Mason Lectures

David M. Mason
1921 - 1988

THE DAVID M. MASON LECTURES IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING are named in honor of the late David M. Mason, who was Professor of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at Stanford University.  Born in Los Angeles, Dave Mason did both his graduate and undergraduate work at the California Institute of Technology, receiving the Ph.D. degree in 1949 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1966.  He was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and in 1984 was presented the Institute's Founders Award for outstanding contributions in chemical engineering. His research interests lay in the field of applied chemical thermodynamics and kinetics. 

Dave joined the Stanford faculty in 1955 as an associate professor in the Chemistry Department's division of chemical engineering.  The relationships forged during those years have endured and have shaped the ties that still exist between the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.  In 1960, David Mason seized the opportunity to create an autonomous Department of Chemical Engineering as a result of a Ford Foundation grant to Stanford.  The most notable aspect of the succeeding events is the rapidity with which Dave built the department to a position of excellence and national prominence, hired senior and junior faculty, and provided the department with its first home, the John Stauffer Building, third of the buildings in the Stauffer complex.  He served as Chair of the Department from 1960-72, and then as Professor from 1972 until his retirement in 1986.  Dave Mason passed away in August, 1988.

David M. Mason Lecturers