DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Portfolio Of Patents

ALAN EASTMAN

PhD'75 is the Utah chair of the Utah Chapter of the International Dark Sky Association. His research at the U was in boron chemistry, and his thesis was specifically focused on coordinatively unsaturated boron cations. This research transitioned well into the field of heterogeneous catalysis within petroleum and petrochemical research, which he did for many years.

He also worked in chemical and plastics marketing, then returned to research and developed methodologies for online process monitoring using advanced infrared and laser Raman spectrophotometry with statistical data analysis.

After retiring from petroleum research, Eastman designed a high-end, fully synthetic motor oil that was produced in the US and sold in Japan.

With his brother-in-law and another friend, he founded a company that is currently pursuing geothermal projects in California, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, and the Philippines. Having "flunked" retirement again, Eastman currently manages the company’s patent portfolio and holds 39 patents, with six more pending.

Eastman is part of the U’s Division of Continuing Education and teaches science classes at the Osher Institute. He plays the keyboard in two swing bands and enjoys traveling with his wife Vickie and trying to keep up with their nine children and numerous grandchildren.

Eastman states, “My education not only prepared me to deal with a career related to what I studied, but also taught me how to learn, how to evaluate what I learn, and how to apply that learning to the challenges of 'real life.' A lot has changed in the sciences since I left grad school, but the habits and skills I acquired at the U have allowed me to evolve and grow in ways I never thought possible at the time.” ~ CJ Siebeneck

The Guiding Hand

It is a rare occurrence for a scientist to be able to follow a product from research to mass production.

PAUL WEIDER BS'78 has done so on multiple occasions. In his 35year career at Shell International Exploration and Production, he helped develop a whopping 67 patents. His research helped lead to a practical manufacturing route for 1,3-propanediol (PDO), a long sought industrial chemical intermediate. This critical work would help drive the Shell PDO process, leading to worldscale production that will soon open its second plant in China.

Like many in industrial science, Weider would turn this expertise to renewables in the 21st century to great effect. In 2009 he conceived of the basis for the eventual Shell Fiber Conversion Technology (SFCT), allowing the production of fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic materials. A second example of guiding a process from development to production is his participation in SFCT from inception to commercial production.

A recipient of an RD 100 award, co-recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Award for Team Innovation, and, following his retirement from Shell in 2021, lauded as one of the company’s “Principal Science Experts,” Weider has had an illustrious career.

When asked to reminisce, Weider remarks, “Looking back over my career in science, it strikes me how fortunate I have been to have the right mentor come into my life at the right time.” Mentors such as Louis Hegedus of Colorado State, to Lynn Slaugh at Shell Company, to Utah’s own Gary Keck. They would teach him everything from organic chemistry to the finer points of fly fishing, and he thanks them for “helping me in the ways of industrial science—teaching me how to succeed by having fun.”

Weider currently serves as consultant on renewable chemicals and fuel processes. He now rejoins the academic community, having guided countless engineers and scientists just as his mentors guided him.

~ Michael Jacobsen

Both Sides Of The Rockies

When GRETCHEN DOMEK BS’03 graduated from the U she was recipient of the Utah’s Best of State College/University Student award. It was both a capstone of previous awards she received as an undergraduate and harbinger of accolades and accomplishments to come. Domek completed her graduate studies at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar where she earned a master’s in philosophy and medical anthropology. She went to Harvard where she earned her MD cum laude et thesis propria and completed her internship and residency in pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital Colorado. At the same time she was an instructor/ fellow at the University of Colorado (CU) Anschutz Medical Campus. In 2013, she became the Interim Director of their Global Health Track and in 2014 was appointed Assistant Professor and Senior Investigator.

The Centennial State was lucky to have Domek, but Utah claims her as well. While at the U as an undergraduate, she participated in volunteer medical work in Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina. In 2005 she participated in work for Project Interchange and Habitat for Humanity in Israel and the West Bank, and South Africa, respectively.

With decades of enriching activities and garnering many awards, Domek’s breathless pace has never slowed. Along with maintaining a busy schedule of caregiving at CU, she does review and editorial work, and gives a number of lectures and presentations, including yearly presentations focused on teaching. Included in the national lectures is one she presented to the department’s Curie Club in October, 2015.

Domek maintains her affiliation with the U and visits regularly, including for some Utah Football games. An avid skier and mountain climber, it makes sense that Gretchen Domek makes her home in the Rocky Mountains on both its eastern flank in Colorado and its western flank in the Beehive State. <

This story is adapted from the nomination letter written by Richard Ernst, emeritus professor and former chair of the department’s undergraduate education committee.