AUSTIN, Texas – John J. McKetta Jr., professor emeritus and dean emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin and namesake to the chemical engineering department in the Cockrell School of Engineering, died on January 15 at the age of 103.
Dr. McKetta was born in 1915 into a Ukrainian immigrant family and grew up in Wyano, Pa. He started out working in the coal mines with his father and brother, but quickly decided that he would prefer making chemicals from coal versus digging for the coal.
It was during the Great Depression that Mr. McKetta decided he wanted to attend college and study to be a chemical engineer. There was no money for such a lofty dream. Determination drove him to handwrite letters to the presidents of 54 colleges asking for admission and a job to cover the tuition. Only one college answered him and Mr. McKetta earned his bachelor’s degree from Tri-State University in Indiana. He went on to earn an M.S. and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
In 1946 Dr. McKetta joined the chemical engineering department at The University of Texas at Austin.
He called UT Austin – where he earned the reputation of being one of the friendliest and most inspirational mentors at the university – home for more than 70 years.
Dr. McKetta’s research established him as an international leader in the field of chemical engineering; he was a renowned expert in the thermodynamic properties of hydrocarbons. He served as energy adviser to five U.S. presidents (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush), authored 87 books, edited the 68-volume Encyclopedia for Chemical Processing and Design, was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and was named one of the “50 Chemical Engineers of the Foundation Age” by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
At UT, Dr. McKetta served as executive vice-chancellor of the University of Texas System, dean of engineering and chair of the Chemical Engineering Department three separate times.
In the 1990s, McKetta made a $1 million donation to the chemical engineering department which equaled the total of all the paychecks he had received from the university. He challenged alumni to match it and they did. In 2012 the department completed the “Challenge for McKetta,” a $25 million fund-raising campaign to advance the department and honor Dr. McKetta, and that year the department was officially named the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering. The department is ranked as the fourth best undergraduate chemical engineering department in the nation.
In 2013, Dr. McKetta was voted one of UT Austin’s 10 most inspiring professors by the Texas Exes. He had a tradition of calling former students on their 65th birthday. He will be most remembered for his dedication to students and his enthusiasm for life and his contagious smile.
Dr. McKetta was fiercely proud of his Ukrainian roots. This writer’s family met the professor when son Brian was a student at UT Austin in the Chemical Engineering Department. Once Dr. McKetta heard Brian was Ukrainian, the bond was formed instantly. Dr. McKetta’s Ukrainian roots and their importance and place in his family were never forgotten and were spoken about by his granddaughter Elisabeth Sharp McKetta at the memorial held at the university on February 9.