Hans G. Elias Ph.D.

1928 - 2022

Hans G. Elias, Ph.D.
Dr. Hans G. Elias passed away peacefully on January 19, 2022 and is with Maria again. Maria had passed away on July 24, 2021.
Hans was born in 1928 in Germany, to the late Hermann Elias and the late Elisabeth Elias. His two sons, Peter (of Texas) and Rainer (of Washington), daughters-in law Annabelle (of Texas) and Melissa (of Washington), grandson Marcos (of Texas) and sister Ursula (of Germany) survive him.
Hans and Maria met during ballroom dancing and married in 1956 after a seven year courtship.
His on-going education took place in Germany: obtaining a M.S. in Chemistry from the Technical University of Hannover in 1953 and then, in 1957, the Technical University of Munich awarded him with the Doctor of Natural Science degree.
In January of 1960, he joined the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich). In his 12 years at ETH, he supervised 32 doctoral theses of students from Egypt, Germany, India, Mexico, and Switzerland as well as many master theses. His large group at ETH also comprised of post-doctoral researchers and visiting scientists and professors from 15 countries.
In December 1969, he was asked to become the founding director (later President, CEO and Professor of Polymer Science) of what is now Michigan Molecular Institute (MMI), which started its operations in 1971. After leaving MMI in the fall of 1983, he became an in-house consultant to the Dow Chemical Co. and in 1985 an independent industrial consultant.
During his time at ETH and MMI, he was a consultant to American, German and Swiss industrial companies as well as an expert witness to companies and the courts in Germany and Switzerland. He also held adjunct professorships at Michigan Technological University, Case Western Reserve University, Central Michigan University and MMI (1987 onwards).
His research led to more than 200 scientific and technical papers and 2 patents and lectured at universities and industrial companies in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and the United States.
He served on a committee of the U.S. National Academy of Science, on editorial boards of five scientific journals, as well as various other national and local scientific committees.
He authored six books and collaborated on four others. The books appeared in several volumes, editions and were published in multiple languages.
Hans was a member of the Honorary Board of the Midland Symphony, served on the Committee 2000, the Beautification Committee of the City of Midland and was twice a director of the Saginaw Valley Torch Club.
He loved his family, gardening with Maria and mountain hiking, especially in Switzerland. His former doctoral students in Switzerland still have an annual reunion in his honor.
Even with all his professional accomplishments, spending time with his family, whether traveling or visiting them, was paramount to the unity and cohesion our family enjoyed. We all miss Hans and Maria and will eternally be grateful for their dedication to our family.
Hans will be inurned, joining Maria at the Whispering Waters Mausoleum at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas, at a date to be determined.