarily to active
duty in the U.S. Air Force. This ended my
career with Republic Steel. I then flew 34
sorties of North Korea while based at Kadena AB, Okinawa. I flew as a
navigator in four bombers: the B-24, B-29, B-36 and finally the B-47. For
the next three years I was a Guidance Control Officer on an Atlas-D missile
crew in Wyoming. I served as Chief of Maintenance for one year, followed
by two years as Squadron Commander of the 1953 rd Communications
Squadron at Misawa AB, Japan. I ended my USAF career serving as
commander of the 1965 th communications Squadron at Don Muang AFB,
Thailand. I retired from the USAF in 1969 as a Lieutenant Colonel. I settled
with my wife and two children in Albuquerque, NM. While there I worked as
a school teacher, real estate broker and finally an enrolled agent. In 2001,
my wife Marilyn and I moved to Abilene, TX, where she and the two dogs
take good care of me.
Ralph Myhre on top of the
Chemistry Building
Ralph Myhre (BChE, 1945) I married
to a high school classmate in 1945. We
had a daughter and a son. I was
divorced in 1965. I married a co-worker
in 1966. We had one daughter. I was
in the active Navy Reserve in 1946. In
1946 I was a superintendent at
Northwest Linseed Oil in Minneapolis.
In 1949 I joined North American Cement
as an Assistant Superintendent. I
became the superintendent or the
Concrete Brock Plant in 1952. I joined
Minnesota Mining in 1953 as a lab chemical engineer. In 1969, I became a
senior chemical engineering at Gillette. I retired in 1986. I ended up in the
Naval Research Reserve. I had two week “cruises” at nuclear facilities, and
one medical: being prepared for “clean up” in case of nuclear attack during
the “Cold War”.
1944
Berton E. Brown (BChE, 1944) After
graduation, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy
as an aviation cadet. I had primary
flight training (in Stearman Bi-Planes)
in Norman, OK. I was transferred to
Pensacola naval Air Station in July
1944. The war ended in August, so I
was discharged. I worked in the
engineering department of Standard Oil
(IN), now BP Amoco. I worked for them
for 40 years, retiring in 1985 as a
supervisor in “Process Engineering”. My position was concerned with all
process aspects of new and existing process facilities in the oil refineries. My
wife and I have been married for 59 years with four children, ten grandchildren
and three great grandchildren. We are both still in good health and enjoying
16

xCLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
life, playing golf, camping in our trailer and traveling.
This year we have been to Arizona, Texas and
Oklahoma. Every year we also return to Minnesota
to see old friends and relatives (getting fewer as they
are old and dying off). I grew up in Minneapolis and
attended Central High School. I lived at home (32 nd
and 2 nd Avenue South) while attending the University.
I had a part-time job as a janitor at the University
Hospital. It was not too glamorous, but it helped pay
for tuition and lab fees. See the photo of me and
Professor Chris Geankoplis taken in the hallway of Amundson Hall in 2000.
Chris also went to Central High School. He was the ace of the tennis team.
He was one year ahead of me in high school, and at the University. However,
his reputation as “The Student” in chemical engineering was known by all.
Francis W. Brown (BChE, 1944) I began my career at 3M by working on
technology required for making exposure suits needed by the Air Force to
protect personnel experiencing extreme environments. Later, I was assigned
to doing research and development of adhesives, primarily acrylates. In
1976, I received 3M’s Carlton Award for contributions “to the advancement
of acrylic adhesive technology; especially in those areas involving pressuresensitive,
aerosol, plasticizer-resistant, high solids and UV-curing applications
which constitute broad and basic product lines at 3M”. I have U.S. and
foreign patents in the field. Later that year, I was appointed to the position of
Corporate Scientist which I held until retirement in 1989. I continued consulting
and working part-time on special projects at 3M through June 2001. In
1954, I married my wife. We have two sons, and one granddaughter.
James M. Brunton (BChE, 1944) I am acknowledged as a business
founder. I participated in venture capital funding, primarily computer related.
