George Thodos (1915-2000) grew up in Chicago and was the eldest son of Greek immigrants. He received his undergraduate B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering, in 1938 and 1939, respectively, from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). He earned the Ph.D. in the field in 1943 from the University of Wisconsin. Between 1939 and 1947 Dr. Thodos worked for petroleum companies. In 1947 he accepted appointment as assistant professor in chemical engineering at Northwestern University and he spent the rest of his professional career at the Evanston institution. Northwestern named him a Professor in 1953. Meanwhile, he became chair of Chemical Engineering in 1950, in which position he served until 1964. The University named him the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical Engineering in 1963.

Dr. Thodos was author or co-author of over two hundred publications, and held seven patents. His Northwestern students’ establishment of The George Thodos Teaching Award awarded annually to a promising teaching assistant at the University recognized “the exemplary attitude of George Thodos to undergraduate education” and demonstrates “our appreciation of his lifelong devotion to excellence in teaching…”

After retirement from Northwestern, Dr. Thodos moved to Washington, D.C. where he died of leukemia on February 27, 2000.

This collection contains documents and books relating to Thodos' research and teaching career at Northwestern University.

Geroge Thodos Papers at Northwestern University https://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/repositories/6/resources/722