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CHE Department History - Remembrances of a
Few Past Professors
Thomas M. "Tim" Reed III
Ph.D., Penn State
Tim Reed was one of our most brilliant theoretical
researchers, but he was also an accomplished laboratory worker. For 24 years he
did extensive research in the statistical mechanics of fluids, physical
properties of fluorocarbons, intermolecular forces, and chemical kinetics. He
also studied gas-solid reactions as a means of producing hydrogen from water.
With Keith Gubbins of our department, he published a graduate-level text,
Applied Statistical Mechanics.
Tim got his Ph.D. at Penn State, working under the well-known
chemical engineering professor, Merrell Fenske. While at Penn State, he studied
the effects of vibration on fluidized beds as well as heat transfer to such
beds. He came to the UF in 1952.
Tim Reed was a handsome, soft-spoken man, well liked by all
who knew him. He was a strong believer in physical fitness and kept up a regular
program of weight-lifting and jogging. An expert fencer, he won the Florida
State Championship in men's foil, coming in second in épée, and third in sabre
in the same year. He also served as coach for the UF fencing team.
But fate intervened. Tim was bicycling to his home in
Micanopy one afternoon after work in 1976 when he was struck by a car and
killed.
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