I invested successfully in southern Calfornia real estate. I served two years
in the Navy during World War II, much of it overseas. I received a BA in
Journalism from the University of Minnesota in 1950. I owned and managed
a California marketing firm for 20 years, a reliable source of venture capital
and found opportunity. I was also the Advertising Manager of the Hughes
Aircraft Company Semiconductor Division for several years. I married my
wife Pat in 1953. We have three sons, all college educated and gainfully
employed today. We celebrated our 50 th wedding anniversary in August,
2003.
Conway C. Burton (BChE, 1944) Upon graduating, I served two years in
the Navy. I was then employed in the research and technical service
laboratories for stints with General Mills, Standard Oil of California (Chevron)
and Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco). In 1953, I became Vice President of
Chicago Testing Laboratory (CTL) which was international recognized for
its expertise in bitumens as well as asphalt emulsion technology and research.
At that time, I co-founded the Chicago Paper Testing Laboratory (CPTL). In
1963 became sole owner of both laboratories upon the death of the principal.
I retired in 1987, and sold ownership in CTL to my associates, and gave
CPTL to my daughter. I am a Fellow and Past President of the American
Council of Independent Laboratories (ACIL), emeritus member of AIChE,
honorary member of ASTM for which I chaired the Committee on Laboratory
Accreditation for ten years. I am also a Life Member of the Technical
Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) and the Association of
the Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT), and a registered professional
engineer in the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. I have been
involved in numerous litigations as an expert witness on asphalt materials,
construction and patents, and authored or co-authored publications on
asphalt technology. While in school, I managed the three University parking
garages. One benefit was having some of my professors stop by to visit.
Dean Lind was most remembered for his counseling and encouragement to
remain in school when I was experiencing grade and personal problems. I
also have fond memories of significant sessions with Dr. Stoppel, Dr. Smith,
Dr. Mann, and particularly Dr. M.C. Rogers who many years later joined
me in managing the paper testing laboratory (CPTL) for over 10 years. In
1950, I married my wife Doris. We were happily married for 53 years.
Shortly after retiring, my wife fractured her spine in a fall, and was paralyzed
for 12 years until her death in 2003. During this time, I devoted most of my
time overseeing her care. In between, I spent time golfing and enjoying my
family. We had three wonderful children who are all leading happy and
successful lives. I have six terrific grandchildren with whom I enjoy spending
time.
Myron O. Carlson (BChE, 1944) I attended Virginia Junior college before
going on to the University of Minnesota. I took time out to work in Detroit to
earn money to finish my college training. I was working as a chemical
CEMS News • Spring 2005
operator in the research department at Frederick Stearns
Pharmaceutical Co. when the U.S. entered WWII.
Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I
signed up in the “Enlisted Reserve” of the U.S. Army Air
Corps. I was allowed to return to college, and graduate
as a chemical engineer in March 1944. I received
orders on graduation night to report for active duty to be
trained as a “photo lab commander”. I took my basic
training at Seymour Johnson Air Base, and my technical
and officer training at Yale University, graduating as a 2 nd Lieutenant. I
served at Lemoore Air Base in CA, Walla Walla Air Base in WA and the 1 st
Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, CA. I was being trained as a Combat
Cameraman bound for the final “Battle of Japan” when the two atomic bombs
helped bring the war to a close. After the war, I worked as a chemist for U.S.
Steel’s Oliver Iron Mining Co., then as a pit foreman in the Walker and King
mines, then Supervisor of Training, then Chief Chemist in Charge of the
Coleraine laboratory, the Eveleth laboratory and the Minntac lab in Mt. Iron.
I was promoted to Assistant Superintendent in charge of Operations at the
Minntac Taconite Pellet plant (the world’s largest at that time). Finally, I
became Superintendent of Process Metallurgy and Quality Control, retiring
in 1983. My hobbies include flying airplanes and photography. I combined
them for awhile by operating Lakeland Air Photo, doing aerial photography.
I married my wife Thelma in 1944. We raised six children and have a total
of 30 grandchildren. Thelma died in 1997 of Parkinson’s disease. We had
been married for 52 years. I married Violet Doyle in 1999.
Charles G. Heisig (BChE, 1944) My father taught many of the chemistry
and chemical engineering students their General Chemistry and Qualitative
Analysis. After graduation, I spent two years in the USNR [finished service
as ETM2]. I attended the University of Texas-Austin for four years receiving
MS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering. After that I spent two years
at ORNL (Reactor Engineering Division), two years at Union Carbide, two
years at the University of Michigan engineering research labs, and finally
came to Rochester, NY working at the old Taylor Instrument Co. and its
follow-ons Sybron, and Servomex for 25 years. I wound up at Kodak for
nine years. I retired in 1990, and have stayed in Rochester ever since. I
like it here.
