W. Nicholas Delgass

William Nicholas (Nick) Delgass, 78, of West Lafayette died peacefully at home, attended by his family, on August 17, after a valiant nine-year battle with cancer. Nick was born and raised on the East Coast, graduating from Staples High School in Westport, CT.  His interest in the world and the way it works led him to science.  He went West, stopping at the University of Michigan to earn an undergraduate degree, and finally a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University.

He didn’t confine his studies to science, though.  Early on and throughout his life, he was committed to being a well-rounded scholar.  That was fortunate, because when he spotted Elizabeth (Betty) Holstein at a mandolin concert at Stanford in 1966, he was able to convince her to go out with him only after they bonded over a love of English literature.  They married about a year later, and would have celebrated their 54^th anniversary at the end of August.

He and Betty had their first child, Michael, while Nick was completing his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California in Berkeley.  He accepted his first faculty position at Yale University, and the growing family moved to Branford, CT, where their second son, Leif, was born.  Nick was on the faculty at Yale University for five years before accepting a position at Purdue, and the family moved to West Lafayette.

Nick had a long and successful career in Purdue’s Chemical Engineering Department, where he was ultimately awarded a named chair and taught until retirement.  Nick was globally recognized for his work in integrating new tools and methods into reaction systems.  According to his valued colleague and friend, Fabio Ribeiro, few researchers have impacted the field so broadly – he was a joint author of over 200 scientific papers, two books, advisor to many graduate students, and consultant to many companies.

Even as he was building this successful academic career, he was a devoted husband and father.  His love for Betty was fierce and profoundly unselfish.  He was often seen biking from the lab to lunch with the family, and was a constant presence at events as his sons went through the West Lafayette public schools.  When his grandchildren were born, he indefatigably made cross-country trips to visit them and is remembered by them as supremely kind and attentive.

Nick had a long history of service to his profession.  He served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Catalysis, the flagship journal of the field.  Nick was recognized many times by his colleagues in chemical engineering for his work through various awards, including the Inaugural North American Catalysis Society Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Catalysis, and was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).  Most recently, he served as Honorary Chair of the 26^th North American Catalysis Society Meeting in 2019.

His teaching and mentoring at Purdue are legendary.  Teaching was one of his great loves, as evidenced by his many teaching awards: among others, Nick received the Shreve Teaching Award seven times, and was entered into the Purdue University Book of Great Teachers in 2003.

Nick is survived by his wife of 54 years, Betty, his sons Leif and Michael, Michael’s wife Jessica Spector, and four grandchildren (Isaac, Aidan, Ariella, and Serafina Delgass).

No formal service is planned, but there will be a memorial reception on October 16, from 1-4 PM at the Whittaker Inn in West Lafayette.