Arnold S. West, AIChE Fellow and Past President | AIChE

Arnold S. West, AIChE Fellow and Past President

Arnold S. West, AIChE Fellow and Past President
August 21, 2012

Arnold S. “Sam” West, of Holland, PA, who served as AIChE’s President in 1977, died on March 19, 2012. He was 90.

Born in Philadelphia, PA, West earned a BS at the Univ. of Pennsylvania and an MS at Penn State Univ., both in chemical engineering. He then joined the former Rohm and Haas Co., where he worked for more than 40 years as a research engineer, supervisor, and manager of the Petroleum Chemicals Research Dept. Later in his career, he specialized in government and regulatory affairs. After retiring from Rohm and Haas in 1987, he became principal owner of a consulting business, A. S. West Associates.

West’s involvement in AIChE spanned decades, and included three terms as Treasurer in the 1960s and 1970s, and election as Institute President for 1977. He was an advocate for AIChE local sections, and a leader of the Delaware Valley Section. Other leadership roles included a term as Institute director and as chair of the Membership Committee, and he also worked on professional legislation issues and the Student Design Competition. A Fellow of AIChE, he was recognized by the Institute with its Founders Award for Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering (1979) and the Van Antwerpen Award for Contributions to the Institute (1983).

West’s wife of 63 years, Beverly Lehman West, passed away in 2010. He is survived by a daughter, a son, and their families.