Edwin T. Williams

Dr. Edwin T. Williams received his undergraduate Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1939, his master’s in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1944, and his Ph.D. from Penn State in 1952. Dr. Williams worked for the Shell Development Company as a Chemical Plant Design Engineer until returning to Penn State as an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering in 1955.

He joined Michigan Tech in 1960 as Professor and Department Head of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, becoming Michigan Tech’s first Vice President in 1962 where he served as liaison to the State government and legislature, initiated the first development office and helped craft the University’s first long range plan. He returned to research and teaching in 1967 and held various acting and Assistant Department Head positions in addition to teaching until his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 1986.

Professor Williams co-authored a best-selling textbook with R. Curtis Johnson entitled Stoichiometry for Chemical Engineers, McGraw-Hill in 1958. His research accomplishments include development of aircraft gluing techniques during WWII, design of a vapor-liquid equilibrium still, design of a multistage fluidized bed reactor for Argonne National Laboratories, and development of a wood and bark chip separation technique for the pulp and paper industry. Professor Williams was a key participant in promoting communication skills in the Chemical Engineering curriculum and was inducted into the newly formed State of Michigan Chemical Engineering Hall of Fame in 1983. He is a Life Trustee of the Michigan Tech Fund.

From 1995 Induction to the Department of Chemical Engineering Academy