After graduating from Benson High School in Portland, Oregon in 1941, Frank Block worked as a welder in a shipyard to save money before enrolling at OSU in 1942. He was called to active duty in 1943 and served with the seventh army in France, Germany, and Austria. After discharge, he returned to OSU to complete his degree, and began his career with the U.S. Bureau of Mines in Albany, Oregon where his duties included work on extraction of nonferrous metals and rare-earth metals. He moved on to the Reno Metallurgy Center, directing research that involved extraction of aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, silver, and gold. After serving in Washington DC for two years, he returned to Albany as research director, retiring in 1983. Frank received both the Meritorious and Distinguished Service Awards from the U.S. Department of the Interior during his career.
Degrees
- B.S. Chemical Engineering, 1949