Robert L. Meuleners (BChE, 1944) I worked in petroleum refining from
1944 to 1978 for Pan American Refining, Amoco, Standard Oil Indiana (now
called British Petroleum). I worked in the processing technical service and
process design of petroleum refining equipment areas. I got married in
1971. I retired to northwestern Arkansas. I live on a 20 acre farm, and grow
everything including grapes, and making wine (what else would you expect
from a chemical engineer!).
1943
Harry E. Connors (BChE, 1943) I spent my whole career in the field of
plastic raw materials as a tech service engineer, sales representative, product
manager, sales manager and Division General Manager. I worked for five
corporations B.F. Goodrich from 1943-57; Interchemical Corp from 1957-
58; Diamond Shamrock (Diamond Alkali) 1958-1978, General Tire (1979,
1980); and Ferro Corporation (1980-1986). I was the Division General
Manager with the title of President or Vice President at Diamond Shamrock,
General Tire and Ferro Corporation. I was a management consultant from
1986-1992.
Russell L. Ferguson (BChE, 1943) My life history is
very complicated, enough to write a book, if I had any
desire to do so. During my life I have visited 58 different
countries, primarily working for what is now
ExxonMobil, and then for the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), and then for the
Inter-America Development Bank (IDB). While living
in New Jersey, my wife and I raised six girls and one
boy. She did most of the work, since I was gone so
much on trips. My wartime experience is recorded on
a one hour tape for the Oral History Program at Florida
State University in Tallahassee, FL if you are interested.
To state it briefly, as a Navy LCT skipper, I helped the
Marines raise the flag on Iwo Jima. The Navy Admiral
said “Well done”.
Robert F. Hubbard (BChE, 1943) In 1943 I joined the Navy. I went to the
Naval Academy and received a Commission Ensign USNR. I went to San
Diego CA, and the submarine S32. In 1944, I was sent to sub officer’s
17

x CLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
school. From sub school I was sent to the new construction sub S299
Manta. Then I went around in the Pacific via Pear Harbor. I made two war
patrols on Manta, and then the war ended on our third patrol out of Guam.
In 1946, I went to work for Cargill Inc. in Minneapolis operating the vegetable
oil extraction plants from Philadelphia to San Francisco. In 1955 I returned
to Minneapolis to become the Operation Manager of the Cargill grain elevator
from USA Coast to Coast. I retired from Cargill in 1984. I continued to be a
consultant on grain elevator explosions. I retired in 1992 to live winters in
Fountain Hills, AZ, and summers on Lake Sybil near Vergas, MN.
Blain Jaeger (BChE, 1943) I am married with no children. I spent three
years in the USNR in WWII. One ½ years were spent in the South Pacific on
LSM. My work experience involved process engineering, process
development and product development for various companies. I spent
seven years in technical sales of lab and pilot plant equipment and
instrumentation. Lastly, I was a Project Manager in design and construction
of chemical plants. I took early retirement in 1980 due to prostate cancer.
Since, graduation in 1943, I have lived in 18 states and two foreign countries.
In business and for pleasure, I have traveled to 11 countries.
James W. Ryder (BChE, 1943) Most of my career, after the Navy in WWII,
was with Standard Oil affiliates: Esso Research and Engineering, Esso
Standard Oil, International Petroleum, Humble Oil, Exxon, and ExxonMobil.
After retirement from Exxon, I taught middle school math and science for six
years.
Oakley W. Surine. (BChE, 1943) I retired in 1982 after 37 years with 3M
doing research and development work. Earlier work in the technical field
included: 1939-41 Duluth Water Department – research on Lake Superior
plankton and b-coli bacteria with study of selective media for the bacteria
tests; and in 1942 start up of the new Duluth sewage plant. I was in charge
of the laboratory. I rejoined 3M in 1946. I joined the U.S. Air Force from
1944-46, and was soon transferred to the National Advisory Committee on
Aeronautics to work on Jet Engine Combustors. I married my wife Susan in
1946. We have two sons, three grandsons, and a great grandchild. If I
were starting a career now, I would like to work on reclaiming nuclear waste.
