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CHE Department History
Faculty
In the beginning, as already noted, Chemical engineering was not only housed
in the Chemistry Department, but was also wholly taught by Chemistry professors.
At first there was Dr. E.R. Flint (for whom Flint Hall is named) and Assistant
Professor Blair. But in 1922 Chemical engineering got a professor of its own,
Walter H. Beisler, from Princeton (listed as T.H. Beisler in the catalog). A
look at the 1924 catalog shows the faculty to be Dr. T.R. Leigh (for whom Leigh
Hall was named), Dr. Beisler, Dr. A.P. Black (for whom Black Hall was named),
and Dr. Fred H. Heath. All, except for Dr. Beisler, were regular Chemistry
professors. It remained this way until 1935, when Dr. Beisler took a year's
leave of absence and Acting Professor, Dr. Muckenfuss (Johns Hopkins) filled in
for him.
In 1936, Dr. Beisler returned and was joined by a colleague, Jesse W. Mason, who
had the distinction of being the first faculty member at UF with a degree in
Chemical engineering. He stayed for only two years, however. In 1938, Dr.
Beisler was joined by a distinguished associate, Professor Ralph A. Morgen. Dr.
Morgen helped introduce new CHE courses, and in 1942, he took on the additional
job of Assistant Director of the Engineering and Industrial Experiment Station (EIES).
In 1946, he advanced to Director of EIES.
The Department began to take shape and to grow after its move to the College of
Engineering in 1939. Growth was slowed somewhat by World War II, but from
1940-1943, in addition to Beisler and Morgen, the Department secured the
services of Acting Assistant Professor Edward C. Barrett, and from 1942-1944,
Assistant Professor Harry H. Houston and Instructor J. Howard Childs. The year
1942 saw the Department's curriculum accredited by ECPD (ABET), and it has been
accredited ever since.
The EIES was an important factor in the growth of the Department. In 1942 the
Legislature and Governor Holland approved the EIES, but provided no funds. So
the EIES operated on funds it obtained from military contracts and monies
obtained from industry or foundations. There were large military contracts in
electrical engineering and the overhead from these helped support the other
departments of the College. Advertisements for personnel were placed in
professional magazines in 1944, and a look at the 1945 catalog shows their
effect in the sudden transformation of the CHE Department—nine faculty members
are listed. Not all of the professors listed, however, were teaching faculty.
There were few students enrolled, due to the war, and all faculty except Beisler
and Morgen were actually engaged in full-time research.
In 1946, the Legislature increased the academic budget and also supplied funds
for EIES. Thus, when the big surge of students arrived after the war, many under
the G.I. Bill, the Department was ready with 14 faculty to take care of them.
In those days it was not unusual to have a large turnover of faculty members.
Many of those who served on this faculty since 1939 spent only a short time here
before moving on (see complete faculty listing below). Many who left did very
well. For example, some left to head other CHE departments: Mason at Georgia
Tech, Westerberg at Carnegie-Mellon, Gubbins at Cornell, and O'Connell at
Virginia. Teller became Dean of Engineering at Cooper Union, Morgen became
Director of the Purdue Research Foundation and then President of Rose Polytech.
No doubt, many others could be added to this list. A few, however, put down
roots here and made a long-term commitment to the Department. The great range of
interests represented by the faculty can also be seen, demonstrating the fine
opportunity students had for taking advantage of this smorgasbord of knowledge.
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