Obituaries

Kent J. Eisentraut, 67, a chemist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, for 34 years, died on June 17 of lung cancer.

He grew up in New York state and majored in chemistry at St. Michael's College, in Vermont. He was commissioned to the Air Force after graduation and completed requirements for a private pilot's license. He received a deferment, and completed a doctorate in chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1964.

While at RPI, Eisentraut worked at General Electric. He worked at DuPont for six months after graduating and before he received orders to report to Wright-Patterson in Ohio for active duty as a researcher. In 1966, he was awarded the U.S. Air Force Research & Development Award. After completing his active duty, he was assigned to the inactive reserves for another five years until his honorable discharge as a captain.

During his career, Eisentraut's work included a new antiknock agent for gasoline, separation of the lanthanide elements by gas chromatography, developing methods to analyze moon rock and dust from the Apollo missions, and wear-metal analysis in gas engines.

A retired member, he joined ACS in 1961. Eisentraut served as Dayton's local section councilor for about 10 years. He also served as an ACS Congressional National Science Counselor to Rep. Michael DeWine of Ohio.

Eisentraut is survived by two children and two grandchildren.

Paul S. Greer, 101, a chemical engineer, died on June 11.

A native of Braddock, Pa., Greer received a B.S. in 1925 from Grove City College in his home state. In 1932, he completed the equivalent of a master's degree at Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland. He also held a professional engineering license in West Virginia.

For 15 years, Greer worked at Carbide & Carbon Chemical Co. in West Virginia. In July 1942, he joined the staff of the War Production Board as a senior industrial specialist. The following year, he started working on mass-producing rubber synthetically. The material was in high demand during World War II. As chief of R&D in the Office of Synthetic Rubber, he directed a $4 million project to improve the material for military and civilian use. He also worked at the National Science Foundation.

In 1957, he served as associate director of the chemical section of the U.S. Army Office of Ordnance Research in Durham, N.C. He later directed projects funded by various Department of Defense entities. He retired in 1974.

An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1934. He was predeceased by his wife of 40 years, Sylvia, in 1988, and is survived by his son, Edward C. Greer, an ACS member since 1979, and three grandsons.

John Pierce Hewlett Jr., 90, a retired chemist, died on June 1, 2005.

He was born in Scottsboro, Ala. After receiving a B.S. in chemistry at George Washington University in 1942, he held several jobs, including positions at Archer Daniels Midland Corp. in Minneapolis and Kerr-McGee Corp. in Oklahoma City. After his retirement from Kerr-McGee, he worked for 10 years as a surgical assistant at Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City.

Hewlett is survived by his wife of 63 years, Helen, and their two children and their families. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1946.

James B. Hunter, 90, a chemical engineer, died on Jan. 20.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Mo., Hunter earned a B.S. from the University of Illinois in 1937 and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942, both in chemical engineering.

In 1941, he joined the Atlantic Refining Co. (now BP) in Philadelphia, where he was involved with catalysts for refining petroleum and installed the first commercial mass spectrometer for hydrocarbon gas analysis.

Hunter joined J. Bishop & Co. Platinum Works (now Johnson Matthey) in 1960 as manager of new product development. He created a process for hydrogen gas recovery and purification with a patented silver-palladium alloy in the form of thin-walled, small-diameter tubing. In 1969, he was appointed vice president of research and development.

Hunter was involved with a wide range of projects, including new platinum-group metal catalysts for use in fuel cells, ammonia oxidation, and auto exhaust emission control. He also worked on part of the instrument package that went to Mars with the Viking Lander in 1976 as well as the commercialization of a platinum drug for cancer chemotherapy now known as Platinol.

He held 25 U.S. and eight foreign patents, many of which related to petroleum processing and hydrogen gas purification. After retiring from Johnson Matthey in 1980, he became interested in art-related products and patented a device for the rapid production of realistic sketches.

An emeritus member, Hunter joined ACS in 1938. During the 1950s, he first served as cover editor and then as editor for The Catalyst, the monthly magazine of the Philadelphia Section. He contributed 10 original two-color cover illustrations.

Hunter was preceded in death by his first wife, Ruth, in 1962 and a granddaughter in 1991. He is survived by his second wife, Deirdre; three children, including Edward Hunter, who has been an ACS member since 1968; five additional grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Donald Rosenthal, 79, professor emeritus of chemistry at Clarkson University, Potsdam, N.Y., died on May 19.

He earned a B.A. from Princeton University in 1949 and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Columbia University in 1955. Rosenthal taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and the University of Minnesota before joining the faculty at Clarkson in 1961. He was honored with emeritus status in 1992.

An emeritus ACS member, Rosenthal joined ACS in 1950. He became active in the Division of Chemical Education, including chairing the Committee on Computers in Chemical Education. Through his encouragement and dedication, committee activities such as computer workshops at national meetings and additional online conferences (ChemConf and Confchem) helped foster an online community for thousands of chemical educators.

Rosenthal is survived by his wife, Eleanor; four children; and two sisters.

Sheldon D. West, an industrial chemist, died suddenly on May 2. He was 56.

An Indiana native, he received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Purdue University in 1972. He worked on an M.S. degree in entomology during the following year.

West started his career as a research scientist at Schering Research Center in New Jersey, worked at Eli Lilly & Co. from 1974 to 1989, and finished at Dow AgroSciences.

He wrote three murder mysteries with his wife of 33 years, Lynn, and two Christian/science-fiction novels. He also coached youth sports and followed NASCAR.

West is survived by his wife, three children, mother, and two siblings.

Obituaries are written by Rachel Petkewich. Obituary notices may be sent to r_petkewich@acs.org and should include detailed educational and professional history.