Since my retirement, I have done volunteering as a Master Gardener, and
income tax preparation through AARP. My wife Susan and I keep at the
gardening.
Charles Benton (“Ben”) Way (BChE, 1943) I joined Green Giant in 1946
after getting out of the service. I was Director of Quality Assurance and, as
such, did a lot of food grading and visited plants and potential acquisitions in
France, England, China, Korea, Japan and Germany, so I did see part of
the world. My wife, Betty, and I have been enjoying retirement since 1980.
We have five kids, 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren (so far).
I enjoy playing golf a couple of times a week, still walking, most of the time. I
also keep the lawn mowed and the gardens weeded (more or less). We
have taken a few trips since retirement to Alaska, the Gulf to San Diego, New
York to the St. Lawrence Seaway, and some shorter auto trips. We do not
travel much anymore. Our kids now come to visit us. We are now content
to stay put in our LeSueur, MN home (of 56 years) and just relax.
John Zingsheim (BChE, 1943) I had to accelerate my program to graduate
in 1943 due to ROTC in the war. I received no commission at that time, but
a ticket to Officer Candidate School. I became a 2 nd Lieutenant in 1943, and
attended nine months special Radar Engineering Program at Harvard and
MIT. I married my college sweetheart, Nell in 1944. I shipped overseas to
the Panama Canal Zone for the duration of the war. My first civilian job was
as a Process Research Engineer at California Research Corp. After two
years, I returned to Minnesota to enjoy the theatre of seasons climate! The
rest of my career was spent at 3M as a project engineer. I designed and built
facilities including acrylate production and polyester film plants. I also worked
in International Engineering with projects in Italy and Brazil, and finally in
Microfilm Manufacturing Engineering managing the department that oversaw
bringing microfilm machines (cameras, readers, printers into production from
laboratory designs). I retired in 1985 after 37 years at 3M. I am now busy
keeping up with family of seven children, their spouses, 16 grandchildren
and three great grandchildren. I travel, read, maintain the house and yard
and the lake cabin. We celebrated our 60 th wedding anniversary last year.
We are looking forward to our 70 th .
1942
Raymond R. Fitzgerald (BChE, 1942) I graduated on June 13, 1942,
and married my wife Rita that same day. I was in the U.S. Navy for three ½
years. My final rank was at Lieutenant, Senior Grade. I worked at Thompson-
CEMS News • University of Minnesota
Hayward Chemical Co. from 1946 until 1984. I served as a salesman,
branch manager, regional manager, Vice President-Regional Manager,
Vice President – Corporate Purchasing, Vice President – Research and
Development, Senior Vice President – Marketing, and Executive Vice
President – Chief Operating Officer. I retired in 1984. The best job I have
ever had! I have had the same wife for 62 years. We have a son and a
daughter.
Kenneth O. Johnson (BChE, 1942) I was an oil company executive with
Exxon Corporation in Houston from 1942-1974. I was a heavy fuels manager
in the supply department (1968-72), a wholesale fuels manager, marketing
department (1972-1974). I was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of Belcher Oil Company from 1974-88. I was the Senior Vice President of
Coastal Corporation (1988-2001). I served on the board of directors of the
Petroleum Industry Foundation and the New World Symphony. I married
my wife Margery in 1945. We have one son.
1940
Henry W. Dahlberg, Jr. (BChE, 1940) After receiving my degree, I first
married, then joined the U.S. Army Air Force, and served as a Squadron
Engineering Officer on B-24 bombers in North Africa and Italy in 1944 and
1945. Upon returning, I worked for International Minerals and Chemical
Corporation in Chicago for over 28 years. It was during this period that I
helped build up the size and vitality of the Greater Chicagoland Alumni Club.
I also served as a Director of the Alumni Association in 1966 through 1968.
