Donald Smolenski - Hall of Fame 2013

MSChE '79, PhDChE '90, worked for 33 years at General Motors R&D and Worldwide Facilities Group, primarily with engine oils and plant lubricants. Most notably, he co-invented the GM automatic engine oil life monitor, which has been installed on more than 25 million vehicles and is now standard on most in North America. It is estimated to have saved 100 million gallons of oil and more than $500 million in warranty costs. He also led and drove the GM North America Used Industrial Oil Program to return more than four million gallons of recycled oil to the plants annually for savings of over twice the program cost.

He joined Evonik Oil Additives USA, Inc. as an OEM liaison manager for North America in 2012 upon retirement from General Motors. He is responsible for informing the organization of current and future OEM lubricant requirements, strategically marketing key Evonik technologies to OEMs and cultivating opportunities for joint projects, analyzing the changing business and suggesting strategic changes to Evonik's business strategy, and representing EOA's interests in industry meetings and organizations.

Smolenski has received numerous awards, including the Engineering Society of Detroit's Distinguished Service Award (2001), Environmental Management Association Award (2004), the SAE Oral Presentation Award (1986, 1987, 1988), the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers' Outstanding Young Engineer of the Year (1987) and the General Motors Research - McCuen Award (1988). He was named an Engineering Society of Detroit fellow in 1995 and a Society of Automotive Engineers fellow in 2008.