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HeNry r. liNdeN
1922–2009
elected in 1974
“For contributions to methods of fuels conversion and energy utilization.”
By roBerT s. liNdeN aNd MargareT M. MUrPHy
sUBMiTTed By THe Nae HoMe secreTary
H eNry roBerT liNdeN, world-renowned authority in
energy research and policy, passed away on september 13,
2009, at the age of 87.
Born on february 21, 1922, and raised in Vienna, austria,
Henry was the only child of parents fred and edith (lermer)
linden. Both of Henry’s grandfathers were medical doctors,
and fred had been required to earn a law degree before
being allowed to pursue his chosen career as an artist, which
led to a series of commissioned portraits of the Habsburg
monarchy. edith worked as a society editor for a Viennese
newspaper. Henry was expected to pursue his studies
diligently, but enjoyed spending his free time outdoors in the
Boy scouts and on his own. He learned to ski the alps when a
day’s ski outing consisted of eight hours of strenuous climbing
and one hour of exhilaration on the way down. in a manner
that came to characterize his professional career, he took
satisfaction in the long climb up—all the better to appreciate
the reward of the short trip down.
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in 1939 the family immigrated to New york city, where
Henry’s parents remained for the rest of their lives. Henry
applied for admission to several american colleges but could
gain entrance only to West georgia college, where he majored
in textile engineering. after proving himself academically,
Henry transferred to georgia institute of Technology, where
he changed his major to chemical engineering and graduated
at the top of his class in 1944. That same year he married
dorothy Jenks and returned to New york to work for socony
Vacuum (later Mobil oil) on high-performance aviation fuels
while completing a master’s degree in chemical engineering at
Polytechnic institute of Brooklyn (now Polytechnic institute of
New york University).
in 1947 Henry moved to the Midwest to begin what would
be a 30-year affiliation with the Institute of Gas Technology
(IGT), joining as supervisor of oil gasification processes.
simultaneously, Henry continued his graduate program in
chemical engineering at the neighboring illinois institute of
Technology (iiT), conducting his doctoral research under the
direction of ralph Peck in high-temperature, vapor-phase
cracking of hydrocarbons. The 1950s were highly productive
years for Henry; he completed his Ph.d. degree (1952) and
greeted the arrival of son, robert seth, and daughter, debra
Jeanne, all the while assuming greater and broader managerial
responsibility at igT. By 1961, Henry was appointed as institute
director, a post he held for 17 years, executing major programs
in energy supply and conversion and pioneering the concept
of a hydrogen economy along the way. an accomplished
technologist with a global view on energy, Henry had an
illustrious career at igT, which reached its pinnacle in 1974
with his appointment as president and trustee.
amid growing concerns about the adequacy of U.s. natural
gas supplies, Henry provided the pivotal impetus in the
launching of the gas research institute (gri), the U.s. natural
gas industry’s cooperative research and development arm,
and served as its first president and as a member of the board
of directors from 1977 until his retirement in 1987. it is widely
accepted that Henry’s foresight and visionary leadership of
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gri are largely responsible for the widespread availability
of natural gas supplies today, particularly with respect to the
key contribution of technologically and economically feasible
“unconventional” resources, which today comprise 65% of
U.s. natural gas production.
Throughout the course of his professional life, Henry
maintained a close relationship with iiT, his beloved alma
mater. after retiring from gri, he turned his energy and
attention to establishing a comprehensive research and
education program in sustainable global energy development
at iiT. although the preponderance of Henry’s career was spent
in the administration of large-scale research and development
programs, he maintained a lifelong commitment to critical
thinking, conducting his own research in sustainable global
energy systems, industrial ecology, the energy/environment/
economics paradigm, and global climate change. Beginning
in the mid-1980s, long before global warming had surfaced
as a topic of raging debate, Henry assumed what he called
a “contrarian” perspective, encouraging researchers and
policymakers alike to maintain a fact-based, long-term
perspective of the issues.
