Eugene B. Shultz Jr., professor emeritus in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, died Saturday, April 26, 2014, in Jerseyville, Ill. He was 85.
Shultz came to Washington University in St. Louis in 1979 as professor of technology and human affairs.
He earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Principia College and master’s and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
He spent 15 years at Principia College, serving as chairman of the department of chemistry and as the Kent H. Smith Professor of Chemistry.
At Washington University, his academic interests included global environmental problems with an emphasis on the Third World and unconventional bioresources — including the development of renewable energy and appropriate technology and the management of technological innovation.
He served as director of the university’s Bioresources Development Group.
In 1987, as a Fulbright researcher, he studied unconventional crops for food oils, high protein, fuel alcohol, and nontoxic botanic insect-control extracts at the University of Costa Rica.
He was a member of the Association for Arid Lands Studies.
Shultz retired in 1992. Inspired by his work in biofuels and Third World innovation, he earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Washington University in the late 1990s and continued to teach in that field until 2006 as an adjunct professor in University College.