The department of Chemical and Biological Engineering recognized one of its most influential members on his 90th birthday. Dr. Thomas (Tom) Wheelock, University Professor Emeritus, was honored with a reception, and was joined by many well-wishers from not only from his department, but other corners of the university as well.
Wheelock has had a 70-year relationship with Iowa State. He earned a bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State in 1949 and 1958, respectively, and joined the department as an instructor in 1957. He was named assistant professor in 1958 and had become a professor by 1964.
He has been heavily involved in research during his tenure at Iowa State, with an emphasis on processes for cleaning and utilizing coal; however, his doctoral dissertation and early research laid the foundation for a new process capable of producing sulfur dioxide from either natural or waste materials composed largely of calcium sulfate. Such a process made it possible to use an alternative raw material for the production of sulfuric acid, which had been largely from elemental sulfur. The work was supported mostly by private industry and led eventually to eight domestic and foreign patents and a dozen journal articles.
Wheelock is also known for research involving the fluidization of sticky materials in powders, and one project in conjunction with a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture led to significant improvement in the processing of materials such as cereal starches and flours. He was a key figure in a 1970s Iowa State University research project to remove sulfur from Iowa coal in an effort to assist the struggling Iowa coal mining industry. In the mid-1990s he was part of a research team that received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a reusable calcium-based sorbent for desulfurizing hot coal gas. Several patents were awarded as a result of these efforts.
He has supervised nearly 140 research publications, 49 M.S. theses and 19 Ph.D. theses in Chemical Engineering. Special honors Wheelock has received include the Chemical Engineering Department teaching award in 1961; a Faculty Citation from the Iowa State University Alumni Association in 1974; election as a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 1987; election as a fellow of the Iowa Academy of Science in 1988; the Governor’s Science Medal for Science Achievement in 1991; University Professor status in 1994; and the Margaret Ellen White Graduate Faculty Award in 1999.