The University of Minnesota had me come to Minneapolis to receive the
Alumni Service Award and medal in 1978. I retired to Denver in 1991, and
met a charming widow, Iris Smith, a few months later. After years of persuasion
on my part, she became my third wife in 2001. Between us we have three
children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. I have just had
my 88 th birthday and have surprisingly good health. Last October, Iris and
I went with about 100 of my fellow veterans to the 40 th reunion of my 485 th B-
24 Bomb Group in Washington, DC. We visited the new WWII memorial.
Samuel R. Callaway (BS, Met.E., 1940) Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln,
it was three score and eight years ago (Fall of 1936) when I entered the
University of Minnesota, hoping to study engineering. Formation of the
Institute of Technology to include Chemical Engineering, Mines and
Metallurgy and the College of Engineering and Architecture had just been
announced. Career counseling and aptitude testing in high school were
non-existent, so I hoped that my interest in things mechanical and scientific
was an indication that I could become a mechanical engineer. The economy
had improved a little, but the Great Depression was very much with us. A
survey of employment statistics for the class of 1936 engineering graduates
published in the Techno-Log (the students’ magazine) showed that all of the
metallurgical engineering graduates had jobs. This impressed me. I switched
to metallurgy in the spring quarter of my freshman year. The curriculum was
heavily biased toward process metallurgy because of the importance of iron
mining in Minnesota. We had many lab courses related to extraction and
refining of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, but I found physical metallurgy
courses dealing with heat treatment were more interesting to me.
Nevertheless, we had a lot of courses related to mining – geology and
surveying for example. During the summer after my sophomore year we
had to spend four weeks in mine surveying and two weeks in a geology field
trip. An event which changed my life occurred during the summer after my
junior year. I was one of ten engineering students from around the country
given summer employment at the Research Laboratories Division of General
Motors in Detroit. We met and worked with top-notch engineers and scientists,
including GM’s famous inventor, Charles (Boss) Kettering. We visited many
manufacturing plants and were given the assignment of writing a paper
about some technical subject (mine was x-ray and electron beam diffraction
of which I was completely ignorant.). It was the best summer I ever had. I
must have done something right because I was offered a job at GM Research
when I graduated in 1940. From 1940 until 1953, I worked in the Metallurgy
Department of GM Research where I had assignments involving development
projects in heat treatment, failure analysis, critical material substitution and
high temperature alloys. In 1953 and 1954, I was assigned to General
Motors Manufacturing Staff where I worked on corporate wide material
standards and specifications, and coordinated activities of the GM
Metallurgical, Forging and Foundry Committees. In January 1955, I was
transferred to General Motors Electro-Motive Division in La Grange, IL as
Chief Metallurgist. It was the only plant in the corporation which started with
raw material, manufactured components, assembled and shipped the finished
product. We had responsibility for the design and manufacture of large
diesel engines, direct current electric generators, traction motors, electrical
controls and the car body and under-frame which supported them. I retired
18

xCLASS NOTES Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Alumni
in 1985 after a 45-year career with General Motors. Looking back over my
career, I feel I was very fortunate to have found work which provided
continuing challenges and satisfaction that comes from meeting those
challenges. I met and worked with outstanding engineers and technical
people. I was honored to be recognized as a Fellow by the American
Society for Metals when that Classification was established in 1970. I was
accepted for admission into the University of Chicago Executive Program,
and earned an MBA from that institution in 1960. There is no question in my
mind that the technical courses I took prepared me for my life’s work, but I
would be remiss if I did not acknowledge one course which was important
and essential to my success almost every day of my life. I refer to the
freshman English course. The course was taught by four inspired professors,
Harlow Richardson, Clifford Haga, Ledru Guthrie and Luther Becklund,
from a textbook entitled Practical Forms in Exposition. They tried to teach a
group of grammatically challenged engineering students how to write reports,
letters, technical descriptions and other documents which they would need
to prepare if they were going to communicate effectively with colleagues and
the general public. I would like to think that I put their teaching to good use,
and I applaud their legacy. I married my high school sweetheart, Betty in
1941. The marriage lasted 55 years and we had two children, and two
grandchildren. I married my second wife, Rae Willkie in 1998. We spend
our summers in Illinois, and winter in New Smyrna Beach, FL (246
Canterbury Circle, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168).
Harold E. (Hod) Ferrin (BChE, 1940) Most of my professional life was in
development determining present or potential market for new or potentially
Paul Earle (PhD, ChE, 1948) of Denver, CO passed away in September, 2004.
