Millennium Magazine_5th Ed

312 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine D r. Douglas Ellis Leng received a BS in 1951 and an MS in 1953, both from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. In 1956, he earned a PhD from Purdue University. Beginning in 1956, he worked at Dow Chemical Company, one of the three largest chemical producers worldwide, as a research engineer and retired in 1996 as a senior research scientist and fellow. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Leng served Leng Associates as a mixing consultant until his retirement. Dr. Leng is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and a member of the American Chemical Society. In 1993, he was the recipient of the Dow Gold Medal, and in 1995, he received the Proctor & Gamble Award from the North American Mixing Forum in Miami, Florida. He is appreciative for the support of his mentors: Dr. Nolan Poffenberger, Dr. Philip Murdoch, Dr. Robert Nowak and Henry Kohlbrand. Outside of these notable achievements, Dr. Leng holds eight patents in his field; one patent of which Dr. Leng is proud dealt with creating microdispersion of cellulose ether cells in water. He notes that when an object is exposed to this acquiesce dispersion, upon drying it would form a film. Throughout his career, Dr. Leng was involved in various forms of mixing and distillation. A renowned problem solver in the industry, Dr. Leng was the go-to person if a chemical reaction had taken place. Chemical reactions are dependent upon heat transfer and mixing, and if there were processes that did not work, mixing was the ordinary culprit. Dowpreviouslymade phenol, an aromatic organic compound, in a gas fired pipe reaching 4,000 feet long. Made from the reaction of monochlorobenzene (MCB) and aqueous caustic, a high temperature MCB decomposes slightly to form hydrogen chloride, leading to corrosion and product release. When driving to Dow’s headquarters in Midland, Michigan, from Canada, the air frequently smelled as if there had been an explosion at the plant. In light of this, Dr. Leng invented a recycle reactor to remedy the problem. Married to the late Marguerite Lambert for more than 60 years, Dr. Leng is the proud father of three children: Ronald, Janet and Douglas. DOUGLAS ELLIS LENG, PHD SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST (RETIRED) Dow Chemical Company Midland, MI SCIENCES, PHARMACEUTICALS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY