Monroe H. Waxman

Monroe H. Waxman, 88, a longtime senior research associate at Shell Development’s Bellaire Research Laboratory and an internationally acclaimed petrophysicist, died in Houston on April 27.

Born in Newark, N.J., Waxman received a B.S. in chemistry from Long Island University in 1941 before serving in the Army in Europe and Africa during World War II as an ordnance specialist. He then earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1952.

After completing his education, Waxman moved to Houston to join Shell Development’s Bellaire Research Center, where he would remain for 38 years.

Waxman is best known for his research on electric well logging, which is used by the petroleum industry to detect oil-bearing formations and to provide a detailed record of geologic zones penetrated by a borehole. In the 1960s, he helped develop the Waxman-Smits equation, which is a fundamental tool in the interpretation of electric well logs. It incorporates a quantitative physical chemical correction for formations that contain clay minerals or shales, which are known to mask oil-productive zones.

Waxman received the Gold Medal from the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts in 1985. He was an emeritus member of ACS, which he joined in 1947.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Edith; son, Jeffrey; daughter, Ellen; and three grandchildren.