in the course of pursuing these diverse interests, Henry
served as an esteemed member of the faculty of the iiT
department of chemical engineering for more than 50
years. Most recently, he was appointed the Max Mcgraw
distinguished Professor of chemical engineering, director of
the iiT energy + Power center, and member of the advisory
boards for the iiT department of chemical and Biological
engineering and the Wanger institute for sustainable energy
research (Wiser). The culmination of Henry’s lifelong
effort to secure international prominence for iiT in energy
research and education, Wiser was established in 2008 under
the directorship of Hamid arastoopour, Henry’s protégé,
colleague, and recently named iiT Henry r. linden Professor
of energy. relentlessly dedicated to his research, Henry
continued to come to work until a few short months before his
death, when his failing health prevented him from doing so.
A prolific researcher, Henry was author or coauthor of more
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than 240 publications and 27 patents related to energy supply,
energy use, and petrochemical production. He wrote and lec-
tured extensively on U.s. and world energy issues throughout
his lifetime and was revered for his uncanny ability to bridge
the communication gap between key stakeholders in produc-
tive energy policy development. for this reason he was tapped
to serve on several federal advisory bodies dealing with en-
ergy policy, technology, and regulation, beginning with the
Kennedy administration, and held a presidential appointment
during the ford administration.
among Henry’s most noteworthy and proudest
professional achievements was his election in 1974 to the
National academy of engineering (Nae) in recognition of
his “contributions to methods of fuels conversion and energy
utilization.” He was also fellow of the american association
for the advancement of science, the american institute of
chemical engineers (aiche), and the institute of energy.
Henry was a member of the Hydrogen Technical advisory
Panel of the U.s. department of energy (1992–2003), the
Nae advisory committee on Technology and society (1987–
1992) and the steering committee on industrial ecology
and design for the environment (1992–1994), the advisory
council of the electric Power research institute (1987–1993),
and the energy engineering Board of the National research
Council (1986–1993). He served as a director of five major
corporations—sonat, inc., and its subsidiary southern Natural
gas company, reynolds Metals company, Ugi corporation,
and the aes corporation—and as an advisory board member
of five venture capital funds.
Henry received numerous awards for his technical and
analytical work in the fossil fuels area, including the Homer H.
lowry award for excellence in fossil energy research from
the U.s. department of energy in 1991, the 1993 United states
energy award from the United states energy association, the
1996 lifetime achievement award of The Energy Daily, and the
american chemical society division of fuel chemistry award
in 1967. in 2000, aiche recognized Henry with the ernest W.
Thiele award, and in 2008 the aiche’s centennial committee
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selected him as one of the “100 Chemical Engineers of the
Modern era” for his guidance of the profession into the new
century in the area of global climate change, industrial ecology,
energy resource assessment, and clean coal technologies. an
icon at iiT and a lifelong university benefactor, the iiT alumni
association awarded him its Professional achievement
award in 1975, the alumni Medal in 1995, and the lifetime
achievement award (posthumously in 2010). Henry was
inducted into the iiT Hall of fame in 1982. Today, a chemical
engineering graduate fellowship bears his name, as does the
Henry r. linden endowed Professorship.
although his professional commitments occupied the
lion’s share of his time, Henry never lost his inherent love of
nature and the desire to be alone among its elements. in the
late 1980s, Henry and Natalie, his beloved wife of 42 years,
bought a farm in western Wisconsin and drove nearly seven
hours to get there on weekends, as time permitted. it was there
that Henry enjoyed a respite from his daunting professional
commitments. respite did not mean escape from the values
and goals that sustained him through his 87 years, however.
setting aside his more intellectual pursuits, he enjoyed picking
up a spade on summer weekends to work the soil and plant a
tree, secure in his knowledge of the long-term benefits that can
grow from a little extra effort today. But in the cold Wisconsin
winter, strapping on his cross country skis for yet another foray
up the hills that surrounded the farmhouse, Henry truly came
full circle, his boyhood passion for hard work still driving him
to mark new trails—in a long life defined by self-set challenges
well met.
