Robert W. Davis retired from the Chevron Corp. in 1989. Mr. Davis spent the last eight years of his career with Chevron as president and chief executive officer of the Chevron Chemical Co. and vice president of Chevron Corp.
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After graduation from high school in 1942, Mr. Davis entered the U.S. Army. Upon completion of basic training, he was assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program. His initial assignment was at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now NMSU, where he studied chemical engineering. Having completed the basic programs, he was sent to the advanced program at Texas A M University to specialize in mechanical engineering. His studies were interrupted by a transfer to the 99 Infantry Division in 1944 when he went overseas to support the advance of the Allied Forces across France and into Germany. Mr. Davis was wounded and taken captive by the Germans on December 16, 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. He was liberated on May 3, 1945.
Upon discharge from the Army, Mr. Davis returned to NMSU where, in 1949, he received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering, with honors. He received an M.S. degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1950. In 1951, Mr. Davis accepted a position with the California Research Corp., a subsidiary of Standard Oil Co. of California (later Chevron), doing research primarily in refining technologies.
Mr. Davis is now a principal at Davis Associates, a management consulting firm. Mr. Davis has been very active in numerous industry and academic organizations.
On October 28, 2005, Mr. Davis was inducted into the NMSU College of Engineering Circle of Honor. At the same time, Dr. Shuguang Deng was named as the first recipient of the Bob Davis Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering.
