Oral history interview with Cedomir M. Sliepcevich
- 1993-Mar-01
Cedomir Sliepcevich begins the interview with a description of his family and early years in Anaconda, Montana. A firm educational beginning in Anaconda influenced Sliepcevich to attend college. He enrolled in the chemical engineering program at Montana State College in 1937. During his sophomore year, Sliepcevich knew he wanted to go on to graduate school. In 1939, he transferred to the University of Michigan and received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering there. While a graduate student, Sliepcevich studied thermodynamics under George Granger Brown. During the summer of 1942, he worked with Fred Kurata on a National Defense Research Council classified project on screening smokes. While earning his Ph.D., Sliepcevich was an instructor at the University, where he taught thermodynamics. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1947, he also worked as a consultant for the U.S. Army V-2 rocket test program.
In addition to his career in academia, Sliepcevich continued to do consulting work for various companies, including Monsanto Chemical Company, Constock Liquid Methane Corporation, and Autoclave Engineers, Inc. In 1955, he joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma as Professor and Chairman of Chemical Engineering. Sliepcevich was instrumental in redeveloping the University's doctoral program and engineering curricula, and established the Flame Dynamics Laboratory there. He founded his own firm, University Engineers, Inc., in 1963, which specialized in fire protection systems for liquid natural gas. He officially retired from teaching in 1991 and continued to work as a consultant on many research projects. Sliepcevich concludes the interview with reflections on his career.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Interviewee | |
| Interviewer | |
| Place of interview | |
| Format | |
| Genre | |
| Extent |
|
| Language | |
| Subject | |
| Rights | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License |
| Rights holder |
|
| Credit line |
|
About the Interviewer
James J. Bohning was professor emeritus of chemistry at Wilkes University, where he had been a faculty member from 1959 to 1990. He served there as chemistry department chair from 1970 to 1986 and environmental science department chair from 1987 to 1990. Bohning was chair of the American Chemical Society’s Division of the History of Chemistry in 1986; he received the division’s Outstanding Paper Award in 1989 and presented more than forty papers at national meetings of the society. Bohning was on the advisory committee of the society’s National Historic Chemical Landmarks Program from its inception in 1992 through 2001 and is currently a consultant to the committee. He developed the oral history program of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and he was CHF’s director of oral history from 1990 to 1995. From 1995 to 1998, Bohning was a science writer for the News Service group of the American Chemical Society. In May 2005, he received the Joseph Priestley Service Award from the Susquehanna Valley Section of the American Chemical Society. Bohning passed away in September 2011.
Institutional location
| Department | |
|---|---|
| Collection | |
| Oral history number | 0108 |
Related Items
Interviewee biographical information
| Born |
|
|---|---|
| Died |
|
Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | University of Michigan | BS | Chemical Engineering |
| 1942 | University of Michigan | MS | Chemical Engineering |
| 1948 | University of Michigan | PhD | Chemical Engineering |
Professional Experience
Self-employed
- 1942 to 1995 Private Consultant
University of Michigan
- 1942 to 1948 Associate, Research Institute
- 1942 to 1946 Teaching Assistant
- 1946 to 1948 Instructor
- 1948 to 1952 Assistant Professor of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
- 1948 to 1955 Chairman of the Graduate Standards Committee for Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
- 1953 to 1955 Associate Professor of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
Autoclave Engineers, Inc.
- 1945 to 1990 Consultant
- 1961 to 1990 Board of Directors
Monsanto Chemical Company
- 1952 to 1953 Senior Chemical Engineer
Constock Liquid Methane Corporation
- 1955 to 1960 Manager of Research, Development, and Engineering, Conch Methane Services Ltd.
- 1960 to 1963 Principal Consultant
University of Oklahoma
- 1955 to 1959 Professor and Chairman of Chemical Engineering
- 1956 to 1962 Associate Dean of the College of Engineering
- 1963 to 1991 George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Engineering
- 1989 to 1991 Robert W. Hughes Centennial Professor of Engineering
- 1991 to 1995 Professor Emeritus of Engineering
Oklahoma State University
- 1958 to 1963 Chairman of the School of General Engineering
Constock-Pritchard Corporation
- 1961 to 1963 Board of Directors
University Engineers, Inc.
- 1963 to 1978 President and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Republic Geothermal, Inc.
- 1974 to 1975 Board of Directors
University Technologists, Inc.
- 1978 to 1995 President and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 1958 | Curtis McGraw Research Award, American Society for Engineering Education |
| 1959 | International Ipatieff Research Prize |
| 1962 | National Sigma Xi Lecturer |
| 1964 | George Westinghouse Award, American Society for Engineering Education |
| 1967 | Sesquicentennial Award for Distinguished Alumni, University of Michigan |
| 1972 | Member, National Academy of Engineers |
| 1972 | Peter C. Reilly Lecturer, University of Notre Dame |
| 1973 | Engineer of the Year, Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers |
| 1974 | Engineer of the Year, National Society of Professional Engineers |
| 1974 | Oklahoma Hall of Fame |
| 1975 | Distinguished Service Citation, University of Oklahoma |
| 1975 | Award of Merit, Oklahoma Academy of Science |
| 1976 | Donald L. Katz Lecturer, University of Michigan |
| 1978 | William H. Walker Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers |
| 1986 | Gas Industry Research Award, Sprague Schlumberger, Operating Section, American Gas Association |
| 1992 | University of Oklahoma established C. M. Sliepcevich Professorship in College of Engineering |
| 1993 | First Honorary Member of the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering Distinguished Graduates Society |
Cite as
See our FAQ page to learn how to cite an oral history.