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HISTORY
OF THE CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA SECTION OF
THE AMERICAN
INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS Organization The Central Oklahoma Section of AIChE was organized in 1953 with the participation of Vernon Foster and Will Strobel from Continental Oil (now Conoco) of Ponca City, Leo Garwin and R. N. (Bob) Maddox of Oklahoma State University, John M. Campbell, R. L. Huntington and Laurence S. Reid of the University of Oklahoma, Steve Worley and others from B. S. & B., Edwin Koop of Champlin Refining and Garman Kimmel. Earlier activities of Oklahoma chemical engineers included the formation
of student chapters at the University of Oklahoma in Norman in 1935 and at
Oklahoma State University in Stillwater in 1938, the Oklahoma Section in
Bartlesville in 1946, and the Tulsa Section in 1948. The name of the
original Oklahoma Section changed to the Bartlesville Section in 1958. The
Central Oklahoma Section serves all of the AIChE members in the state of
Oklahoma except those in the northeast and eastern portion of the state that are
served by the Bartlesville and Tulsa sections. Statewide Activities The three
Oklahoma local sections have continued the tradition of on-day statewide
meetings since they were started by the original Oklahoma Section in
Bartlesville in 1946. Since the first statewide meeting in 1947, there
have been 51 annual meetings. These AIChE Oklahoma Trisectional meetings are
hosted by one of the three Oklahoma sections on a rotating basis on a Saturday
during the Spring of the year. The programs are developed around a timely
contemporary theme and usually include a discussion of the Institutes activities
by the AIChE President at the luncheon.
Topics of recent meetings indicate the diversity and nature of these
programs: 2001
Cancelled at the request of the Bartlesville Section In
1981, the AIChE Central Oklahoma Section joined 14 other engineering
organizations to initiate the OEF Engineering Fair under the auspices of the
Oklahoma Engineering Foundation. The
annual Fair during the National Engineers Week in February provides the
opportunity for school students, parents, teachers and counselors to visit
career information booths for individual conversations with practicing engineers
about engineering as a career choice. The section’s booth has provided displays, handouts and
discussions about chemical engineering in each of the annual fairs.
The attendance has grown from 250 in the first year to 3400 to 4000 in
recent years. In 1998, 3443
students and educators from 130 schools in 48 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties made
the trip to the fair --- from all four corners of the state, with some from a
distance of 140 miles --- at the
Omniplex Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum in Oklahoma City.
Academic and Industrial Support Because
of the large geographical area served by the Central Oklahoma section, local
section meetings are alternated among Ponca City, Stillwater, Norman and
Oklahoma City locations. The Chemical Engineering Departments at the
University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma State University and Conoco, Inc.,
Kerr-McGee Corporation and the Phillips Petroleum Company have
provided major academic and industrial support for the Central Oklahoma Local
Section activities as indicated by the leadership provided to the section by
those elected to chair the section down through the years:
1953-1954 John M. Campbell
University of Oklahoma Community Activities The section provides tabletop displays with fliers, handouts, pictures and other hands-on displays at the Annual Engineer's Fair for nearly 4,000 pre-college students and at Engineer's Day at the Oklahoma Capital where members visit personally with members of Oklahoma's state legislature. Along with other engineering organizations, the section co-sponsors the Joint Engineering Society Banquet annually during National Engineers' Week. From
time to time, section members meet with individual school science classes as
requested by teachers. These requests are usually referred to the section
by the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers office in Oklahoma City. Local Section Programs In addition to the annual Trisectional Meeting, the Central Oklahoma Section holds eight monthly evening meetings between September and May in selected locations in Oklahoma City, Ponca City, Stillwater and Norman. The meeting notices are distributed to our approximately 150 members plus an additional 150 interested professionals in our area in the AIChE Central Oklahoma Section Newsletter prepared by our sections's Newsletter Editor and Publisher David A. Milligan. Approximately one-half of the distribution is by e-mail. The
section actively supports the AIChE Student Chapters at Oklahoma State
University and at University of Oklahoma including subsidizing the attendance of
students at the local section meetings. Goals The goals of the AIChE Central Oklahoma Section as stated by the Executive Committee are to encourage participation by the younger chemical engineering members of our area, enhance the interaction between members, industry and university and to orient local section meetings more directly toward specific local area interests. Professional Recognition The following members have been elected from the Central Oklahoma Section to the grade of Fellow in AIChE: Donald S.
Arnold
Kerr-McGee (Retired) |
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