Dennis W. Weatherby was an administrator and scientist, responsible for the chemical formula now known as Cascade dish detergent. Weatherby was born in Brighton, Alabama on December 4, 1959, to Willie and Flossie Mae Weatherby. He became intrigued with science as a child while studying identically shaped Pringles potato chips. Weatherby attended Midfield High School in Birmingham, where he earned a football scholarship to Central State University (CSU) in Wilberforce, Ohio. He graduated with a BA in chemistry in 1982, and then attended the University of Dayton, Ohio, graduating with an MA in chemical engineering in 1984.He later earned his PhD in Educational Psychology from Auburn University in Alabama.
Shortly after graduation in 1982, Weatherby took a job with the Proctor & Gamble company, located in Cincinnati. He was hired as a process engineer, and within his first few years, he was asked to lead a team to create a new consumer product. The team concentrated on creating a new cleaning detergent. Previous solutions contained a pigment that stained both dishes and dishwashers.
At the age of 27, Weatherby made a major breakthrough, and along with co-developer Brian J. Roselle, the team developed a solution that produced a lemon-yellow color that did not stain dishes. On December 22, 1987, Weatherby received U.S. Patent No. 4,714,562 for “automatic dishwasher detergent composition”, and the solution still serves as the basic formula behind all lemon scented cleaning products that contain bleach.
Weatherby left P&G, and worked briefly for The Whittaker Corporation, before joining the faculty at his alma mater, CSU in 1989. By 1994, he became the assistant professor of water quality for the CSU International Center for Water Resources Management. During his tenure, Weatherby served as an advisor, recruiter, and counselor for students in the environmental program, and was responsible for more than 400% growth in student enrollment at the university.
In 1996, Weatherby left CSU to join the faculty of Auburn University, to establish and lead the schools new minority engineering program. He moved on to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana in 2004, serving as the associate dean of the graduate school. Weatherby left Notre Dame in 2006, when he accepted the position of Associate Provost for student success at Northern Kentucky University.
Weatherby suffered from high blood pressure throughout his life, and fell ill in August 2007. While recovering at home, he hit his foot on a bedpost, and developed a blood clot that traveled to his brain. He died on September 15, 2007 at the age of 47 in Alexandria, Kentucky. He is survived by his wife Marpessa, daughters Audrey, Rachel, Elaine, Antoneah, and sons, Ryan and Stephen. In his honor, to commemorate 25 years of the Engineering Academic Excellence Program, The Weatherby Society at Auburn University was established to recognize those who have made donations and gifts in excess of $25,000.
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Amy Ehrnreiter, “Mentor, administrator dies,” Thenortherner.com, September 19, 2007, http://www.thenortherner.com/news/2007/09/20/update-mentor-administrator-dies/; Claudio E. Cabrerra and Julia Jacobs,”Seven Black Inventors whose patents helped shape American life,” Nytimes.com, February 24, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/us/black-inventors.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage
