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Chemical Engineering and Material Science History - 1970 to Presentby Rutherford Aris and L. E. Scriven Dean Cheston, after discussions with all involved, asked the Chemical Engineering Department to restructure itself to foster materials science and provide a home for the Metallurgy faculty being orphaned by the disbandment of their School. The chemical engineering faculty viewed the prospects with some trepidation; not all of the orphans were enthusiastic about the proposed merger. However, confronted with a determined dean and the promise of an attractive dowry, the two groups agreed to unite and build complementary programs in chemical engineering and materials science and engineering. The dowry consisted of license to add faculty in the field of polymeric materials and to occupy most of the Mines and Metallurgy Building — from its completion not only connected to Chemical Engineering, but also with rooms numbered sequentially with the latter’s. The building now comprises the west end of Amundson Hall. For a time it was partly occupied by civil and mineral engineers but upon their departure to their new underground facility the two attached buildings were filled completely by the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Polymer science and polymer processing were viewed as the natural adhesive for linking the materials science and chemical engineering programs in a symbiotic way. Following the merger Hutchinson, Nicholson, Sivertsen, Swalin and Toth were the materials science graduate faculty, but cross-overs in teaching teams for undergraduate courses began immediately. New hiring began immediately, too. By 1974 Macosko and E.W. Thomas had been hired in polymers, Gerberich in physical metallurgy, Swanson in biochemical engineering, and Stephanopoulos in process synthesis and control. There were now 22 faculty members (although as Dean of the Institute of Technology, Swalin was no longer active in the Department). There were about 100 graduate students – some 75 in chemical engineering and 25 in materials science. There were 10 clerical and technical support staff and the annual department expenditures were between 1 and 1.25 million dollars. A major expansion and restructuring of the Department was underway. In 1979 Roger Staehle arrived to be Dean. A prominent corrosion scientist from Ohio State, he spearheaded establishment of the Center for Corrosion Studies in the Department. Of the new positions that were created, the Director’s was filled in 1980 by Richard Oriani, a distinguished materials scientist from U.S. Steel’s Research Center. Earlier, in 1974, after 25 years of service, Neal Amundson decided to step down from his position as Head of the Department (ironically, some years later he served as Senior Vice President of the University of Houston). Rutherford (Gus) Aris took the reins and guided the Department for four years before turning the responsibility over to Ken Keller, who had just served as Acting Dean of the Graduate School. After two years, Keller’s headship was cut short by his being appointed Academic Vice President of the University. From 1980 until 1994 H. Ted Davis served as Head of the Department. Matt Tirrell was department head from 1994 to 1999. From 1999 to present, Frank Bates is the department head. During the last two decades the Department has continued to grow and strengthen. Between 1987 and 1989 Amundson Hall was extensively remodeled. In 1998 through 1999 the George T. Piercy Wing was added along with renovation of the old “Mines and Metallurgy” part of the building. The new wing added much needed laboratory, research and office space. Today there are 33 active faculty and 3 open positions (two Materials Science and 1 Chemical Engineering) soon to be filled. Estimated from courses offered and theses advised, the faculty are in the ratio of about 18 nominal chemical engineers to 15 nominal materials scientists when all 33 positions are filled. There are over 20 clerical, mechanical, electronic and technical staff. Typically there are at least 30 postdocs, visiting researchers (including industrial fellows) and visiting professors. There are over 200 graduate students. In 2004, the annual expenditures of the Department were 17 million dollars. |
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