06/27/2025
The department is saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Emeritus Kenneth Jolls. He was a member of the Chemical and Biological Engineering faculty for 40 years prior to retiring in 2010.
Jolls’ original career plan was to become a professional musician, but he contracted polio while attending Indiana University while pursuing a music degree. After spending three months in an iron lung, he survived, but was left with physical challenges, some of which would become lifelong. Undeterred, he earned a music degree from Duke University in 1958. But Jolls also decided to pursue a career in chemical engineering. He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering, with high honors, from North Carolina State University in 1961 and an M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1963 and 1965, respectively.
After a stint at the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, New York, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Iowa State to teach and conduct research. Jolls was passionate about teaching thermodynamics, and he was a pioneer in using computers with sophisticated artistic graphics to develop visual thinking in students and to help them understand difficult concepts such as entropy. He published his work and delivered presentations to chemical engineering colleagues at professional conferences. Jolls also led the department’s study abroad program at the University of Oviedo in Spain for several years.
Throughout his life Jolls continued to exercise his love of music, particularly jazz. He played in ensembles with notable entertainers, including Bob Hope, Sonny and Cher and in performances for a couple of presidents. His main instrument was the vibraphone, but he also played marimba and guitar and taught himself to play the piano by ear. He played piano at several Department of Chemical Engineering events and was well known in the Ames community as a pianist. On weekends, he could regularly be found playing jazz standards at Chocolaterie Stam in downtown Ames. The owner of that business stated, “Ken endured more than anyone should and he never missed a beat or let any limitations stop him.”
