Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 216
Final
Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 216 3/23/10 3:42:30 PM
OCR for page 217
K E N N E T H J. R I C H A R D S
1932–2008
Elected in 2000
“For contributions in the development of
advanced copper smelting technology.”
BY J. BRENT HISKEY
KENNETH JULIAN RICHARDS, retired vice president of
Kerr-McGee Corporation and former president of the company’s
Technology and Engineering Division, died on May 11, 2008,
in Oklahoma City, at the age of 75. He was elected to NAE in
2000 “for contributions in the development of advanced copper
smelting technology.”
Following retirement from Kerr-McGee Corporation in 1994,
Ken started a successful consulting business. In addition, he was
assistant secretary of commerce for technology for the state of
Oklahoma, for which he had extensive experience in research and
technology management, process and production development,
and technology transfer. Ken was known internationally for his
contributions to extractive metallurgy and his pioneering efforts
in advanced copper-smelting processing.
Born in Long Beach, California, on November 29, 1932, Ken
graduated from Belmont High School in Los Angeles in 1950
and then attended UCLA. Subsequently, he enrolled at the
University of Utah, where he graduated with a degree in
chemical engineering in 1955. Between 1955 and 1959, Ken was
217
Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 217 3/23/10 3:42:30 PM
OCR for page 218
218 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
a process engineer, first at Union Oil Company and then at
Fractionation Research Incorporated. He then became a
development engineer with the U. S. Intelligence Agency
(USAF) working on rare-earth production and separation. In
1959, he returned to the University of Utah to pursue a doctorate
in metallurgical engineering under the supervision of Professor
Milton E. Wadsworth. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1962, Ken
served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force at the Aerospace
Research Laboratory in the Metals and Ceramic Division.
In 1967, Ken joined Kennecott Copper Corporation in Salt
Lake City, Utah, as a senior scientist. In 1974, he was promoted
to director of research and development, and in 1979, he became
vice president of process technology. Based on his many
noteworthy achievements at Kennecott, he earned a reputation
as a leader in the field of non-ferrous process metallurgy. He
had been instrumental in the first commercial installation of a
distributed digital-control system for copper smelting and was
the principal inventor of the solid matte-oxygen converting
(SMOC) process, a hallmark engineering achievement that
greatly advanced copper smelting and provided the impetus
for the next and future generations of the process. In 1984, he
moved to Oklahoma City to become president of the Technology
and Engineering Division of Kerr-McGee Corporation, where
he remained until his retirement in 1994.
Ken’s colleagues knew him as a person who could integrate
technology and business with uncommon skill, and he received
many awards for his exceptional technology management skills.
He was also a mentor to a great many young engineers. He was
president of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society of the
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum
Engineers and was named to the Hall of Fame of the Oklahoma
State University College of Engineering, Architecture and
Technology in 1993; he was also an early contributor to the
Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and
Technology.
Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 218 3/23/10 3:42:30 PM
OCR for page 219
219
KENNETH J. RICHARDS
Ken Richards is survived by his wife Shirlene; their three
sons, Brian Richards (Fort Worth, Texas), Kevin Richards and
his wife Elizabeth (Houston, Texas), and Steven Richards and
his wife Tiffany (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma). He also leaves
behind seven grandchildren.
Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 219 3/23/10 3:42:30 PM
