Novvi family mourns the passing of Dr. Paula Vettel
Novvi LLC announced the passing of Dr. Paula Vettel, who has spent the last 10 years as Novvi’s technical director.
Novvi LLC, based in Emeryville, California, U.S.A., is a joint venture of Amyris, American Refining Group, Chevron, and H&R. Novvi was created to develop, produce, market, and sell high-performance oils and specialty chemicals from renewable sources.
“Paula was one of the first employees of Novvi and was instrumental in creating our company culture, vision, and technology. She was the spiritual center of Novvi’s laboratory, genius behind the revolutionary formulations, the guardian of our regulatory process, as well as the mentor for our cadre of new, young, world-class scientific talent. She will be missed terribly by us at Novvi,” the company said in a statement.
“We know how much of a contribution Paula has made to the lubricants industry in her nearly 40 years of service that spanned Amoco Petroleum Additives, D.A. Stuart, and her time with us. She set a great example for us with the service she gave to the lubricants business; that work gave her great joy.”
Vettel was regarded as one of the world’s experts in the areas of environmental products and governance, especially biodegradable and non-toxic lubricants. She was an active member of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), and a former chair of STLE’s Northern California section. She was also a vice chair of two ASTM International committees focused on industrial and environmentally friendly lubricants, as well as a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the American Chemical Society (ACS). She also served as Novvi’s representative to the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association (ILMA).
Vettel obtained her Ph. D in Chemistry from the University of Illinois, and her BA in Chemistry from Northwestern University.
To recognize her contribution to the lubricants industry and to try to capture her spirit, Novvi is going to start the Dr. Paula Vettel Memorial Scholarship, under the auspices of the STLE Presidential Council. Novvi has established a GoFundMe site to allow all her friends and colleagues to contribute to this scholarship. To contribute, please use the following link: https://gofund.me/9bc735cf
