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List of chemical engineers
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This is a list of notable chemical engineers, people who studied or practiced chemical engineering. The main list is those who achieved status in chemical engineering or a closely related field such as management or science. At the foot of the page is a list of people with chemical engineering qualifications who are notable for other reasons, such as actors, sportspeople and authors. These are people sufficiently notable to have an article in Wikipedia. Further articles on chemical engineers would be welcome. See the talk page for suggestions of people who should be added to the encyclopedia (and then to this list).

NameKnown forAffiliation
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A

Rakesh AgrawalNational Medal of Technology and Innovation for Air separation.Air Products and now at Purdue UniversityMohammed Al MadyExecutive president of SABIC.SABICSara AkbarChief Executive Officer of Kuwait Energy and the Kuwaiti oil fires.Kuwait UniversityMukesh Ambani (born 1957)Chairman and managing director of Reliance IndustriesReliance IndustriesNeal Amundson (1916–2011)Chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Minnesota from 1949 to 1977. Professor, chemical engineering and mathematics 1978–2011, and provost (1987–1989) at University of Houston.University of Minnesota and University of HoustonC. Anandharamakrishnan (born 1973)Principal Scientist and Pioneer in Engineered human stomach and small intestinal system, Food Nanotechnology, Food 3D printingIndian Institute of Food Processing Technology, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, IndiaLeonid Andrussow (1896–1988)Developed process to make hydrogen cyanide from ammonia and methaneIG Farben (now BASF)Rutherford Aris (1929–2005)Regents Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota (1958–2005). Pioneered the use of computers to solve optimization problems in kinetics and catalysis. Prolific publication record (see Rutherford Aris bibliography).University of MinnesotaFrances Arnold (born 1956)Pioneer of directed evolution of proteins, the process of using random mutations to optimize protein function. Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2018California Institute of Technology

B

Robin Batterham (born 1941)Former Chief Scientist of Australia (1999–2006)Chief Scientist of CSIRO Division of Mineral EngineeringOffice of the Chief Scientist (Australia)Jay Bailey (1944–2001)Pioneer in metabolic engineeringCalifornia Institute of Technology (1980–1992), ETH Zurich (1992–2001)Frank S. Bates (born 1954)Leader in polymer science and block copolymersUniversity of MinnesotaHenry Bessemer (1813–1898)Invented Bessemer process for manufacturing steelIndependent inventorGordon Beveridge (1933–1999)Former president and vice-chancellor of Queen's University of BelfastQueen's University of BelfastLois Aileen Bey (born 1929)First woman to graduate in chemical engineering from IITIllinois Institute of TechnologySamuel Bodman (1938–2018)United States Secretary of Energy (2005–2009)US GovernmentCarl Bosch (1874–1940)From 1908 until 1913 developed the Haber-Bosch process together with Fritz Haber. His other notable work was for the introduction of high-pressure chemistry. Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1931BASF and IG FarbenHenry T. Brown (1932–2020)First African American director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (1983)Polaroid Corporation (before: Esso Research & Engineering Company and ER Squibb & Sons)Jomar Brun (1904–1993)Designer of the world's first industrial heavy water plant, and helped in its sabotage during World War IINorwegian Institute of Technology

C

John G. Collier (1935–1995)Two-phase flow and nuclear power expert, head of United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and Central Electricity Generating BoardUnited Kingdom Atomic Energy AuthorityJohn Coulson (1910–1990)Co-author of what became the standard UK textbook set; Coulson & Richardson's Chemical EngineeringNewcastle University, UK

D

Donald A. Dahlstrom (1920–2005)Inventor of the Hydrocyclone and related correlations, 1943. Elected to National Academy of Engineering in 1975 for, "Contributions to liquid-solids separation processes in mineral recovery and waste disposal"".University of UtahZara Salim Davidson (born 1973)Raja Puan Besar of Perak. Heads petroleum and petrochemical consulting firm in Malaysia.George E. Davis (1850–1907)Regarded as the 'founding father' of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of ManchesterNguyet Anh Duong (born 1960)is a Vietnamese-American, she assisted in creating a new weapon called the Thermobaric weapon in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to assault tunnels and caves being used as hideouts by the Taliban in Afghanistan.United States Department of DefenseJohn Drosdick (born 1943)Chairman and CEO of SunocoSunoco

