Four chemical engineers were honored by the Academy of Chemical Engineers at Missouri University of Science and Technology. The induction ceremony was held on Thursday, April 14, at Matt’s Steakhouse in Rolla.

The academy honors chemical engineers for contributions to their profession, leadership and involvement with Missouri S&T. The academy serves as an advisory group to the Missouri S&T chemical engineering department.

New members are:

John R. Campbell of Houston, Texas, principal engineer of instrumentation and control systems with ConocoPhillips Co, earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Missouri S&T in 1974. He began his career as a process engineer with Conoco in Ponca City, Okla., transferring after two years to the instrumentation design group and moving to Houston in 1995. He has been a member of the International Society of Automation for more than 31 years, holding a variety of leadership positions. He received the Distinguished Society Service Award from ISA in 2008 and the ISA Standards and Practices Department Award in 2009 as a technical editor in the development of the ISA standard for alarm management. He is a certified automation professional and is PRISM-certified for safety instrumented systems. He has volunteered with the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals since 2001, serving as associate producer for its annual telethon for more than five years and receiving its Special Event Volunteer of the Year Award in 2004.

John R. Knapp Jr. of Mounds, Okla., retired senior vice president of operations and site manager for Zinc Corp. of America, earned bachelor of science and master of science degrees in chemical engineering from Missouri S&T in 1958 and 1960, respectively. He completed the management program for executives at the University of Pittsburgh and completed graduate work in metallurgy at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. In 1965, he worked for the St. Joe Zinc Co. and was promoted to plant metallurgist. As assistant superintendent of the metallurgical control department, he was involved in the design and construction of a Metallurgical Control Center. He was promoted to superintendent of the secondary materials department, superintendent of the furnace and refinery department and general superintendent of smelting. In 1980, he moved to the National Zinc Co. in Oklahoma as secondary superintendent, advancing to plant manager and senior vice president of operations of Zinc Corporation of America. He holds one patent and has three publications. He received the George B. Hogaboom Award and the Carl E. Heussner Award in 1966. He has chaired a Township Planning Commission for several years and was elected township supervisor.

Jeffrey W. Sheets of Katy, Texas, senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer of ConocoPhillips Co., earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Missouri S&T in 1980 and an MBA from the University of Houston in 1989. He started work with ConocoPhillips in 1980 as a process engineer in the North America division of exploration and production. He held various engineering and marketing positions with the group until 1990, when he joined the treasury division as a staff finance director. In 1993, he rejoined the exploration and production division as staff finance director in the Norway office. He served as commercial services manager for the company’s operations in Stavanger, Norway, from 1994-1997. He returned to the U.S. in 1998 as an assistant treasurer, and was named vice president and treasurer in 2001. He was named senior vice president of planning and strategy in 2008 and was named to his current role in 2010.

Jerry L. Stone of Wilmington, Del., and Bluffton, S.C., executive at E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. Inc., earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Missouri S&T in 1960. His more than 38-year-long career with DuPont includes positions as vice president of DuPont Asia-Pacific and director of agricultural products of Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Under his leadership, DuPont became the leading basic supplier of agrichemicals in Japan, established the first integrated agrichemicals joint venture by a multinational company in the People’s Republic of China, created successful joint ventures in Argentina and Central America, and conceived and led development and implementation of the highly acclaimed international agrichemicals industry’s Safe Use Project. He received the 1991 Group of Associations of Agrichemical Manufacturers (GIFAP) Award for outstanding contribution to the international agrichemicals industry. He served on the executive committee of the board of directors of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association, as chair of the regional steering committee and the Latin America working group of the International GIFAP, and as chair of the international affairs committee of the National Agricultural Chemicals Association.