Edwin Richard Gilliland (July 10, 1909 – March 10, 1973) was an American

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

and

Institute Professor An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. Gilliland was born on July 10, 1909, in

El Reno, Oklahoma El Reno is a city in and county seat of Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 16,989, marking a change of 1.55% from 16,729, recorded in the 2010 census. The city was begun shortly after the 1 ...

and moved with his family to

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

in 1918. He graduated from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

with a B.S. in 1930 and an M.S. from the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1931. He received his Sc.D. from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

in 1933 under the direction of

Thomas Kilgore Sherwood Thomas Kilgore Sherwood (July 25, 1903 – January 14, 1976) was a noted American chemical engineer and a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering. Biography Sherwood was born in Columbus, Ohio, and spent much of his youth in Mo ...

for work on a wetted-wall column technique used in mass-transfer. With Professor

Warren K. Lewis Warren Kendall Lewis (21 August 1882 – 9 March 1975) was an MIT professor who has been called the father of modern chemical engineering. He co-authored an early major textbook on the subject which essentially introduced the concept of unit opera ...

, Gilliland developed mathematical analyses of fractional distillation columns and both developed fluidized catalytic cracking techniques. He consulted extensively with

Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

Merck Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including: * the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668 ** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...

, Goodyear,

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

, and Nestle and also served as the President and CEO of Ionics, Inc. between 1946 and 1971. Gilliland also held several appointed offices in public service. He was the Assistant Rubber Director for the War Production Board between 1942 and 1944, Deputy Chief of the Chemical Engineering division of the

National Defense Research Committee The National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the Un ...

, Deputy Chairman of the Guided Missiles Committee on the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, and the President's Science Advisory Committee under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1948 and the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

in 1965. Gilliland married Ann Frances Miller in 1938 and had one daughter, Gail.

References

* 1909 births 1973 deaths People from El Reno, Oklahoma University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni American chemical engineers 20th-century American educators MIT School of Engineering faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering 20th-century American engineers American chief executives 20th-century American chemists {{US-academic-scientist-stub