Alex Golden Oblad (November 26, 1909 – September 19, 2000) was a prominent
chemist and
chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...
principally recognized for his pioneering work in
catalysis and catalytic chemistry.
Oblad was born in
Salt Lake City, Utah and raised in
Sugar House. Educated first at the
University of Utah and subsequently receiving a
Ph.D. from
Purdue University, he spent the bulk of his career working for energy and engineering companies developing innovative chemical processes. His career began at
Standard Oil of Indiana
Amoco () is a brand of filling station, fuel stations operating in the United States, and owned by BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and petroleum, oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a oil re ...
in the 1930s and included increasingly important research and management positions at
Mobil Oil,
Houdri Process Company,
Air Products and Chemicals, and the
M.W. Kellogg Company, of which Dr. Oblad became Vice President of Research.
Among his most recognized achievements was development of
catalytic cracking
Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) is the conversion process used in petroleum refineries to convert the high-boiling point, high-molecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum (crude oils) into gasoline, olefinic gases, and other petroleum prod ...
(a process he worked on with
Eugene Houdry and others) that made economically feasible the low-cost, mass production of high-octane
gasoline. After a distinguished career in industry, Oblad accepted a teaching and research position at the
University of Utah as Distinguished Professor of Fuels Engineering, where he also served for several years as acting college dean. Dr. Oblad received
honorary doctorate degrees from both the
University of Utah and
Purdue University in recognition of his contributions to each institution.
A lifelong member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and dedicated husband and father of six, Oblad died in 2000 of causes incident to age. Oblad also wrote an article on the work of
Eugene Jules Houdry and was a member of the
National Academy of Engineering and the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
.
Sources
Report on Oblad patentsArticle on Houdry and his process, listing work by Oblad as a source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oblad, Alex, Golden
1909 births
2000 deaths
American chemical engineers
20th-century American chemists
20th-century American inventors
American Latter Day Saints
Scientists from Salt Lake City
Purdue University alumni
University of Utah alumni
University of Utah faculty
ExxonMobil people