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EDWARD JOHN GORNOWSKI
1918-1983
BY EDWARD E . DAVID, ~ R .
EDWARD JOHN GORNOWSKI retired Executive Vice-President of
Exxon Research and Engineering Company, died at his home on
December 19, 1983. We have lost a valued member and a trusted
friend. Our sympathy goes out to the family he cherished and made
a prime focus for his life. An engineer of great skill and the utmost
integrity, he remains an inspiration to all who were privileged to
work with him.
Ed Gornowski was born on February 27, 1918, in Wilmington,
Delaware. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engi-
neering from Villanova University in 1938 and went to work for
Pyrites Co., Inc., in Wilmington. He soon decided that he would
like a more thorough grounding in the fundamentals of his craft and
enrolled in the Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania
where he obtained a Ph.~. in chemical engineering in 1943. His ties
with both Villanova and Pennsylvania were strong and lasting. He
provided both institutions with sound advice while serving on
numerous committees and advisory boards, including an eight-year
stint as a member of the Board of Overseers at Pennsylvania. His
services and accomplishments were recognized by Villanova when it
awarded him the l. Stanley Morehouse Award in 1979 and an
honorary Doctor of Engineering degree in 1983.
As a freshly minted Ph.D., Ed Gornowski joined Exxon's
Research Laboratories in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at a time of
intense activity during World War II. He was a member of the team
91
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92
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
that took the fluid catalytic cracking process through a rapid series of
expansions, new designs, and innovations in response to wartime
needs for aviation fuel. His contributions to the team effort were in
the area of chemical process engineering and centered around the
understanding of the intricate relationships among the many inde-
pendent variables in this complex process.
At war's end Dr. Gornowski transferred to Exxon's R&D affiliate
in New jersey. From 1945 to 1964 he was involved in the develop-
ment of a wide variety of new and improved petroleum processes.
He guided the preparation of exploratory engineering designs and
the programming and evaluation of laboratory/pilot plant opera-
tions. Specific accomplishments included advances in catalytic
reforming, in gasification of carbon solids, and in the technology of
fluidized solids. Dr. Gornowski's contributions in catalytic reform-
ing are particularly worthy of note. This process, which converts
saturated hydrocarbons into aromatics, has become a prime factor in
petrochemicals manufacture and in the production of high-octane
gasoline. It is of particular significance currently as the most eco-
nomical means for obtaining high-octane gasoline without the use of
tetraethyl lead. Dr. Gornowski's contributions in this area induded a
key technique for restoring the activity of the currently used noble
metal catalysts. His steady rise in the organization during this
period from Engineer to Deputy to the Vice-President—was in
recognition of his contributions to these and other pioneering activi-
ties. His technical contributions are exemplified by the fourteen
patents granted in his name.
In 1964 Dr. Gornowski was appointed Manager of Chemical
Products at Exxon's Bayway Refinery in Linden, New jersey, where
he was responsible for all aspects of the operation of a variety of
plants in a major petrochemical complex. His success in handling
that assignment led the following year to his appointment as Man-
ager of the Coordination and Planning Department of the parent
corporation in New York. In this post Dr. Gornowski was responsi-
ble for a number of critical corporate activities, including the devel-
opment of long-range plans and the preparation of energy supply
and demand forecasts.
From 1966 to 1969 Ed Gornowski served in London, England, as
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EDWARD JOHN GORNOWSKI
93
Vice-President, Operations, of Esso Europe, Inc., and was responsi-
ble for coordination of the manufacturing, supply, transportation,
and research activities of the fourteen national European operating
organizations that comprise Esso Europe. During his tour of office in
London, Dr. Gornowski handled superbly the drastic dislocations in
petroleum supplies for Europe following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War
and the subsequent closure of the Suez Canal.
In 1969 he returned to New jersey as Executive Vice-President of
Exxon Research and Engineering Company, a position he held until
his retirement in 1981. Dr. Gornowski shared with the President full
responsibility for directing the activities that provide research and
engineering services for worldwide affiliates of Exxon Corporation.
This involved leadership of some 2,000 scientists and engineers
engaged in work ranging from basic research to management of
construction projects. His background of personal technical contri-
butions, his judgment and personal integrity, and his demonstrated
skill in organizational leadership amply qualified him to lead one of
the world's large organizations devoted to pioneering and applying
technical developments.
In addition to his enormous contributions to Exxon's technology
and operations, Ed Gornowski devoted substantial effort to the fur-
therance of his profession and of society in general. This was recog-
nized by his election to the National Academy of Engineering in
1971 and his being elevated to the rank of Fellow in the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers in 1973 and in the American Associ-
ation for the Advancement of Science in 1978. He served on a large
number of panels of the National Academy of Engineering, National
Academy of Sciences, and National Research Council, and for five
years was a guiding force on the Committee on Nuclear and Alter-
native Energy Systems (CONAES). He was an active member of
the Office of Science and Technology's Energy R&D Overview
Panel, the President's Energy R&D Advisory Council, the New
Jersey Council of Graduate Education, of many committees of the
Industrial Research Institute and of advisory boards for Caltech and
the Institute of Gas Technology.
In 1983 Ed Gornowski served the State of New Jersey as a mem-
ber of the Governor's Management Improvement Plan, acting as
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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
the principal industry consultant in an analysis of management and
budget practices at Rutgers University. He received a citation from
Governor Kean for his contributions.
Edward Gornowski was a superb engineer and more. He was a
superb human being, always ready to provide support and guid-
ance, a man of loyalty and dedication, a man of great honesty. He
faced life squarely, enjoying its successes and overcoming its
unavoidable problems. He left us better for having known him.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
john gornowski
