C&EN: BUSINESS - A FUTURE IN FLUIDS

LINDA RABER

Flexibility, tenacity, and enthusiasm: These words aptly describe Lubrizol Corp.'s Kathleen O. Havelka. It has to be that way. How else would a woman who started her college education on a nursing scholarship end up directing a research staff of 33 with a budget of $10 million and being a recognized expert on electrorheological fluids?


	PHOTO BY KATIE HAVELKA

Havelka is department head of the applications technology group at Lubrizol in Wickliffe, Ohio. In this role, she is responsible for the R&D to support the company's fluid technology for industry and emulsion technology programs. "It is the smaller piece of Lubrizol's business [$300 million of $1.8 billion], but it is very diverse and growing through acquisition and the technology development that my group is doing," she says.

Havelka, 38, was born in Chicago, the oldest of six children. She has always been surrounded by supportive people. "Early on, my parents championed me to excel in academics and to explore what I like to do." And it must have worked, because explore she has.

Starting college as a nursing major, Havelka decided after a few rotations at the hospital that she really didn't want to be a nurse. So, in her junior year, she decided to switch to chemistry. Havelka received a B.S. in chemistry from Elmhurst College, a small, private, liberal arts college in Illinois, in 1987. It took five years for her to get her B.S. That didn't slow her down much. It only took her four years to get her Ph.D.

She received a doctorate in organic chemistry from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, under Charles W. Spangler in 1991. Her research area was photonics. She explains that photonics uses photons instead of electrons to transfer and store information and points out that this continues to be a hot area of research with much promise. By the time she received her doctorate, she also had a husband, a two-year-old child, and 19 publications.

At first blush, turning research experience in photonics into a career in lubricant additive research doesn't seem a smooth transition. But to Havelka and Lubrizol, it came naturally. "My research in graduate school was nonlinear optics with the goal of all-optical computing. At Northern Illinois, we were looking at the hyperpolarizability of materials and Lubrizol was looking at the polarizability of materials in electrorheological fluids. Electrorheological fluids change viscosity dramatically, instantaneously, and completely reversibly when an electric field is applied. They are used in shock absorbers and for torque transfer in clutch applications, for example.

"Both research programs were using conducting polymers and looking at these to see how we could build materials." When she interviewed at Lubrizol, a contact made through the ACS National Employment Clearing House, it was clear that she could apply her research experience to the electrorheological fluids program.

After making a contribution in the area of electrorheological fluids, she worked in a number of research areas, including as technology manager for extreme pressure and antiwear additives that are used in lubricants to prevent wear. Her most recent contributions have been in the area of emulsions. Havelka's department does the product development and commercialization support of a low-emission diesel fuel designed to go into today's centrally fueled fleets.

It has been more than interesting research, however, that has catapulted Havelka's career. "Lubrizol has been great to me, and I have had a number of internal champions who have been pushing for me to be successful," she says. Lubrizol has given her opportunities in many areas to develop new skills and learn about the company. Very early on in her career, she was given the chance to run projects and manage people. And she was matched with a mentor, Joanne Wanstreet, the first female vice president at Lubrizol. "I interacted with her regularly, and we have maintained the relationship," Havelka says. "I am also the secretary for the executive council, the highest management level at Lubrizol, and I am getting exposed to what they think about and their approach to problem solving."

And she is looking forward to a bright future in the chemical industry. "We are living in a very dynamic environment," she says. "Chemistry is reemerging as an exciting field, with technology developments continuing to fuel our economy. Some areas of research that are becoming increasingly important include green chemistry, alternate fuels, nanochemistry, robotics, and sensors. A future vision in chemistry will rely heavily on providing green chemistry as the need for environmentally friendly products, processes, and services to improve the quality of life and the environment continue to grow. These are just some of the areas where chemists will play a key role."

She offers practical advice to those coming up in the ranks: "To be effective, chemists must have a strong technical foundation, as well as strong written and oral communication skills." She also says, "Network whenever possible, be flexible with opportunities, never stop learning, and be tenacious--really push to make things successful." She adds, "People are successful because other people want them to be successful. You cannot do it on your own. Do what you can to push other people up, and people will reciprocate by pushing or pulling you up."