E

F

James R. Fair (1920–2010)Notable authority on process design, equipment design and separationsMonsanto Company, University of TexasRichard Felder (born 1939)Multiple award-winning engineering educatorNorth Carolina State UniversityIan FellsEnergy expert and popular science broadcasterNewcastle University, UKMaria das Graças Foster (born 1953)CEO of Petrobras. First woman to head a major oil-and-gas companyPetrobras, BrazilArthur Fry (born 1931)Inventor of Post-it note3M, USA

G

G. D. Yadav (born 1952)Emeritus Professor and Distinguished ScientistInstitute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, IndiaClifton C. Garvin (1921–2016)Chairman and CEOExxonEugenio Garza Lagüera (1923–2008)Chairman and CEOFEMSAKaren Klincewicz GleasonNamesake of Klincewicz method to predict critical values of pure componentsMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyEdwin R. Gilliland (1909–1963)Namesake of the Gilliland correlation used in designing distillation columnsMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyRoberto Goizueta (1931–1997)Former chairman and chief executive of Coca-ColaCoca-ColaAlexander Goldberg (1906–1985)President of the Technion – Israel Institute of TechnologyTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyBill Gore (1912–1986)Founder of W. L. Gore and AssociatesW. L. Gore & Associates, DuPontRobert W. Gore (1937–2020)The inventor of Gore-TexW. L. Gore & AssociatesPraveen Kumar Gorakavi (born 1989)well recognised as Polymath and former child prodigy. Multi award winnerPartner at The Phi Factory1Andrew Grove (1936–2016)former chairman and CEOIntelPierre Gy (1924–2015)developed theory of sampling of particulate materials for analysisIndustrial consultant

H

Fritz Haber (1868–1934)Received Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1918 for the fixation of nitrogen from the air, the Haber process; also developed chemical warfare agents for the German government during World War I. Received the Rumford Medal in 1932 for, "... the outstanding importance of his work in physical chemistry, especially in the application of thermodynamics to chemical reactions".Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyVladimir Haensel (1914–2002)Inventor of the "Platforming" (Platinum Reforming) process, which led to the production of low cost high octane gasoline, and contributed to development of catalytic converters for automobiles.University of Massachusetts AmherstJudith Hackitt (born 1954)Former chair of UK Health & Safety Executive and former president of Institution of Chemical Engineers.Health & Safety ExecutiveDouglas Patrick HarrisonCarried out research for DOE Vision 21 project as well research to remove CO2 from stack gas of coal-fired power generators and for production of pure Hydrogen from gasification of coal.Louisiana State UniversityFred Hassan (born 1945)CEO and chairman of Schering-Plough Corporation; former chairman and CEO for the Pharmacia CorporationSchering-PloughBeatrice Hicks (1919–1979)Co-founder and first president of the Society of Women EngineersSociety of Women EngineersCsaba Horváth (1930–2004)Pioneer of modern separation scienceYale UniversityBenjamin Hsiao (born 1958)Vice-President for Research and Chief Research Officer at Stony Brook University; also the current spokesperson of the Advanced Polymers PRT Beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source located at Brookhaven National LaboratoryStony Brook UniversityDuPont CompanyBrookhaven National Laboratory

I

Sheldon E. IsakoffFormer director of DuPont and former president of American Institute of Chemical EngineersDuPont & American Institute of Chemical EngineersDan Itse (born 1958)US Politician and holder of four patents on low-emission technologyWorcester Polytechnic Institute

J

Lisa P. Jackson (born 1962)Former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2009–2013)Environmental Protection AgencyJoseph J. Jacobs (1916–2004)Founder of Jacobs Engineering GroupJacobs Engineering GroupRakesh Jain (born 1950)Integrated bioengineering with tumor biology and imaging gene expression and functions in vivo for drug delivery in tumorsHarvard Medical SchoolMae Jemison (born 1956)Science mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavour and first black woman in spaceNASA

K

W. W. Keeler (1908–1987)President and CEO of Phillips Petroleum Company. Graduated in chemical engineering from University of KansasPhillips Petroleum CompanyTrevor Kletz (1922–2013)Author of books dealing with chemical engineering safetyLoughborough UniversityMarius Kloppers (born 1962)CEO of BHPBHPRiki Kobayashi (1924–2013)Professor of Chemical Engineering; well known for his pioneering work in phase equilibrium, physical properties and transport properties which were highly important to the development of the natural gas processing industries.Rice UniversityCharles Koch (born 1935)CEO of Koch IndustriesKoch IndustriesDavid Koch (3 May 1940 – 23 August 2019)Executive vice-president of Koch IndustriesKoch IndustriesFred C. Koch (1900–1967)Founder of Koch IndustriesKoch IndustriesB. D. Kulkarni (1949–2019)Chemical Engineer and Distinguished ScientistNational Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Maharastra, India

