Environmental Research Lab Named for Wayne Rubey 

On December 17th, 1999, the Environmental Science and Engineering group of the Materials Engineering division honored one of its research scientists with a well-deserved tribute. Wayne Rubey retired this past year after 36 years as an innovative environmental researcher in thermal analysis and gas chromatography. The laboratory where Wayne worked to develop many of his ideas has been named the Wayne A. Rubey Thermal Decomposition Research Laboratory. The laboratory, located in Kettering Labs, Room 112, will be identified by a plaque bearing this designation. This lab has been the primary location for instrumentation design and development in high-temperature incineration research at UDRI. Instruments and methods designed by Wayne, and still in use today, have helped to shape hazardous waste incineration as it has been practiced in this country.

Wayne began his career at UDRI by conducting research in the identification of components of turbine engine lubricants using gas chromatography (GC). As his career progressed, he became involved in the design and construction of quartz reactor systems with GC detectors to examine the thermal degradation of hazardous wastes and other materials. These systems allowed researchers to determine if toxic products would be given off if a particular compound was exposed to high temperature, as in a fire or during incineration. Wayne received the Wohlleben-Hochwalt Outstanding Professional Research Award in 1985 for his creation of the System for Thermal Diagnostic Studies (STDS), which has been used continuously for environmental research since 1984.

While Wayne's accomplishments in the laboratory are best known to his coworkers, everyone who has been at UDRI for any length of time probably knows of his integrity, good humor, and helpfulness. He has been a wonderful mentor to his younger colleagues, a teacher of students, and a researcher of vision and creativity. Although he officially retired this past summer, he continues to work one day a week as a resource to the Environmental Sciences and Engineering group. We congratulate Wayne in his retirement; the international reputation of UDRI in environmental research would not have been possible without his ideas and creations. The dedication of the Wayne A. Rubey Thermal Decomposition Research Laboratory is indeed a fitting tribute to 36 years of devoted effort on behalf of the University of Dayton.

January 2000
by Rich Striebich, Environmental Engineering Group

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