Neill Weber

Dr. Neill Weber was chemist and research scientist who was a pioneer in electric vehicle battery technology. Neill was born in Mount Vernon, NY on September 23, 1929, the youngest son of Erich Weber and Sarah O’Neill. He was baptized at Mount Vernon’s Sacred Heart Church.

Neill spent most of his young life in Winnipeg, Manitoba with his older brother Erich where they attended Ravenscourt School. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Manitoba in 1951. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY in 1956.

He received a grant to attend Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1955-1960, where he developed the Weber Glass Patent, that involves strengthening glass with many applications including eyeglasses.

It was in Pittsburgh that he met and married Magdalen Ida Bajcura, daughter of the Reverend John and Olga Mary Bajcura, on June 27, 1964, at the Holy Spirit Church. He moved to Dearborn, Michigan to work in the Scientific Research Laboratories at Ford Motor Company. While there, he discovered the sodium-sulfur battery, a precursor to the modern electric vehicle battery for which he was featured in the October 21,1966 issue of Life Magazine.

He was awarded the Henry Ford Technological Award for Discovery of Stable Ceramic Electrolytes for Batteries and Other Applications on December 9, 1982.

After retiring from Ford at age 55 in 1984, Neill moved to Salt Lake City to work for Ceramatec, developing high heat resistant ceramic tiles for such applications as the NASA space shuttle and Pluto probe. He worked professionally until the age of 85.

During his long and esteemed career, he held some eleven patents throughout his tenures at Carnegie-Mellon and Ford, including the Weber Glass patent.

Neill’s passion and abilities extended far beyond the laboratory. He was active in many sports throughout his life. As a youth in Canada, he played ice hockey and as an adult he was an avid tennis player who also excelled at golf and skiing, both in Michigan and Utah.

A talented musician who played starred in the Music Man while at Carnegie-Mellon, Neill played alto and bass recorder in a chamber music group in Dearborn with Magda, who sang and played harpsichord. Neill’s expert craftsmanship could be seen in the two harpsichords he built for his wife, including a spinet and later an elaborate gold-leaf encrusted French harpsichord that took three years to complete.

Neill Weber died peacefully in retirement on February 21, 2024, at age 94 at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years Magdalen, his son Neill Weber Jr., his eldest daughter Sarah Weber, and his daughter Hilary (Michael) White.