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OCR for page 176
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OCR for page 177
ROBERT F. ROCHELEAU
1 920-1 991
BY EDWIN A. GEE
ROBERT ROCHELEAU a foremost authority on wastewater
treatment and industrial water pollution, cried on February 24,
1991, at the age of seventy. After spending essentially all of his
adult life working in the fields of his expertise, Bob retired from
the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company as a highly valued
. . . - · .
pr~nc~pa Son consu rant.
Bob was clearly an expert on industrial waste treatment before
the vast majority of his fellow engineers were aware of its national
significance. Fortunately the entire field of chemical engineer-
ing was responsive to his pioneering. Under Bob's leadership,
first DuPont, then the entire organic chemical industry was
guicled to reduce toxins and other wastes with emphasis on
biological treatment. Benefits to society have been notable
especially in the restoration of lakes and streams for recreational
use.
Born in Penacock, New Hampshire, on December 2S, 1920?
he received his degree in chemical engineering from the Univer-
sity of New Hampshire in 1942. By that time the world was
engaged in its second great war and Bob served his country as a
captain in chemical warfare. He began his distinguishes! career
with the New Hampshire Water Pollution Control Board as a
senior engineer in 1946 and subsequently served as executive
secretary of the West Virginia State Water Commission from
1949 to 1954 at which time heroines the Engineering Depart-
177
OCR for page 178
178
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
ment of the DuPont Company. It was during his stay in West
Virginia that he received his professional engineering license.
Bob's talents were quickly recognized by DuPont, and he
moved rapidly to progressively senior assignments until he
became a principal design consultant in 1971, one of only two
engineers to reach this unique position at the pinnacle of
DuPont's consulting organization. As such he was publicly rec-
ognized as an exceptionally qualified senior engineer, distin-
guished in his field. This expertise was further recognized in
1981 when he was elected a member of the National Academy of
. ~ · .
nglneerlng.
Throughout his career Bob was active in assisting government
agencies in formulating sound regulations for attaining water
purity. Adding to his early service in New Hampshire and West
Virginia, he was an advisory member of the Ohio River Valley
Water Sanitation Commission and a member of the Engineering
Committee to the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River
Basin. He was a member of several ad hoc committees of the
Manufacturing Chemists Association working with the Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA) in the development of guide-
lines associated with the Clean Water Act. As a member of the
National Water Qualit,v Commission, Bob was an invaluable
adviser to the EPA staff. His contributions figured prominently
in the final report, which provided a basis for the revision of the
Clean Water Act.
Industrially he is responsible for having developed process
design criteria for the first complete mix biological treatment
plant in the United States and the first industrial waste biological
treatment plant at DuPont. He coauthored a paper on this
accomplishment, "Systems for Handling Wastes from the Manu-
facture of furlong Acrylic Fiber," Journal Water Pollution Control
Federation, 1961. During his career he was responsible for devel-
oping process design criteria for about twenty plants in the
United States, Canada, and Europe. For ten years he was chair-
man of the DuPont Environmental Forum.
In 1965 Bob shared the Water Pollution Control Federation's
(WPCF) Willem Rudolfs Medal for the outstanding published
contribution on industrial waste control. His paper "An Industry
OCR for page 179
ROBERT F. ROCHELEAU
179
Approach to Pollution Abatement"was published byWPCFin its
October 1964journal. He was selected for this prestigious award
a second time for another coauthored! paper, "Waste Treatment
at a Complex Plastics Manufacturing Plant," in 1974. Although
he was not an extensive writer, it is noteworthy that two of his
three publications won awards.
Bob gracefully shared his hard-won expertise not only with
associates but with competitors anti governments. He is an
example of how one engineer can favorably affect national
welfare.
After a career centered on protecting the water, Bob and his
wife retired on an isTancl waterway near Rehoboth Beach, Dela-
ware, where they enjoyed boating, fishing, music, and travel.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
pollution control
