Donald L. Burdick earned his PhD from Kansas University and has been an educator, industrial researcher, petrochemicals marketer, and senior executive with Gulf, Chevron, BASF, and Haltermann Custom Processing, where he was vice-president of marketing. Since his retirement after more than 40 years in the industry, he has pursued writing, teaching, and consulting. Dr. Burdick has co-authored several scientific papers and has 12 patents credited to his name.
William L. Leffler received a BS from MIT and master’s and doctorate degrees in business administration from New York University. Following his career with Royal Dutch/Shell in the upstream, downstream, and petrochemicals business, he became a writer and consultant. He has authored multiple PennWell titles including the bestselling Petroleum Refining in Nontechnical Language, Petrochemicals in Nontechnical Language, and Deepwater Petroleum Exploration and Production: A Nontechnical Guide.
