Passing of Professor Emeritus Donald ‘Don’ R. Paul

Professor Emeritus Don Paul passed away June 22, 2026, at age 87. He joined The University of Texas at Austin in 1967 where he served as a chemical engineering faculty member for nearly 60 years and department chair from 1977 to 1985. 

Paul became one of the most recognized and influential engineers in early polymer (plastics) and materials science, known for ground-breaking contributions particularly in polymer blends, membrane-based separations and polymer nanotechnology.

Polymers are used today in membrane applications such as air separation, hydrogen purification and natural gas purification. Paul conducted critically important studies in the 1970s and ’80s on gas separation properties that later provided the fundamental framework and understanding that underpin today’s commercial membrane technology.

A seminal 1976 paper, with then student Bill Koros (Texas ChE Ph.D. 1977), identified a new framework around a dual-mode sorption (DMS) model which looked at how small molecules dissolve and move inside more rigid, glassy materials. This work paved the way for designing polymer membranes that act like microscopic filters (for use in CO₂ capture) and for controlling medication time releases in capsules.

“Don Paul was the quintessential scholar and scientist, but he was much more—he was a teacher and mentor! Don taught all of his students by example to value the core attributes comprising integrity, honestly, scientific rigor and compassion for his students. Don’s legacy will endure and grow as each generation of his students pass these four attributes to their own students,” offered Bill Koros.

Paul was a revolutionary researcher in the area of polymer blends. Before his work, it was widely believed that almost any pair of polymers would be immiscible and was virtually impossible to prepare blends of polymers that would be miscible at the molecular scale. Paul questioned conventional wisdom and conducted systematic experimental studies delineating the molecular basis for polymer blends that are mutually soluble at a molecular level.

He also popularized the concept of ‘compatibilization’ of multiphase blends using block and graft copolymers and made significant contributions to rubber toughening using reactive compatibilization. He co-edited a two-volume book with S. Newman in 1978 and another two-volume set with C. B. Bucknall in 2000 that have become classics in the field of polymer blends with translations into Chinese and Russian.

In 1998, he helped establish and became the first director of the Texas Materials Institute. With TMI’s other founders, Paul accumulated a host of analytical equipment important in materials research. “He also found capable technical staff to make that instrumentation useful. His guidance was instrumental in ensuring this small unit would mature into an important and influential part of engineering and natural sciences at UT,” offered colleague and Texas ChE lecturer Steve Swinnea, who was responsible for X-ray diffraction at the institute. Paul served as director until 2008.

Throughout his career, he traveled extensively, sharing his experience through conferences, collaborations and consulting engagements around the world.

“Don was instrumental in helping bring many of our most successful senior faculty hires to UT Austin. He knew how to support faculty, to help them achieve their best. As a junior assistant professor in the department, I was always humbled and inspired by his track-record of research productivity, teaching and service. He was such a positive force and beloved role model for so many students. Don was a remarkable person and colleague,” said Brian Korgel, Texas ChE professor and director of UT Energy Institute.

Paul developed his passion for chemical engineering in high school. He obtained a B.S. in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University in 1961 while working as a researcher at E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company. He earned his master’s degree in 1963 and Ph.D. in 1965, both from University of Wisconsin-Madison under the direction of Professor Anthony DiBenedetto. He was an instructor of chemical engineering at UW-Madison from 1963-1965 and joined the chemical engineering department at UT Austin in 1967.

He is recognized as a National Academy of Engineering member (1988), Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a fellow of Society of Plastics Engineers (2004), Materials Research Society (2009), American Chemical Society (2009) and North American Membrane Society (2016). He was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Bologna and the Mexican Academy of Sciences. He received the Alan S. Michaels Award for Innovation in Membrane Science and Technology from the North American Membrane Society (2005) and was an elected fellow of the Polymer Division, American Chemical Society (2011). He won the E.V. Murphree Award from the American Chemical Society (1999) and the William H. Walker Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (1998). He also handled >37,500 papers as Editor-in-Chief of I&EC Research from 1986 to 2014.

For a more in depth look at Don Paul’s life and career, please read his full obituary.

Remembrance plans are being finalized and will incorporate the UT Remembers Ceremony on Friday, April 23, 2027. Additional details will be shared soon.