WELDON K BELL

Undergraduate - Chemical Engineering


I left Illinois in '64 headed for CU-Boulder.  With Scott Fogler as the self appointed senior grad student adviser in the ChE dept at CU,  I ended up spending over long getting a PhD (although I think I did fool a lot of the boys back in the Department in Urbana by doing that). The thesis concerned flow of adsorbing gases in porous media.  After CU I spent a year at the th-Delft, the Netherlands, (ChE Dept) working on characterization of porous solids.  Then, a second post-doc at WPI (Worcester) in catalysis.

In 1973 I joined Mobil's Central Research Division in Princeton and worked there in catalysis (zeolite catalysis and Fischer-Tropsch catalysis) until 1995 when they closed the lab.  I transferred to Mobil's Upstream Research Lab in Dallas and characterized rocks (for basin models) and developed FT catalysts (for stranded gas monitization) until May 2000. Then after 30 or so patents and publications - they decided to sell Mobil to Exxon.   I took early retirement under the generous separation rules.

I married Ellen  (MS Biochemistry CU '67), the girl at the University of Iowa I wrote all the letters to, in the summer of 1964.  David was born in Boulder.  Betsy in Princeton. During the 20 years we were in New Jersey, I, joined by Ellen and the kids, was very active in a local ambulance/rescue squad. The squad is certainly the best, and most exciting long-term project I ever worked on. Everyone should do it.

NJ was also a great place to collect, refurbish, and use hand tools.  Mobil moved a lot of woodworking equipment when they brought me to Dallas.  So now when Ellen suggests I get into something comfortable - she means to go to the workshop. We expect to stay in the Dallas area for a few years but will probably really retire in NE Iowa.

Weldon K Bell
1516 Mockingbird Drive
Plano, Texas, 75093

Telephone:
(972) 407-0996

Email:
dubnellen@earthlink.net


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