Lewis, Warren K.
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Warren K. Lewis (1882–1975) was among the leaders who defined chemical engineering as a separate profession with a distinct approach and training method.
In 1908 Lewis, a young graduate of MIT's chemical engineering program and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Breslau, joined the teaching staff at MIT. He contributed a great deal to the program with his ability to view engineering problems theoretically and mathematically and with his memorable teaching style, which was sometimes described as bombastic but nonetheless endeared him to students. Under Lewis's guidance, teaching in the fundamental unit-operations course had become highly quantitative. One result of this course, The Principles of Chemical Engineering (1923), by Lewis, William H, Walker, and William H. McAdams, became the standard text for chemical engineering instruction for decades.
From his faculty position Lewis also maintained close connections with industry, consulting most frequently for Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now Exxon). His most famous industrial contribution was fluidized-bed catalytic cracking of petroleum, which solved many of the problems posed by the Houdry process and played a large part in supplying the vast quantities of gasoline needed during World War II.
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