James R. Fair

This interview with James R. Fair begins with a discussion of Fair's childhood in the Midwest, highlighting high-school experiences in Little Rock, Arkansas, and early interests in science. Fair attended The Citadel as a chemistry major for two years before transferring to Georgia Institute of Technology, where he studied chemical engineering. He discusses general and chemical engineering programs at Georgia Tech, early interest in unit operations, and effects of World War II on studies and career options. In 1942, he began work with Monsanto Chemical Company, where he advanced through several positions, focusing on work with TNT nitration process, ethylene and styrene, and set-up of a synthetic rubber plant. Fair discusses early involvement with the AIChE in South Texas, Monsanto's post-war entry into petrochemical production based on acetylene and ethylene, and work on an ethylene plant joint venture with Socony Vacuum Oil Company. In April 1947, Fair witnessed the explosion of the Grandcamp and Monsanto's Texas City polystyrene facility, which killed numerous employees and others and led Monsanto to rebuild and center its petrochemical ventures in Texas City. Fair contributed to redesigning and rebuilding the plant, heading process design of ethylene before taking academic leave to pursue coursework in reactions, separations, thermodynamics, and mathematics at the University of Michigan. He returned to Monsanto and was again involved in ethylene- and acetylene-based work. In 1952, he entered a Ph.D. program at The University of Texas, working with Howard Rase on catalysis and reaction engineering and upon completion accepting a basic research position at Shell Development in Southern California. In 1956, Fair returned to Monsanto to start an engineering research program, doing basic research in chemical engineering and serving as company consultant for ethylene and hydrocarbon pyrolysis. He traces Monsanto's ventures in petrochemicals through the fifties and early sixties to the formation of a corporate engineering department. From 1964 to 1979, Fair headed corporate Monsanto's technology function and increased involvement with academia, particularly Washington University. In 1979, he took early retirement and accepted an engineering chair at The University of Texas, where he was well received by faculty and students. Throughout the second half of the interview, Fair emphasizes changes in chemical engineering curricula and need for industry/academia collaborations in research and funding. He discusses research collaborations, publications, and efforts to develop and license computer programs for process simulation/computer-aided design. The interview closes with discussion of student research and careers, involvement in the AIChE, consulting activities, and family.

Monsanto Chemical Company

1942 - 1943 Junior Engineer, St. Louis, Missouri, and Karnack, Texas

Monsanto Chemical Company

1943 - 1945 Technical Service Engineer, Texas City, Texas

Monsanto Chemical Company

1945 - 1947 Development Specialist, St. Louis, Missouri

Monsanto Chemical Company

1947 - 1950 Process Engineer, Texas City, Texas

Monsanto Chemical Company

1950 - 1952 Research Section Leader, Dayton, Ohio

Shell Development Company, Dayton, Ohio

1954 - 1956 Process Engineer

Monsanto Chemical Company

1956 - 1961 Research Section Leader, Dayton, Ohio

Monsanto Chemical Company

1961 - 1963 Development Manager, St. Louis, Missouri

Monsanto Chemical Company

1963 - 1968 Engineering Manager, Corporate Engineering Department, St. Louis, Missouri

Monsanto Chemical Company

1968 - 1969 Manager, Engineering Technology, St. Louis, Missouri

Monsanto Chemical Company

1969 - 1979 Director of Corporate Technology, St. Louis, Missouri

Washington University in St. Louis

1964 - 1979 Affiliate Professor of Chemical Engineering

University of Texas at Austin

1979 - 1985 Ernest and Virginia Cockrell Chair in Engineering

University of Texas at Austin

1983 - 1996 Head, Separations Research Program

University of Texas at Austin

1985 - 1992 John J. McKetta Centennial Energy Chair in Engineering

James J. Bohning

James J. Bohning is professor emeritus of chemistry at Wilkes University, where he was 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 has 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 the foundation’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. He is currently a visiting research scientist and CESAR Fellow at Lehigh University. In May 2005, he received the Joseph Priestley Service Award from the Susquehanna Valley Section of the American Chemical Society.