Page 9 - CEMS News Summer 2020
P. 9

                                          CEMS NEWS
       Andrew Jones (ChE ’09, Chem ’10): This is truly a tragedy. Professor Lanny Schmidt is the reason I pursued Chemical Engineering and specifically heterogeneous catalysis. At a freshman seminar Prof. Schmidt discussed his microsecond reactor ‘fast pyrolysis’ technology and how they were converting biomass (actual wood chips) to liquid fuels. Seemed like magic to me. He later took me under his wing as an undergraduate researcher. I wouldn’t be where I am today without his enthusiasm, guidance and support. He will be missed.
Jules Magda (PhD ChE ’86): Lanny was a great teacher and researcher. He was an inspiration to me in my academic career (Prof. Magda is currently on the faculty at the University of Utah).
Richard Minday (PhD ChE ’70): I started at the “U” in 1966, only one year after Lanny. I’ve always been proud of the fact that I was one of Lanny’s first PhD students, along with LeRoy Clavenna and Paul Tamm. Lanny was a great professor and leader. He led by example, showed us how to do things necessary for our experimental work, gave us constant challenges. I learned how to blow glass from Lanny, a very valuable skill since my experimental equipment was a glass ultra-high vacuum system in constant need of modification and repair. In the end,
we proved something that scientists around the world doubted, but Lanny was sure would be a fact. Several publications resulted, some co-authored with Ted Davis who provided the fundamental modeling to show that what we had proved experimentally was in fact true!
Sherry and Lanny had student gatherings at their home
in Minneapolis that were always lots of fun, and we got to know his daughters who were little girls at the time. I met my future wife, Judy, on a blind date on April Fool’s Day, 1967, and Lanny and Sherry attended our wedding August 9 of the next year. Like I’ve said, we felt like we were family.
Lanny’s and his students’ work over the years earned him worldwide recognition and the title of Regents Professor. Lanny deserves all the accolades for a life and career lived to the fullest.
Tom Myers (ChE ’79): Lanny hired me as an undergraduate lab assistant and was one of the most approachable professors in the department. The money came in handy, but the experiences helping his graduate students do anything from polishing platinum wafer
samples to a particular orientation (as determined by X-Ray Diffraction) to writing a program to print titles on graphs (with no pen lift) via the microcomputer (look it up Milly!) led me to graduate school at Purdue, also in catalysis and surface science. Bottom line is Lanny was a friend, mentor, and brilliant guy who I will remember for a lifetime.
Ryan O’Connor (PhD
ChE ’01): Having Lanny as
my thesis advisor was a
real pleasure. Lanny had
enormous talent for making
Ph.D. research “good fun”
while inspiring confidence
in his students. I was very
fortunate to have known and worked with Lanny, a true legend in chemical engineering. Rest in peace Lanny.
Gil Overson (ChE ’65): I knew Professor Schmidt in
my last year at the University and fully know what an asset he was. I enjoyed my years at the University of Minnesota and am grateful for them putting up with me. I always admired Lanny’s dedication and hope I can meet someone like him again. It’s inspirational to have such dedication. It’s a lesson learned.
Tom Pignet (ChE MS ’69, PhD ’74): Lanny was my thesis advisor in the late 1960s – early 1970s. We had not much contact over the years since then although we met up for a departmental event in 2012. I enjoyed that very much. But, he has always been a prominent fixture in my memory. He was always so vibrant and healthy, sensible and smart, as if he would never think of leaving us. He taught me a lot and I will remember him always.
Don Sullivan (ChE ’58): Lanny came aboard after I graduated. But in my subsequent dealings with the Department, Lanny was always gracious and welcoming. For sure he’ll be missed.
 Lanny Schmidt as a faculty member in the 1970s.
          CEMSnews Summer 2020 9
          









































































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