Roll of Honor - Duane W. Gagle

Duane W. Gagle

Both the asphalt industry in general and the Asphalt Institute in particular benefited greatly from the forty-year career of Duane W. Gagle, a long time asphalt engineer for Phillips Petroleum Company.

His contributions to the advancement of asphalt technology are numerous. Among them was the initiation of automatic blending of asphalt products, a technique now in general use throughout the world. Gagle also contributed to the development of the now-prevalent system of measuring the consistency of liquid asphalts by Kinematic viscosity at a single temperature, a method developed to replace the Saybolt-Furol system of measuring viscosity at several temperatures. This leading asphalt technologist also was an early pioneer in the formulation and production of cationic asphalt emulsions. Mr. Gagle holds more than thirty U. S. patents pertaining to asphalt technology, and is the author of some fifty technical papers and articles.

He joined Home Oil and Refining Company in 1938, and was its Chief Chemist when the firm was acquired by Phillips Petroleum Company in 1948. Gagle was transferred to Phillips’ refinery division in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in 1950, where he became an Asphalt Engineer. He retired from this position in 1977.

Phillips’ “Mr. Asphalt” gave the benefit of his considerable talents to such industry organizations as the Highway (now Transportation) Research Board, the Advisory Committee on Asphalt Research of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and the Asphalt Institute.

Mr. Gagle’s long record of service to the Institute began in 1954 when he was named one of Phillips Petroleum’s representatives and reached its high point in 1973 when he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Gagle served on some twenty five Institute divisional and national committees. He became chairman of six of them.

He is particularly remembered for his contributions to the AASHO Road Test Study Steering Committee and project committees dealing with specifications, hydraulics, research, and pavement design. His contributions to asphalt technology have brought well-deserved recognition and prestige to himself, his employer, and his industry.

Elected: 1978