Joseph Daniel Henry Jr., age 82, passed away on Dec. 7, 2023, in Oakland, Md. He was born on March 29, 1941, in Harrisonburg, Va., to Joseph and Dorothy Henry. Joseph Jr. grew up in Berkeley Springs and attended West Virginia University where he majored in chemical engineering. Upon graduation, he took a job with the Exxon corporation in New Jersey.
Following the advice of mentors at Exxon, he decided to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. He completed his PhD in shortest time of any of the graduates in the history of the program. He went on to become an expert in the area of chemical separation processes. Following the completion of his PhD, Dr. Henry went to work for Continental Oil in Ponca City, Okla. After deciding to seek a career in academia, Joseph obtained a faculty position at West Virginia University where he went on to become chairman of chemical engineering. He subsequently left WVU to take a position as chair of the the department of Chemical Engineering and Material Sciences at Arizona State University. The department experienced significant growth during his tenure as chairman. Dr. Henry followed his work at ASU by pursuing public policy research at Carnegie Mellon University. His career in chemical engineering culminated when he was appointed as one of the chairs of the Gordon Research Conference.
Dr. Henry retired from chemical engineering in 2003 and moved to Canaan Valley, where he embarked on a second career in landscape photography. He won a regional photography competition sponsored by the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, and the museum put on an exhibition of his photography in 2005. Since then, Joseph won third place in a national photography competition of National Natural Landmarks, and had one of his prints featured in a European photography journal.
He is survived by his wife, Dana Nugent; his son, Andrew Henry; and his niece, Marge Wachorn.
