The Novvi family are sad to announce the loss of a colleague, a mentor, and a friend with the passing of Dr. Paula Vettel.
Paula has spent the last ten years with us as our Technical Director, but she was so much more. Paula was one of the first employees of Novvi and was instrumental in creating our company culture, vision, and technology.
She was the spiritual centre of Novvi’s laboratory, genius behind the revolutionary formulations, the guardian of our regulatory process, as well as the mentor for our cadre of new, young, world-class scientific talent. She will be missed terribly.
We know how much of a contribution Paula has made to the lubricants industry in her nearly 40 years of service that spanned Amoco Petroleum Additives, D.A. Stuart, and her time with us. She set a great example for us with the service she gave to the lubricants business; that work gave her great joy.
Paula was regarded as one of the world’s experts in the areas of environmental products and governance, especially biodegradable and non-toxic lubes. She was an active member of STLE, and a former chair of STLE’s Northern California section.
To recognise her contribution to the lubricants industry and to try to capture her spirit, Novvi is launching the Dr. Paula Vettel Memorial Scholarship, under the auspices of the STLE Presidential Council. We feel that her mentorship of many scientists and her love of chemistry could be best reflected by supporting helping new young talent to join our industry.
