Dr. Frank Tiller, Professor Emeritus and M.D. Anderson Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Houston, passed away on Tuesday, January 3.
As the first Cullen College of Engineering dean, from 1955 to 1963, Dr. Tiller oversaw a dramatic improvement in the educational level of the college’s faculty, with the percentage of faculty members holding doctoral degrees increasing to 40 from 14 during this period. He was also instrumental in establishing engineering programs at several colleges in Latin America, efforts which earned him multiple honorary degrees from these institutions. Dr. Tiller, who held a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati, is widely recognized as the father of modern filtration theory and his work had a significant impact on fluid/particle systems and the separation of particles in fields ranging from the chemical industry, yeast and beer, environmental protection, petroleum and many others.
Dr. Tiller was widely respected and admired by his colleagues. In his 1987 Convocation Address, the late Dr. Joseph Crump, former chair and founder of the Department of Chemical Engineering, said, “The best piece of work which I did for this university was done as chairman of the selection committee that brought Frank M. Tiller here as dean of engineering.” Dr. Tiller
Memorial services for Dr. Tiller will be held at the A.D. Bruce Religion Center at the University of Houston on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 4 p.m.
Donations in honor of Dr. Tiller can be made to the Tiller Scholarship Fund, set up to benefit full-time chemical engineering undergraduates who exhibit excellence in and out of the classroom. Make checks payable to the University of Houston, specifying the Tiller Scholarship Fund on the memo line. Mail donations to:
University of Houston
Cullen College of Engineering
E421, Engineering Bldg. 2
Houston, TX 77204-4007