A Tribute to the Memory of Dr. John Campbell

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A 17-year member of the CoE Board of Visitors as well as a 1995 inductee into the Distinguished Graduates Society, the highest honor the college bestows on its graduates, there is no doubt that John Campbell has left a lasting legacy.

John M. Campbell, Sr. 91, of Norman, Okla., passed away Aug. 24. Campbell was born in Virden, Ill. and graduated from Burlington High School in Iowa in 1940. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering at Iowa State University in 1943. Shortly after graduation he was assigned to the Manhattan Project by his employer, DuPont, and was part of a group that developed the atomic bombs that were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, which ended the war with Japan. While on the project he met and married Gwen Thompson. That began a wonderful 61-year marriage that ended with her death in 2006.

In 1946 he came to the University of Oklahoma as a graduate student and instructor in chemical engineering. In 1951 he received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, the first offered in the College of Engineering. After three years in industry, he was rehired by OU in petroleum engineering and served as the chair of the department for 12 years. He also served as the director of the Petroleum Research Center and was the Halliburton professor before resigning in 1968 to found the first of several companies to serve the international petroleum industry.

By virtue of his high-profile international energy consultancy and his successful books and technical papers, he received many national and international honors, culminating in his election to the U. S. National Academy of Engineering.

Postscript from his sons: The above obit was written by our father prior to his death. Being respectful of his wish, we have published it as he wrote it. Dad’s modestly written announcement grossly understates his personal and professional achievements and his contributions to the Norman community and the University of Oklahoma.

His flagship company, John M. Campbell and Company, is still the worldwide leader in training for natural gas conditioning and processing. This legacy company lives on employing 50 professionals in Norman with offices in Tulsa, Katy, Texas and Edmonton, Canada.

His influence and guidance to hundreds of young men and women who had the privilege of his mentorship is greatly understated by his modest words. To this day, many of these ex-students and colleagues still consider him as, not only their father figure, but the person who most influenced their lives. His wisdom, guidance, sense of humor, fairness, generosity, integrity and compassion will be missed by all who knew him, especially his family.

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