L

Robert Langer (born 1948)Tissue Engineering and Controlled-Release Drug Delivery pioneerMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyNicolas Leblanc (1742–1806)Inventor of the Leblanc process for making sodium carbonate from common saltFrank Lees (1939–1999)author and pioneer of Loss Prevention in the process industriesLoughborough UniversityWarren K. Lewis (1882–1975)American chemical engineering professor; played a role in defining the field of chemical engineering during its early development. Co-developer (with E. R. Gilliland) of Houdry process for petroleum refining. He is also known as the "Father of Modern Chemical Engineering"Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyBodo Linnhoff (born 1948)Author of a 1977 thesis that formed the basis for pinch analysis, a methodology to optimize energy usage in processes.Linnhoff MarchArthur Dehon Little (1863–1935)Consultant and co-founder, with William H. Walker, of Arthur D. Little, a major consulting firmArthur D. Little, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyAndrew Liveris (born 1954)Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical Company.Dow Chemical CompanyYueh-Lin LooInventor of nanotransfer printing; professor of engineeringPrinceton University

M

Ramesh Mashelkar (born 1943)Leading architect of India's science and technology policies and current president of Global Research Alliance. Former director general of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research.CSIR India, Global Research AllianceSheri McCoy (born 1959)Former CEO of Avon Products.Avon ProductsThomas Midgley Jr. (1889-1944)American mechanical and chemical engineer, best known for the development of leaded gasoline and Freon / chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).General MotorsVictor Mills (1897–1997)Leading the team that created the modern disposable diapers and the Pampers brandLuis E. Miramontes (1925–2004)Inventor of the hormone used in the first oral contraceptivesSyntexMario Molina (1943–2020)Co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in elucidating the threat of chlorofluorocarbon gases to the Earth's ozone layerJim May (1934–2023)Chief Scientist of the Chemical Engineering section at the Australian Atomic Energy Commission in 1967 and CEO of the Australian Minerals Industry Research Association Limited (AMIRA) from 1968 to 1994.AMIRA, University of South Australia, University of Queensland

N

Dudley Maurice Newitt (1894–1980)Scientific director of Special Operations Executive developing gadgets for spies during World War II – a real life Q (James Bond). Received Rumford Medal, in 1962 for "... his distinguished contributions to chemical engineering."Professor at Imperial CollegeGiulio Natta (1903–1979)Received Nobel Prize in 1963 for his works on high polymersProfessor at Politecnico di Milano

O

Lars Onsager (1903–1976)Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1968Yale UniversityAdam Osborne (1939–2003)Introduced the first-ever portable computer in 1981, the same year IBM launched the personal computerOsborne Computer CorporationDonald Othmer (1904–1995)Co-creator of the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical TechnologyPolytechnic University of New YorkDavid J. O'Reilly (born 1947)Chairman and CEO of Chevron CorporationChevron Corporation

P

Linus Pauling (1901–1994)Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1954, Nobel Peace Prize, 1962California Institute of Technology, Oregon State UniversityRobert H. Perry (1924–1978)Author of Handbook in 1934, now Perry's Chemical Engineers' HandbookUniversity of OklahomaMartin Lewis Perl (1927–2014)Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the tau leptonStanford Linear Accelerator CenterNicholas A. Peppas (born 1948)Pioneer in drug delivery, biomaterials, hydrogels and nanobiotechnologyUniversity of Texas at Austin

Q

K. B. Quinan (1878–1948)Explosive manufacturing expert in World War I and first vice-president of the Institution of Chemical EngineersDe Beers

R

Sabah Randhawa (born 1954)Academic administrator and former engineerWestern Washington UniversityLee Raymond (born 1938)ExxonMobil chairman and Chief Executive OfficerExxonMobilMax Reis (1927–2014)chemical engineer and President of theTechnion – Israel Institute of TechnologyDan Reneau (born 1940)President of Louisiana Tech UniversityLouisiana Tech UniversityGeorge Maxwell Richards (1931–2018)President of Trinidad & Tobago. Previously worked for Shell Trinidad Oil Co. and taught chemical engineering at University of West IndiesJack Richardson (1920–2011)Co-wrote the textbook which became UK standard Coulson & Richardson's Chemical EngineeringSwansea UniversityNorbert Rillieux (1806–1894)Inventor who is most noted for developing the process that turned sugar from a luxury to a common commodityMargaret Hutchinson Rousseau (1911–2000)designed the first commercial penicillin production plant

