Oral history interview with Raphael Katzen
- 2000-Oct-20 (First session)
- 2001-Feb-02 (Second session)
Oral history interview with Raphael Katzen
- 2000-Oct-20 (First session)
- 2001-Feb-02 (Second session)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Donald Katz starts the interview by briefly referring to his current projects but then describes his family background and his genealogical interests, stimulated by his 1952 trip to his father's birthplace in a German village. Katz entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and majored in chemical engineering. As he continued into graduate studies, Donald Katz acted as George Brown's assistant, helping other graduate students and junior faculty, and with patent cases. When Katz started his research career at Phillips Petroleum he was assigned to reservoir studies. An invitation by Brown brought Katz back to the University of Michigan. The war years altered some of his teaching and research responsibilities and led him, for instance, into heat transfer investigations. On Brown's promotion to Dean, Katz took over as departmental chairman for several years. Katz describes his involvement in the introduction of computer education into the chemical engineering curriculum, both at Ann Arbor and nationally. Other recollections follow: safety and the hazards of bulk chemicals; pipelines; the underground storage of gas and air; the origins of the Handbook of Natural Gas Engineering. Katz concludes his interview with some thoughts on the changes in the academic chemical engineering profession over his long career.
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About the Interviewers
David C. Brock is a senior research fellow with the Center for Contemporary History and Policy at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. As a historian of science and technology, he specializes in the history of semiconductor science, technology, and industry; the history of instrumentation; and oral history. Brock has studied the philosophy, sociology, and history of science at Brown University, the University of Edinburgh, and Princeton University.In the policy arena Brock recently published Patterning the World: The Rise of Chemically Amplified Photoresists, a white-paper case study for the Center’s Studies in Materials Innovation. With Hyungsub Choi he is preparing an analysis of semiconductor technology roadmapping, having presented preliminary results at the 2009 meeting of the Industry Studies Association.
Arnold Thackray founded the Chemical Heritage Foundation and served the organization as president for 25 years. He is currently CHF’s chancellor. Thackray received MA and PhD degrees in history of science from Cambridge University. He has held appointments at Cambridge, Oxford University, and Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1983 Thackray received the Dexter Award from the American Chemical Society for outstanding contributions to the history of chemistry. He served for more than a quarter century on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the founding chairman of the Department of History and Sociology of Science and is currently the Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus.
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| Oral history number | 0211 |
Related Items
Interviewee biographical information
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Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Polytechnic Institute of New York | BChE | Chemical Engineering |
| 1938 | Polytechnic Institute of New York | MChE | Chemical Engineering |
| 1942 | Polytechnic Institute of New York | DChE | Chemical Engineering |
Professional Experience
Northwood Chemical Company
- 1937 to 1940 Chemical Supervisor
- 1937 to 1940 Director of Research, Chemical Products
Diamond Alkali Company
- 1942 to 1944 Technical Supervisor for Research and Development, Northwood Project
Vulcan-Cincinnati, Inc.
- 1944 to 1953 Project Manager, Design and Construction
- 1944 to 1953 Manager, Engineering Division
Raphael Katzen Associates International, Inc.
- 1953 to 1997 Chairman and President, Consulting and Process Design
- 1953 to 1980 Managing Partner
Raphael Katzen, P.E.
- 1998 Consulting Engineer
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Chemical Engineering Professional Practice Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers |
| 1988 | Outstanding Personal Achievement in Chemical Engineering Award, McGraw-Hill Chemical Engineering |
| 1990 | Robert L. Jacks Memorial Award, Management Division, American Institute of Chemical Engineers |
| 1996 | Election to National Academy of Engineering (Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering) |
| 1997 | C. D. Scott Award, Symposium in Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals |
| 1999 | Lifetime Achievement Award, Renewable Fuel Association |
| 2000 | Special Lifetime Achievement Award, Significant Contributions in Engineering Biomass-to-Chemical Processing Plants, American Chemical Society |
| 2000 | First Award of Excellence, International Fuel Ethanol Workshop |
| 2001 | Founders Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers |
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Complete transcript of interview
The published version of the transcript may diverge from the interview audio due to edits to the transcript made by staff of the Center for Oral History, often at the request of the interviewee, during the transcript review process.