RETROSPECTIVE Neal R. Amundson, a bold and brilliant leader of chemical engineering Frank S. Bates1 Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 eal R. Amundson (born 1916), the importance of emerging scientific Cullen Professor Emeritus of fields, such as microbiology and polymers, NChemical and Biomolecular andhadthevisiontoembracethese Engineering and Professor of topics by attracting outstanding young Mathematics at the University of Houston, faculty to his department. Amundson died February 16, 2011 in Houston at the possessed a remarkable instinct for tal- age of 95. ent and made legendary hires while There have been many descriptors of avoiding administrative bureaucracy. In- Amundson—transformational figure, fa- tegrating these diverse individuals into ther of modern chemical engineering, a coherent program was facilitated by the preeminent chemical engineer in the his philosophy of team teaching. Two history of the United States, and most or more professors tackled a subject to- prominent and influential engineering ed- gether, sharing lectures and recitation ucator in the United States. For those of sections—a terrific way to digest a subject us with roots at the University of Minne- that a new (or older) professor had nev- sota, he will continue to be known as the er taken. New assistant professors were Chief. Neal Amundson played a pivotal surprised to see senior faculty members role in transforming the field of chemical attending their lectures, a custom that engineering from glorified plumbing and persists today in his department in Min- phenomenological chemical recipes to nesota. Amundson demanded excellence a rigorous discipline that translated scien- of himself and those around him. When tific phenomena into engineering practice he could no longer play competitive golf through sophisticated mathematical or squash, he took up raising orchids, modeling. rising to the pinnacle of this endeavor in Neal R. Amundson. Image courtesy of the Neal Amundson was a brilliant re- University of Houston. the Twin Cities. searcher who had a knack for reducing In 1977, Neal Amundson moved to complex chemical processes to predictive the University of Houston, where he con- differential equations that revealed how University of Minnesota. Neal was awar- tinued to teach and pursue chemical various engineering operations could be ded a Bachelors degree in chemical engi- engineering research, and served as Pro- controlled and made more efficient. Early neering in 1937, 1 of 52 that year from vost from 1987 to 1989. In 1988, he orga- in his career, at a time when computer Minnesota. After 2 years of employment nized and chaired Frontiers of Chemical science was in a state of infancy, Amundson as a process engineer with Standard Oil Engineering, a landmark National Acad- recognized and showed the potential of of New Jersey working in Louisiana, he emy of Engineering-sponsored report computers for solving intractable mathe- returned to Minnesota, met and married that has guided the field for more than matical problems. He authored more than his wife Shirley Dimond in 1941, with two decades. 200 papers and 5 books and spent un- whom he reared three children (all four Father of modern chemical engineer- countable hours between 1961 and 2000 have outlived him), and entered graduate ing is an apt title that connotes the way as the Editor of the Prentice-Hall In- school, leading to an MS in chemical en- Neal Amundson reinvigorated the study ternational Series in the Physical and gineering in 1941 and a PhD in mathe- of chemical engineering, but it also rec- Chemical Engineering Sciences. As a hall- matics in 1945. Two years later, he joined ognizes the number of people that he mark of his professional leadership, he the chemical engineering department as touched intellectually and in uniquely received virtually every award available, a junior faculty member, and after just 2 profound ways. He mentored 52 PhD including the rare trio of membership in years, at the age of 33, he was appointed students during his career. These alumni the National Academy of Engineering, the department head. Thus began the Chief’s have impacted society as captains of National Academy of Sciences, and the remarkable 25-year stint at the helm of the industry and influential scholars. As of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. department that he built into one of the 2006, Amundson’sacademicfamilytree Amundson was born and raised in Saint preeminent chemical engineering pro- contained more than 3,000 individuals. Paul, MN, the only child of a pipefitter and grams in the world. Whether as father, grandfather, great- a housewife who struggled to survive the His vision was to harness modern grandfather, or beyond, the Chief’s Great Depression. Despite these hard- advances in science knitted together by legacy continues to influence how we ships, Oscar Amundson purchased his son elegant, yet practical mathematical meth- approach research and the way that we a set of golf clubs by the time he was 9 years ods. During his first two decades as de- teach and practice engineering science. old, and Neal developed into a scratch partment head, Amundson hired nearly golfer, interrupted later in life by a back as many chemists as chemical engineers, ailment. He graduated from St. Paul encouraged young faculty to explore Central High School in 1933 sixth in his biological topics, and eventually broad- Author contributions: F.S.B. wrote the paper. class of 658; six of the top eight graduates ened the program to include materials The author declares no conflict of interest. went on to receive PhD degrees from the science and engineering. He recognized 1E-mail: [email protected]. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1104732108 PNAS | May 3, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 18 | 7285 Downloaded by guest on September 28, 2021.