S

Albert Sacco (born 1949)US astronautWorcester Polytechnic InstituteRobert Satcher (born 1965)US astronautNASALanny Schmidt (1938–2020)Surface science and detailed chemistryUniversity of MinnesotaMan Mohan Sharma (born 1937)Eminent Indian chemical engineering scientist and first Indian engineer to be elected as a Fellow of Royal Society, UKFormer director of Institute of Chemical TechnologyWaldo L. Semon (1898–1999)Inventor who patented more than 116 inventions, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC)BF GoodrichL. Douglas Smoot (born 1934)Research on aerospace and rocket fuel propulsionBrigham Young University, California Institute of Technology, Lockheed Propulsion Company, Scientific Research Society of America

T

Edward Teller (1908–2003)Hungarian-born American theoretical physicist and "father of the hydrogen bomb"University of Göttingen

Bohr InstituteUniversity College LondonGeorge Washington UniversityManhattan ProjectUniversity of ChicagoUC DavisUC BerkeleyLawrence LivermoreHoover Institution

Gautam Thapar (born 1960)CEO of Indian conglomerate Avantha GroupAvantha GroupMartha J. B. Thomas (1926–2006)American chemical engineer who worked on fluorescent lighting and phosphorusRadcliffe College, Boston University, Sylvania Electric ProductsZehev Tadmor (born 1937)former President of Technion-Israel Institute of TechnologyTechnion-Israel Institute of Technology

U

Lewis Urry (1927–2004)Invention of long-lasting alkaline batteriesEveready Battery Co

V

W

Bill Wakeham (born 1944)Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton (2001–2009) and president of Institution of Chemical EngineersUniversity of SouthamptonWilliam Hultz Walker (1869–1934)Pioneer in teaching chemical engineering. Co-authored, with W. K. Lewis and W. H. McAdams, the first American textbook of chemical engineering, Principles of Chemical Engineering, published in 1924.Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyJack Welch (1935–2020)Former chairman and chief executive officer of General ElectricGeneral ElectricDavid W. Wood (born 1967)Ohio State University professor known for work on self-removing affinity tag methodsOhio State UniversityNathaniel C. Wyeth (1911–1990)Inventor of PET plastic bottlesDuPont

X

Y

Andrew YakubaFormer Group Managing Director and Chief Executive OfficerNigerian National Petroleum CorporationYeo Bee Yin (born 1983)Malaysian Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change. Started her career as a field engineer in the petroleum industryMinistry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (Malaysia)

Z

Chemical engineers who became notable for other activities

Chemical engineers in fiction

  • In the Charlie Chan film The Shanghai Cobra (1945), "H.R. Jarvis, Chemical Engineer" is stenciled on the laboratory door rented by the eponymous villain who had been using that alias while he schemed to steal radium from a nearby bank vault.3
  • In the CBS radio thriller The House in Cypress Canyon, which aired live on 5 December 1945, on "Suspense Radio," the character "James A. Woods, Chemical Engineer" was the perpetrator of a murder-suicide and was the narrator/protagonist of the supernatural yarn found in a shoebox, the basis of the story.4
  • In a 1958 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "The Motive", character Tom Greer kills a man he finds in the phone book, who happens to be a chemical engineer.
  • Captain Virgil "The Cooler King" Hilts, as portrayed by Steve McQueen in the 1963 film The Great Escape
  • Graeme Miller, played by Ewen Bremner in the 2004 film AVP: Alien vs. Predator
  • Stanley Goodspeed, played by Nicolas Cage in The Rock
  • Gunner Jensen, played by Dolph Lundgren in the 2012 film The Expendables 2
  • Comic Book Guy in The Simpsons has a degree in chemical engineering.

See also

References

  1. "Hyderabad scientist makes it to Forbes list". 7 April 2019. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/070419/hyderabad-scientist-makes-it-to-forbes-list.html ↩

  2. "Thierry Dusautoir: The gatecrasher". The Independent. 13 October 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2011. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/thierry-dusautoir-the-gatecrasher-396754.html ↩

  3. Charlie Chan Family Home The Shanghai Cobra http://charliechanfamily.tripod.com/id51.html ↩

  4. emruf.webs.com The House in Cypress Canyon http://emruf.webs.com/suspense1.htm ↩