Ralph Landau

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Ralph Landau (May 19, 1916 – April 5, 2004) was an American chemical engineer and entrepreneur who helped reshape the chemical and petrochemical industries. He was born in Philadelphia and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1937 and a Doctor of Science from MIT in 1941. After working at M. W. Kellogg, he contributed to the Manhattan Project through Kellex, helping design equipment for uranium enrichment.

In 1946 Landau co-founded Scientific Design Co., a firm that created and licensed new chemical-processing technologies. Its breakthrough was a simpler, cheaper way to make ethylene oxide from ethylene using a silver catalyst in air, which made it easier to produce ethylene glycol and PET plastics. The company developed other important processes and licensed them around the world. In 1963 the company became Halcon International, later forming Oxirane with Atlantic Richfield. Under Landau’s leadership, Halcon/Oxirane built hundreds of plants and licensed many technologies, producing thousands of patents and enabling large-scale industrial chemistry.

In 1982 Landau began a second career as a scholar of economics. He taught at Stanford University and at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and he wrote books such as The Positive Sum Strategy (1986) and Technology and the Wealth of Nations (1992). He studied how government policy, business, and science interact to promote innovation and economic growth, hoping to help both engineers and policymakers work together.

Landau supported universities and research centers throughout his life. He funded the MIT Practice School and helped establish the Landau Chemical Engineering Building at MIT. He also supported academic programs at Penn and Stanford, and promoted linking engineering with business and policy.

He received many honors, including the Perkin Medal (1981), the National Medal of Technology (1985, the first year it was awarded), and the Othmer Gold Medal (1997). He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and received several other prestigious recognitions. Landau was married to Claire Sackler, and they had a daughter, Laurie J. Landeau. He died on April 5, 2004, leaving a legacy as a leading engineer, entrepreneur, and thinker about how technology and economics shape society.