Rice University Appoints Hirasaki Chemical Engineering Professor

Contact: Michael Berryhill
Phone: (713) 527-4943

Rice University Appoints Hirasaki Chemical Engineering Professor

Rice University officials announced the appointment of
George Hirasaki, a Beaumont native and longtime Vidor resident, as
professor in chemical engineering effective July 1, 1993.

Hirasaki is the son of the late Tokuzo Hirasaki and the grandson
of K. Kishi, founder of the first Japanese colony in Orange County
in 1906. The colony originally raised rice but formed a petroleum
company when oil was discovered on the community’s property.

Hirasaki graduated from Vidor High School in 1958, received a
chemical engineering degree in 1963 from Lamar University and earned
his Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 1967 from Rice.

After graduating from Rice, Hirasaki joined Shell Development
Company in Houston. He remained there until his retirement in
January 1993. He was a part-time lecturer at Rice from 1977 until
1992, when he was named to a part-time professorship.

In 1991, Hirasaki was elected to the National Academy of
Engineering for his contributions in interfacial phenomena in oil
recovery.

"George Hirasaki’s accomplishments have earned him the highest
esteem among colleagues in industry and academia," said Michael M.
Carroll, dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice. "He has also been an outstanding teacher at Rice. We are delighted
that he is now becoming a full-time member of the Rice community."His presence will further enhance the quality of our faculty."

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