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Memorial Tributes: Volume 16 (2012)

Chapter: LES S.. GAUMER

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Suggested Citation:"LES S.. GAUMER." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Memorial Tributes: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13338.
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Suggested Citation:"LES S.. GAUMER." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Memorial Tributes: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13338.
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LEE S. GAUMER

1926–2010

Elected in 1992

“For contributions to cryogenic gas liquefaction and separation technology,
especially for the production of liquefied natural gas.”

SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY

LEE STROHL GAUMER, a chemical engineer who contributed creatively to the field of cryogenics for over 37 years, died July 24, 2010, at the age of 84.

Born in Palmerton, Pennsylvania in 1926, Lee was the son of the late Lee Strohl Gaumer, Sr., and the late Mary Louise (Kistler) Gaumer. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1948 with a degree in chemical engineering. He served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II, working on the Manhattan Project. He also worked at White Sands Rocket Proving Grounds.

From 1948 until 1952, Lee worked as a chemical engineer at Argonne National Laboratory. In 1952 he joined Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., as a process engineer. Lee was a part of Air Products and Chemicals from its earliest days and contributed to the development of major industrial gas technologies instrumental in the company’s growth. He retired from the company as technical director in 1992. His research was concerned with many low-temperature processes such as cryogenic air separation, hydrogen and helium extraction and purification, and natural gas liquefaction. The pioneering nature of his research career is evidenced by his 16 patents. His major career achievements were the liquefaction of hydrogen, the fuel of choice for the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions, and the liquefaction of natural gas, now applied worldwide.

Suggested Citation:"LES S.. GAUMER." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Memorial Tributes: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13338.
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In recognition of his work, Lee was the first winner of the Chairman’s Award for Excellence in 1989, bestowed for his development of the technology for the liquefaction of natural gas and the design of heat exchangers used in the liquefaction process. Rising natural gas prices in the 1960s increased interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) equipment. Lee applied his expertise to several technologies that overlapped and interacted. While working on aluminum heat exchangers for the Helium Conservation Program, he and Chuck Newton developed a multicomponent refrigeration system to separate helium from natural gas. To find the right gas mixture to apply the helium technology to the liquefaction of natural gas, Lee crunched data and undertook numerous and tedious mathematical calculations on the research and development department’s new computer—a task he said would have been impractical without the computer. Lee continued to apply his sharp intellect and creative skills to other business and technical challenges, even finding (with George Harnett) a novel manufacturing technique for the huge LNG exchangers. The rest was LNG history. By the 1980s, Air Products was supplying equipment for the vast majority of the world’s supply of LNG.

Lee was the recipient of the 1990 Coors American Ingenuity Award, which honors great American inventors. He was presented the Apollo Achievement Award in 1970 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for his contributions to the U.S. space program—creating technology for the high-volume production of liquid hydrogen rocket propellant. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1992.

Pennsylvania State University recognized Jim as an Outstanding Engineering Alumnus. He was involved with the university’s Department of Chemical Engineering as a guest lecturer and provided resource materials. He also served on the Chemical Engineering Industrial and Professional Advisory Council.

Suggested Citation:"LES S.. GAUMER." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Memorial Tributes: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13338.
×

Jim enjoyed golf, shooting pool, and reading. He is survived by his sons Thomas L. Gaumer (and wife Janet of Whitehall, Pennsylvania), Daniel W. Gaumer (and wife Kathy of Topton, Pennsylvania), and Randon S. Gaumer (and wife Kristin of Allentown, Pennsylvania), as well as six grandchildren—Victoria L., Jacob, Sloane, Elle M., Daniel, and Diana. His wife, Madalyn Claire (Daugherty) Gaumer, predeceased him.

Suggested Citation:"LES S.. GAUMER." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Memorial Tributes: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13338.
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Page 94
Suggested Citation:"LES S.. GAUMER." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Memorial Tributes: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13338.
×
Page 95
Suggested Citation:"LES S.. GAUMER." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Memorial Tributes: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13338.
×
Page 96
Suggested Citation:"LES S.. GAUMER." National Academy of Engineering. 2012. Memorial Tributes: Volume 16. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13338.
×
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This is the 16th Volume in the series Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and foreign associates, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.

Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and foreign associates, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.

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