Merrell R. Fenske

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(1904 - 1971)
http://www.che.psu.edu/aboutus/history.htm

Early in 1929, Merrell R. Fenske (Sc.D., MIT, 1928) became associated with the School of Chemistry and Physics in a research and instructional capacity.

With distillation equipment of unprecedented design installed in Pond Laboratory, he began studies on the composition of the lower boiling point fractions of Pennsylvania crude oil.

Exciting results came quickly, industrial and government support proliferated, and in 1931 additional laboratory space was obtained in the Old College Power Plant. Those were the humble origins of the Petroleum Refining Laboratory, which soon gained international recognition.

The laboratory was strictly a research organization, staffed mainly with chemical engineers and chemists. As many as seventy were employed during World War II. Techniques developed in the Petroleum Refining Laboratory helped ensure an adequate supply of aviation gasoline, hydraulic fluids, and a variety of lubricants that were essential to the Allied war effort.
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