Costandi Audeh papers

This material is held atUniversity of Strathclyde Archives and Special Collections

Scope and Content

- Copy of BSc Applied Chemistry undergraduate dissertation entitled 'The Estimation of Acidity in Oxidised Lubricating Oils: a comparative study', University of Glasgow, 1955
- Abstract of DPhil thesis entitled 'A Mechanistic Study of the Oxidation of Some Trialkylamines', University of York, 1970
- Menu and toast list for the Royal Technical College Applied Chemists' final year dinner on 15 June 1955, with attendees' signatures and other annotations
- Group photograph taken at the Royal Technical College Applied Chemists' final year dinner on 15 June 1955, with partial key of names
- Royal Technical College lapel badge, c.1955
- Royal Technical College student tie, c.1955
- Associate of the Royal Technical College (ARTC) tie, c.1955
- Two University of Glasgow ties, c.1955
- Three textbooks used by Costanti Audeh during his studies at the Royal Technical College: Frank Rumford, 'Chemical Engineering Operations: an introduction to the study of chemical plant' (London: Constable & Co. Ltd, 1951; Frank Rumford, 'Chemical Engineering Materials' (London: Constable & Co. Ltd, 1954); William M. Cumming, I. Vance Hopper and T. Sherlock Wheeler, 'Systematic Organic Chemistry: modern methods of preparation and estimation' (4th edition: London: Constable & Co. Ltd, 1950)
- Menu, invitation card and other memorabilia relating to the 'Strathclyde University Down South' (SUDS) London Alumni dinner at the Houses of Parliament, London, 9 July 2009
- University of Strathclyde tie presented to Costanti Audeh by Professor Kenneth Miller at the SUDS London Alumni dinner, 9 July 2009
- List of all the patents issued in the United States of America and assigned to Mobil Oil Corporation in connection with Costandi Audeh's research, 1971-1996
- Collage composed of abstracts of patents issued in the United States of America during the period 1976-1993, presented to Costanti Audeh on his retirement from the Central Research Laboratory, Mobil Oil Corporation in 1993
- Explanatory notes by Costandi Audeh on the background and significance of the various patents assigned to Mobil Oil Corporation in connection with his research
- Biographical details compiled by Costandi Audeh for 'North American Newsletter', the University of Glasgow's newsletter for alumni living in North America, with a copy of issue no.2 (April 2007) containing his published profile.

Administrative / Biographical History

Costandi (known as Costi) Audeh was born in 1932 in Nazareth, Palestine and educated at the Missionary Societies' Bishop Gobat School in Jerusalem. In 1948, he, like his father and brother before him, enrolled as a medical student at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. However, it soon became apparent that his true interest was not medicine but chemistry, and after passing the required entrance examination, he was accepted onto the four-year BSc course in Applied Chemistry at the University of Glasgow in 1951. Under an affiliation scheme between the University and the Royal Technical College (RTC), now the University of Strathclyde, students aiming for a degree in pure science or engineering could choose to take many of their required classes at the RTC. Costi did so, attending the RTC as a matriculated University student and graduating in 1955. He also took additional classes at the RTC in order to qualify for its Associateship (ARTC) in Applied Chemistry that same year. He went on to work for the British Rubber Producers' Research Association in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, but after a few years he returned to the Middle East, attracted by the prospect of a career in the oil industry. In 1958 he became a Refinery Chemist with the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), where he found another eight alumni of the University of Glasgow and the RTC amongst the employees, and where he developed expertise in the evaluation of crude oil. In 1962, Costi married Margaret Clark, a school teacher from Hull , who was also employed by KOC. Costi was subsequently transferred from KOC to Gulf Oil Corporation’s Gulf Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), and the Audehs departed for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America, where Costi was responsible for producing a handbook about all aspects of Kuwait Crude Oil and its derivative products. In 1966, he secured educational leave of absence to allow himself, Margaret and their two young sons to return to the United Kingdom, where he had been accepted onto the D.Phil. research programme in Physical Organic Chemistry at the University of York. Costi graduated in October 1970, and in 1971 took up a position in the Technology Department of the Mobil Research and Development Corporation (MRDC). There he developed generalised algorithms to predict the properties of various commercially obtained refinery products based on the properties of small distillate fractions obtained from crude oil by distillation in the laboratory. The algorithms were then converted to computer programs, known as ‘ASA Programs’. In 1974 he transferred from the Technology Department to the Central Research Division, later renamed the Central Research Laboratory (CRL) of MRDC, where he studied the chemistry and oxidative stability of petroleum based lubricating oil. Within the CRL, collaboration and the exchange of idea between researchers and staff from different departments was both facilitated and encouraged, and Costi benefitted from this, collaborating with various staff members from different areas of the MRDC to produce proposed solutions. Mobil saw sufficient potential in these proposed solutions to make them the subjects of numerous national and international patent applications, lodged before Costi's retirement from the corporation in 1993.

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Note

Costandi (known as Costi) Audeh was born in 1932 in Nazareth, Palestine and educated at the Missionary Societies' Bishop Gobat School in Jerusalem. In 1948, he, like his father and brother before him, enrolled as a medical student at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. However, it soon became apparent that his true interest was not medicine but chemistry, and after passing the required entrance examination, he was accepted onto the four-year BSc course in Applied Chemistry at the University of Glasgow in 1951. Under an affiliation scheme between the University and the Royal Technical College (RTC), now the University of Strathclyde, students aiming for a degree in pure science or engineering could choose to take many of their required classes at the RTC. Costi did so, attending the RTC as a matriculated University student and graduating in 1955. He also took additional classes at the RTC in order to qualify for its Associateship (ARTC) in Applied Chemistry that same year. He went on to work for the British Rubber Producers' Research Association in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, but after a few years he returned to the Middle East, attracted by the prospect of a career in the oil industry. In 1958 he became a Refinery Chemist with the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), where he found another eight alumni of the University of Glasgow and the RTC amongst the employees, and where he developed expertise in the evaluation of crude oil. In 1962, Costi married Margaret Clark, a school teacher from Hull , who was also employed by KOC. Costi was subsequently transferred from KOC to Gulf Oil Corporation’s Gulf Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), and the Audehs departed for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America, where Costi was responsible for producing a handbook about all aspects of Kuwait Crude Oil and its derivative products. In 1966, he secured educational leave of absence to allow himself, Margaret and their two young sons to return to the United Kingdom, where he had been accepted onto the D.Phil. research programme in Physical Organic Chemistry at the University of York. Costi graduated in October 1970, and in 1971 took up a position in the Technology Department of the Mobil Research and Development Corporation (MRDC). There he developed generalised algorithms to predict the properties of various commercially obtained refinery products based on the properties of small distillate fractions obtained from crude oil by distillation in the laboratory. The algorithms were then converted to computer programs, known as ‘ASA Programs’. In 1974 he transferred from the Technology Department to the Central Research Division, later renamed the Central Research Laboratory (CRL) of MRDC, where he studied the chemistry and oxidative stability of petroleum based lubricating oil. Within the CRL, collaboration and the exchange of idea between researchers and staff from different departments was both facilitated and encouraged, and Costi benefitted from this, collaborating with various staff members from different areas of the MRDC to produce proposed solutions. Mobil saw sufficient potential in these proposed solutions to make them the subjects of numerous national and international patent applications, lodged before Costi's retirement from the corporation in 1993.

Archivist's Note

Created by Anne Cameron, January 2019

Custodial History

These papers were in the custody of Dr Audeh until he gifted them to the University of Strathclyde.

Related Material

Papers of Costandi Amin Audeh GB 248 UGC 152 (University of Glasgow Archive Services)

Additional Information

published