An American professor of chemical engineering who was responsible for cofounding and the editorship of the Kirk–Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. A graduate of chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1924, he gained his masters and PhD from the University of Michigan in 1927. He joined the department of chemical engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and became its head in 1937. He became distinguished professor in 1961 and professor emeritus after his retirement, and continued teaching up until his death.