Nevada Silver and Blue - University of Nevada, Reno

Generations
Photo by John Wheeler
From the nation’s
space program to
state politics, the
Gibson family has
recorded a halfcentury
of
achievement and
public service.
(From left) John
Gibson and Fred
Gibson Jr.
by John Wheeler
18 Nevada Silver & Blue • March/April 2004
During the first two minutes — or to be
exact 122 seconds — of each ascent,
America’s space shuttles are lifted out of
the atmosphere with the assistance of a white
powder, a solid fuel propellant that has more
than a little silver and blue mixed in.
“There’s slightly less than two million
pounds of our stuff on every flight,” says Fred
Gibson, Jr. (Mines, 1951), who, along with his
father, Fred Sr., in Henderson, Nev., in 1955
perfected and patented a method for making a
fuel ingredient that would revolutionize the
aerospace field.
Two minutes is all it takes to burn off two
million pounds of ammonium perchlorate, but
it’s enough to send the shuttle on its way. For the
accomplishment, the younger Gibson received
maintains strong Nevada orbit
the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the
highest civilian honor awarded by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Fred Gibson Jr. is retired now, but his brother
John (Metallurgical Engineering, 1964), is the
current president and CEO of American Pacific
Corporation, the company that ultimately
evolved in 1982 through mergers with several
other chemical companies whose genesis dates
back to the end of World War II. Fred succeeded
his father as president in 1966 and held the
position until 1997 when brother John took over.
It’s a notable success story, but one that was
marred by tragedy. The name of the company
that merged with American Pacific was Pacific
Engineering & Production Co. or PEPCON. For
many long-time Nevadans, the acronym still