Joseph J. Taber

Joseph J. Taber, 96, died on Dec. 29, 2016, in Silver Spring, Md.

“Joe Taber was a stellar chemist who pioneered enhanced oil recovery processes, demonstrating the interplay of multicomponent phase behavior, resulting changes in interfacial tensions, and the improved oil recovery that results when interfacial tension forces are low enough that viscous forces move the oil. Through research at Gulf Oil and the University of Pittsburgh, and the Petroleum Recovery Research Center at the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, which he founded and led, Joe contributed greatly to the field of improved oil recovery. He was a gracious and deeply respected colleague, always concerned with advancing the careers of others.”—Franklin M. Orr Jr., colleague and mentee

Most recent title: director, Petroleum Recovery Research Center, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology

Education: B.S., chemistry, Muskingum College, 1942; Ph.D., physical and organic chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, 1955

Survivors: daughters, Deborah Leap and Cathy Browne; sons, John and Tom; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren