Bruce H. Sage

Bruce Hornbrook Sage (24 November 1909January 1983) was a chemical engineer who taught chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology from 1931 to 1974.

Early career Sage received his bachelor's degree at New Mexico State College in 1929 and his Master of Science degree in 1931 and Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1934 at Caltech, all in chemical engineering. He worked on the design of tactical missiles at Eaton Canyon during World War II before joining the Naval Ordnance Test Station near Inyokern, California, as associate director of engineering and head of the explosives department in 1945. In 1950, he was named senior consultant to the technical director there. He also served as a technical advisor to Aerojet General from 1950 to 1969.

Honors In 1948, Sage, along with Lee A. DuBridge, William A. Fowler, Max Mason, and Linus Pauling, was awarded the Medal for Merit by President Harry S. Truman.

At the convention of the American Chemical Society held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Sage was given the Precision Scientific Co. award of (equivalent to in ) on 19 September 1949, to "recognize, encourage, and stimulate research achievement in the field of petroleum chemistry in United States and Canada." He received awards again in 1963 (equivalent to in ) and in 1968 , this time for "distinguished service to his country in the design and development of solid-propellant rockets and for his research contributions to basic chemistry."

The Society of Petroleum Engineers named Sage as the winner of the annual AIME Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal on 17 February 1954 in New York City; the citation read:

On 29 November 1956 in New York City, the American Rocket Society presented Sage with their Clarence N. Hickman Award for his work with propellants in jet propulsion. At the invitation of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, Sage visited Russia for two weeks in the summer of 1958 to discuss differences in the field of steam research. In 1959, he received the William H. Walker Award for Excellence in Contributions to Chemical Engineering Literature from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 1968, the Union Oil Company of California donated to Caltech for two chemical engineering fellowships: one to be named for Bruce Sage, the other for his long-time collaborator, William N. Lacey.

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