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Memorial Tributes: Volume 11 (2007)

Chapter: Arthur B. Metzner

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Suggested Citation:"Arthur B. Metzner." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Suggested Citation:"Arthur B. Metzner." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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ARTHUR B. METZNER

1927–2006

Elected in 1979

“For research in the fluid mechanics of viscoelastic and polymeric materials.”


WRITTEN BY T.W. FRASER RUSSELL SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY


ARTHUR B. METZNER, H. Fletcher Brown Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, died suddenly on May 4, 2006, while attending a meeting in Washington, D.C.

Born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1927, Arthur grew up and studied in Alberta, graduating from the University of Alberta in 1948 with a B.Sc. in chemical engineering. He received his Sc.D. in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1951. Although he spent nearly his entire professional career as a member of the faculty at the University of Delaware, his teaching career began with instructorships at MIT and Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Retiring in 1996, he continued to be active in the Department of Chemical Engineering until his death. He was a humorous, warm, yet demanding and exacting teacher; a world-renowned researcher; an editor of the Journal of Rheology; and a consultant to industry.

After two years at Colgate-Palmolive Company, in 1953 Art joined Allan P. Colburn, Robert L. Pigford, and others of the faculty at Delaware, bringing the department to six members. The group was very active in teaching, authoring textbooks, and conducting research all with the goal of improving the stature of the department and Art thrived in such an environment. He became a full professor in 1961 and the H. Fletcher Brown Professor in 1962. While he was department chairman from 1970 to 1978, six faculty

Suggested Citation:"Arthur B. Metzner." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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members were added, five books were published, and the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology was established.

Art understood that chemical engineering education was both about teaching content, and equally, if not more importantly, about teaching student skills and giving them the confidence to solve a wide range of problems. His classes were interactive, and students knew it was dangerous to come to class unprepared. Students were encouraged to participate in a variety of ways, especially by explaining their solutions to the infamously many problems he assigned. Art wanted students to gain the confidence that they could solve problems on their own and in collaboration with others. His mentoring of students in their classroom and laboratory activities continued beyond their university days, and he had a major influence on many careers, several of whom have become leaders in academia and industry.

Art’s research contributions to rheology and the mechanics of non-Newtonian fluids were developed through critical experiments and innovative analysis. The papers he and his students produced were used extensively by many engineers’ throughout industry and academia to solve significant problems in fluid mechanics and heat transfer in tubular and in tank-type systems.

Recognition of his contributions included his election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1979, several national awards from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and designation as an Eminent Member of the profession in 1983. He also received awards from the Society of Rheology (the Bingham Medal and the Distinguished Service Award), the American Chemical Society, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the University of Delaware (Francis P. Alison Award). In addition, both the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the University of Delaware awarded him honorary doctorates.

Professor Metzner is survived by his wife of 58 years, Elisabeth “Betty” Krüger Metzner; daughter, Elisabeth Faulkner of Charlottesville, Virginia; son, Arthur P., daughter-in-law, Yemisrach, and grandson Samuel Metzner of Fort Washington, Maryland; and daughter, Rebecca Metzner, and son-in-law, R. Jeremy Clark, of Rome, Italy.

Suggested Citation:"Arthur B. Metzner." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Suggested Citation:"Arthur B. Metzner." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Suggested Citation:"Arthur B. Metzner." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Suggested Citation:"Arthur B. Metzner." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Suggested Citation:"Arthur B. Metzner." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Page 227
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This is the 11th 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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