Midway through his graduate years he joined the United States Army and as a
Captain he supervised the building of harbor defenses in Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian
Islands, AK for the northern hemisphere during WWII. Later he was promoted to
Major and received the Legion of Merit, the highest non-combat military award. In
1972 he joined Johns-Manville Corp. While at Johns-Manville, he was a national
sales manager, a research scientist with thirteen patents, and head of the Marine
Division. Upon retirement at age 62, he did worldwide consulting in building products.
He was a volunteer for International Executive Service Corps in Thailand and
Portugal. He was a member of the A.S.T.M., A.I.Ch.E., and Alpha Chi Sigma
Fraternity.
Robert A. Ebel (PhD, 1949; BChE, 1940) of Oak Ridge, TN,
died Friday, January 21, 2005. In 1941 he went on active duty
as a second Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery. During the defensive
phase of WWII he served in Alaska. Later, in the offensive
phase of the war, he became a combat engineer and served on
Okinawa. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of captain.
He returned to the University of Minnesota to pursue a Masters
degree. His thesis was titled “Diffusion Rates in Porous Solids”
and was judged to be of doctorate quality. As a result he was awarded a Ph D with
a major in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics in 1949. He came to
Oak Ridge in 1949 and went to work for the Gaseous Diffusion Plant in the Operations
Analysis Division. The Diffusion plants were enlarged until they consumed ten
percent of the total power being generated in the United States. His interest was
improving the thermodynamic and fluid dynamic efficiency of every stage. By so
doing, the overall unit productivity was increased threefold compared to the original
K25 plant. He retired from the Diffusion Plant in 1983. For the next ten years he
traveled with his wife to every continent including Australia. He loved to write and
authored books on the history of his family, going back to the Civil War, and also a
book on their travel adventures.
Sherman I. Garnett (MS,ChE, 1940) of St. Louis Park, MN, died December 26,
2004.
Theodore A. Haas (BChE, 1949) passed away on September 7, 2004 in St. Paul,
MN. He battled a rare neurological ailment, Progressive supranuclear palsy for nine
years.
Paul Johnson (BChE, 1937) passed away on September 15, 2004. He was the
Director of the Research and Development Department of the Phillips Petroleum
company from 1937 until 1980. He was granted 46 patents.
Bernard D. Kleban (MS, ChE, 1942) passed away on
October 2, 2004. He worked for Hercules Research Center
for over 25 years. He worked in the high pressure lab, and
then as a cost estimator, until his retirement in 1977. He had
many interests including leading scout troops, photography,
camping, playing the clarinet, puppetry, magic, needlepoint
and traveling.
CEMS News • Spring 2005
In Memoriam
new products. It always was interesting and never old hat.
Robert Hayden (BChE, 1940) I went to work for E.I. du Pont de Nemours
in 1940. I entered the Army active duty in spring 1941. I retired from the
Army in 1945 as a Major CA (AA). I returned to du Pont at Martinsville
Nylon Plant in 1950. I retired from du Pont in 1950.
1939
Alden Bohlig (BChE, 1939) I have been retired from junior high school
teaching with the Los Angeles Unified School District since 1979, and am
enjoying the fruits of the 28 years I did with them. I turned 87 on January 13,
2005. I have two sons and one daughter, three grandchildren and a great
grandson. Except for arthritis I enjoy good health. I attend Senior University
at Cal State Long Beach. I take “Recorder” and “Theatre and Arts”. Is
there any one left from the chemical engineering class of 1939?
Roger E. Williams (BChE 1939) I worked four years in the pulp and paper
industries in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Then I moved to California and
worked for Chevron (now Chevron-Texaco) for 38 years (including the
two years in WWII in the US Navy). I retired in 1981 as Senior Engineering
Associate. My wife Peggy and I had 54 years and three children together.
After Peggy died in 1999, I moved to Orangevale, CA in 2000. I now enjoy
golf, walking the course, visiting the children and their offspring, my three
grandsons and one granddaughter. Last year I visited the University of
Minnesota campus and enjoyed a walking tour of engineering and alumni
sites. I can be reached at (916) 987-1144.
Harold Langland (BChE, 1944, MS, ChE, 1946) died on November 11, 2004.
