John Patton

Fort Worth, Texas native John T. Patton, earned his BSc (1953), MS (1958), and PhD (1959) in chemical engineering from Oklahoma State University. In 1959 he joined Exxon USA as a section head responsible for research on enhanced petroleum operations in 1959. He held progressively responsible positions in Exxon until 1968, when he brought his extensive process design and operations experience to Michigan Tech as professor of chemical engineering plant design and economics.

Within three years professor Patton's design students were receiving national recognition from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. During his tenure at Michigan Tech his students twice won the national AIChE design contest for undergraduates. He elevated the quality of the undergraduate curriculum to full national accreditation standards, and he initiated a viable graduate program.

In 1977 he left Michigan Tech to head up the New Mexico State University Department of Chemical Engineering. In 1989 he gave up his administrative responsibilities, retiring as professor emeritus of chemical engineering in 1994.

President and chief engineer of the design and research corporation he founded in 1967, Computer Bio/Engineering Institute Inc. of El Paso, Texas, John maintains an active consulting practice on the design and operation of a multitude of chemical plants ranging from biosynthesis processes to oil field production facilities. The 1995 Michigan Tech Chemical Engineering Academy inductee has 26 patents and more than 42 publications in areas of enhanced oil and gas recovery, biosynthesis, and advanced co-generation.

Excerpted From 1995 Induction to the Department of Chemical Engineering Academy
Updated June 7, 2016, by Dr. Patton