Roll Call Tribute

Benjamin Mosier
1926-2020

Benjamin Mosier, was born on July 15, 1926 and passed away on
Friday, April 10, 2020. He was a native Texan, born in Corsicana and
raised in the small East Texas oil town of Overton.

As a young teen, Ben played tennis and at the age of 14 earned
himself a spot in the Young Men’s National Open. With the nation
struggling from the Great Depression and becoming more involved in
the Second World War, he, like many others, headed to college at age
16.

As his attendance at Texas A&M University coincided with the WWII
conflict and the need for military officers, Benenrolled in the Corps of
Cadets ,a mandatory military training program for students. With WWII
intensifying Ben was drafted into the US Army and deferred his studies
until he was allowed to return to A&M. Upon his return, he completed
his undergraduate studies through an accelerated academic program,
earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. Upon graduating,
Ben was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

Following his undergraduate studies, Ben completed his Master’s
degree in Chemistry at Texas A&M and then began work at Convair in
Fort Worth, only to be quickly recalled to serve in the Korean War,
where he was sent to Wright-Patterson Airforce Base – Air Force Office
of Scientific Research in Dayton, Ohio.

While in Dayton, he met Doreen Zidel at an officer’s dance where they
began their courtship over Doreen’s need to “solve a chemistry
problem” and Ben offering to help her. In 1954 Ben was accepted into
the Doctorate program at the University of Illinois under a scholarship
award from the National Science Foundation.

Wanting to attend U of I but not leave his new found love, Ben &
Doreen married in 1957 and moved to Champaign-Urbana Illinois
where he earned his PhD in Electrochemistry.

Having completed his Doctorate, and being a Texan at heart, Ben
accepted one of many offers and began work at Exxon (Humble)
Research in Houston as an analytical chemist. It was there that he
developed the first corrosion inhibitor using his pioneering
microencapsulation technology. As if a regular job was not enough,
Ben also taught Chemistry at Rice University and the University of
Houston.

In 1960, recognizing the need for a premier “state-of-the art” analytical
& research laboratory in Houston, Ben founded the Institute for
Research, to serve the fast-growing oil industry and greater scientific
community.

Ben’s scientific curiosity fueled his passion for conducting research to
find solutions to a wide array of challenging dilemmas. An
internationally recognized expert in numerous fields of science, he
developed, perfected and commercialized many leading-edge
technologies. Over the course of his career, Ben amassed numerous
patents for himself, and co-authored many others with NASA and
Baylor College of Medicine.

Early successes centered on developing numerous and widely
accepted applications for the petroleum industry utilizing his
microencapsulation techniques to prevent corrosion in oil-wells.

NASA scientists and astronauts came to Ben to help develop many of
the tools that have become known as essential to manned space
travel. Of particular importance was his development of the first
perspiration bio-potential electrodes worn by John Glenn and others
throughout the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs.
This design for monitoring the heartbeat and brain waves of the
astronauts while in space earned Ben NASA’s coveted Space Act Award
in 1990, with other lifelong developments earning him NASA’s Inventor
of the Year three different times.

Realizing the same technology could be adapted to medicine, he
began to develop innovative systems to deliver medicines. In
particular, he worked closely with numerous academic medical
institutions and cancer institutes to develop cancer medicines that
would go directly to the site of the tumor, reducing the amount of
damage to the other organs in the body.

Ben’s contributions to Texas A&M ratified his love of A&M and in 1999,
Ben was inducted into the Texas A&M University College of Science
Distinguished Former Students. In 2002 he worked with A&M
administration to develop the nation’s first Center for
Microencapsulation and Drug Delivery and served on the University
External Advisory Council for many years.

Those who knew Ben and had the pleasure of being his friend,
colleague or acquaintance were well aware of his devotion to family,
his passion for science and the need to solve complex problems. His
quick wit, off-beat sense of humor and endearing approach never
failed to embrace family and friends with the love he had for others.

He was a blessing to us all. May he rest in peace.

Ben was preceded in death by his parents, Fanny and Philip Mosier; his
sister, Ruthy Trus; his father-in-law, Arthur Zidel and his mother-in-law,
Mary Zidel. He is survived by his children; Marc Mosier and his wife
Ellen, David Mosier and his wife Nina, Linda Spielberg and her
husband Gregg, and Adam Mosier and his wife Amy; grandchildren,
Leah Mosier, Shelby Mosier, Nathan Spielberg, Lexie Mosier, Rachel
Mosier, Jackie Mosier, Jacob Spielberg, Josh Mosier and Jeremy Mosier.

A private funeral service was held at 1:30 PM on Sunday, April 12, 2020
at Temple Beth Shalom in Austin, Texas. Due to the current challenges
presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the graveside service was
limited to immediate family, however can be found on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/adam.mosier.16

A Memorial service is being planned for July, pending resolution of the
pandemic with invitations to family, friends and esteemed colleagues
to attend. Memorial donations may be made in honor of Ben to the
Texas A&M College of Science Excellence Fund.

Include a note on the memo line:
“Texas A&M College of Science Excellence Fund in Memory of
Benjamin Mosier”
Texas A&M Foundation
401 George Bush Drive
College Station, Texas 77840