He worked for Archer Daniels Midland Company as a chemist until 1959 when he
and the family moved to San Diego. He was then employed by Benton Paints as a
paint chemist until it was sold to the Frazee Paint Company. He continued his work
as a chemist for Frazee Paint until his retirement in 1990. After retirement Harold and
his wife Cecilia enjoyed traveling until the complications of Harold’s diabetes made
that too difficult. Harold was an avid sports fan especially for the University of
Minnesota Gophers.
Charles L. (Chuck) Leavitt Jr. (BChE, 1941) died December 4, 2004 in Paradise
Valley, AZ. He was a graduate of West High School and the University of Minnesota
where he earned a degree in chemical engineering. He served in the U.S. Army
Chemical Corps during World War II. He was president of United Electric Corporation
(Lax Electric) until 1981. He was president of Hillcrest Country Club from 1960-61,
served on the Board of Directors of Oak Ridge Country Club and the Science
Museum of Minnesota, and was a member of the Masonic Order, Osman Temple
and Rotary International.
William B.F. Mackay (PhD, Met.Eng. 1953; M.S. Met, 1947; BMet, 1940) passed
away on September 29, 2004 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He was a Professor
Emeritus of Metallurgical Engineering, at Queens University. He was educated at
the Royal Military College of Canada, The University of Manitoba B.Sc. (E.E.)
1938. After being mobilized with the Canadian Army in 1939, he transferred to the
Royal Canadian Air Force and retired with the rank of Wing Commander. He was an
Assistant Professor in Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He
joined Atlas Steels in 1956 and served in various capacities including that of Chief
Metallurgist and Manager of Research and Development. In 1966 he joined Queen's
University as a Professor and Head of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering,
a position he held for 11 years. He was acting Dean in the Faculty of Applied Science
from 1976-1977 and Associate Dean for Research from 1978-1981. In 1984 he was
named Professor Emeritus of Metallurgical Engineering. In 1993 he received the
Degree of Doctor of Science (Hon). He was active in many organizations including
St. John Ambulance and the Boy Scouts of Canada.
Frederick L. “Lee” Paul, (BChE, 1936) of Sun City West AZ, died on December
18, 2004.
Tung Tsang (MS, ChE, 1952) passed away on January 1, 2005 after a short illness
of heart disease and pneumonia. He finished his M.S. in chemical engineering from
the University of Minnesota in 1952. He worked at Honeywell for two years. He
then went to graduate school at the University of Chicago, graduating with a doctorate
in chemistry. He worked for Argonne National Laboratory for nine years, went on to
the National Bureau of Standards for two years. He then became a professor of
Physics at Howard University. He published over 100 scientific papers, and was
the author of two text books.
19

AWARD WINNING POLYMER FACULTY
Three of our polymer faculty won
major awards in the last year.
Frank Bates won the 2005
David Turnbull Lectureship from
the Materials Research Society
(see page 2 for more
information).
Tim Lodge was the recipient of
the American Physical Society
Polymer Prize in 2004.
Chris Macosko was awarded
the Society of Rheology E.C.
Bingham Medal in 2004.
(left to right) Frank Bates, Chris Macosko and Tim Lodge.
We are very proud of our awardwinning
faculty!
Note: Oliver Passe (BChE,1995) correctly guessed the building in the photo from the Spring 2004 newsletter.
(Answer: Amundson Hall, 1952. The photo was taken on “move in” day.)
This issue of CEMS News is available on the CEMS Department Website: www.cems.umn.edu.
Department of Chemical Engineering
and Materials Science
Institute of Technology
University of Minnesota
151 Amundson Hall
421 Washington Avenue S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
UPCOMING SHORT COURSES
Rheological Measurements Short Course:
Application to Polymers, Dispersions, and
Processing Short Course
June 12-17, 2005
Contact: David Giles 612-625-0880 or
giles@cems.umn.edu
Change Service Requested
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Minneapolis, MN
Permit No. 155
Coating Process Fundamentals Short Course
June 13-15, 2005
Contact: 612-625-9075
http://www.cce.umn.edu/coatingtechnology
Cellular Bioprocess Technology
Short Course
(formerly Cell and Tissue Reactor Engineering)
June 13-16, 2005
Contact: 612-626-7630
http://hugroup.cems.umn.edu/CTRE