Harold E. Hoelscher ’44

HAL DIED unexpectedly of heart failure Aug. 6, 1993, in Houston. This extraordinarily successful educator and businessman left us quietly, yet in India and Southeast Asia, he was widely mourned.

At Princeton, he majored in chemical engineering (C.E.), graduating with honors in 1944. He served two years with the army air force, returning to Princeton to win Anna Stockton's hand in 1946. His doctoral work in C.E. was at Washington Univ. and postdoctoral studies and initial teaching were at the Univ. of Cincinnati.

His successful rise in academia began as professor, then chairman of C.E. at Johns Hopkins. He then went on to serve as dean of engineering at the Univ. of Pittsburgh. He held presidencies at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok and the American Univ. of Beirut. Entering the business world, he was president of T.A.G.I. (U.S.A.) Inc., then director of the Center for Applied Technology of the Univ. of Houston, before founding Houston Contechs Inc., eight international professionals providing expertise in technology development, transfer, and management.

He was a truly worldwide teacher, lecturer, and consultant. He adored India, and considered it his second home. In Beirut, Hal and Anna found and adopted Hussein Yasbic, bringing him back to Houston for rhenology treatment. He loved his family and his world of students. How sad we didn't have more contact with him. To Anna, David, Lillian, and Hussein go our admiration and deepest sympathies.

The Class of 1944