CALIFORNIA - News from Jan. 8, 1986

Harry H. Wetzel has been elected chairman of Rational, a Mountain View-based software company. Wetzel succeeds Arthur Rock, principal at the venture-capital firm bearing his name, who becomes vice chairman.

Wetzel, 65, was for 19 years chairman and chief executive of Garrett Corp., a Los Angeles-based unit of the Signal Cos., before retiring in January, 1985. Wetzel also is a director of National Semiconductor, Morton Thiokol Corp. and Allied-Signal, the company formed by the merger last year of Signal and Allied. Wetzel is active in Los Angeles civic affairs and is a trustee of Caltech.