Allen, Douglas Leslie

BASc 
5T0 Chemical 
Inducted: 1993 

Douglas Allen exemplifies those Canadian engineers who have pursued productive careers largely outside Canada.  So much so, in fact, that upon his retirement in 1989 as Executive Vice President of Quantum Chemical Corporation, the company named its large new research centre in Cincinnati, Ohio, in his honour: the Allen Research Center.

After graduation, Doug Allen spent two years with the wartime RCAF, after which he worked in the business of managing chemical plants, notably polymer plants. He enjoyed remarkable success in his complex line of work and became well-known in the US and helped organize major plant acquisitions and consolidations, including Quantum’s evolution from the production of wine and spirits to chemicals.

Achievements

  • In recognition of the help he received as a student after the war, Douglas funded a scholarship at Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute (Toronto)
  • Authored articles on chemistry in industrial and engineering chemistry, which appeared in “The Encyclopedia of Chemistry” and the “Encyclopedia of Physics”
  • Member of the Engineering Institute of Canada, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Illinois Governor’s Advisory Council
  • Awarded du Pont Safety Award (1988)
  • A Canadian engineer whose competence brought impressive benefits to the profession and to industry in Canada, the US and Mexico