PLASTICS HALL OF FAME TO INDUCT FOUR POSTHUMOUS HONOREES AT SPE ANTEC IN MAY

Leominster, Mass. – The Plastics Hall of Fame will induct four new members in formal ceremonies scheduled during the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) ANTEC, May 4-8 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The posthumous honorees are Prof., Dr. Hermann Stoudinger, Dr. Alan MacDiarmid, Dr. Hermann Schnell and Dr. John Swallow.

The Plastics Hall of Fame was established in 1972 to honor those professionals that have made significant contributions to the advancement of the plastics industry. It is the highest honor anyone can aspire to in the plastics industry. Criteria for admission include "consistent dedication and extraordinary accomplishments…that have contributed to the stature and growth of the plastics industry." The Plastics Hall of Fame is administered by The Plastics Academy and members are commemorated in an exhibit at the National Plastics Center at Leominster, Massachusetts. New living inductees are elected every three years by a majority vote of the living members, with a provision for posthumous induction every three years.

The 2008 posthumous inductees:

Prof. Dr. Hermann Staudinger (1881 – 1965) was a world renowned German chemist who won the 1953 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for demonstrating that polymers are long-chain molecules. His work laid the foundation for the great expansion of the global plastics industry in the 20th century and beyond. Staudinger studied chemistry at the universities of Darmstadt and Munich, and he received a Ph.D. from the University of Halle in 1903. He held academic posts at the universities of Strasbourg and Karlsruhe before joining the faculty at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich in 1912. He left the Institute in 1926 to become the professor of organic chemistry and director of the chemistry laboratory at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, where in 1940 an Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry was established under his directorship. He retired in 1951.

Staudinger's first discovery was that of the highly reactive organic compounds known as ketenes. His work on polymers began with research he conducted for the German chemical giant BASF on the synthesis of isoprene (1910), the monomer of which natural rubber is composed. The prevalent belief at the time was that rubber and other polymers are composed of small molecules that are held together by “secondary” valences or other forces. In 1922 Staudinger proposed that polymers are actually giant molecules (macromolecules) that are held together by normal covalent bonds, a concept that met with resistance from many authorities. Throughout the 1920s, the research of Staudinger and others showed that small molecules form long, chainlike structures (polymers) by chemical interaction and not simply by physical aggregation. Staudinger showed that such linear molecules could be synthesized by a variety of processes and that they could maintain their identity even when subject to chemical modification.

Staudinger always maintained a close relationship with industry. His research was published in more than 800 publications amounting to more than 10,000 printed pages. Dr. Hermann Staudinger, the "Father of Modern Polymer Chemistry," set the standard for plastics innovation over his entire career. In that sense all polymer chemists and plastics engineers are his “technological heirs.”

Dr. Alan G. MacDiarmid (1927-2007) was born in New Zealand and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Victoria University College in New Zealand and he received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin and a second PhD from Cambridge University, England. Dr. MacDiarmid came to be known as the "Father of Conductive Polymers."

He was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of conductive polymers or plastics that conduct electricity like metals, more commonly known as "synthetic" metals. Dr. MacDiarmid was the chemist responsible in 1977 for the chemical and electrochemical doping of polyacetylene (CH)x, the "prototype" conducting polymer and the "rediscovery" of polyaniline, now the foremost conducting polymer. This work led to technological opportunities for the applications of these materials in such diverse areas as rechargeable batteries, electromagnetic interference shielding, antistatic dissipation, stealth applications, corrosion inhibition, flexible "plastic" transistors and electrodes and electroluminescent polymer displays, to name but a few applications that continue to be pursued.

Honors

1971 Frederich Stanley Kipping Award from the American Chemical Society

1988 Named Blanchard Professor of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania

1999 American Chemical Society Award in Materials Chemistry

2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Discovery of Conductive Polymers

2001 Society of Plastics Engineers' International Award

2002 Professor of Chemistry and James Von Her Distinguished Chair in Science and Technology, University of Texas, Dallas

Dr. Hermann Schnell (1916 – 1999) was born in Gaienhofen, Germany in September 1916. After completion of his military career he began studying chemistry and physics at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany where he studied under Professor Hermann Staudinger (Nobel prize laureate in Chemistry, 1953) and completed his studies in 1944 with the summa cum laude doctoral degree.

In 1946 he joined the department of Research and Development at Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany and in 1953 at 36 years of age he named department leader and sent to build a second laboratory for Bayer Central Research at Krefeld-Uerdingen. In 1971 he became the department head of Bayer's total Central Research in Leverkusen. Dr. Schnell retired in 1975 and died in September, 1999 at his birthplace Gaienhofen.

In 1995 he established the Hermann-Schnell Foundation with euro 500,000 of his personal money to promote young scientists in the field of macromolecular research.

Honors

Dr. Schnell has been feted with several honors including the Hermann Staudinger Gedächtnismedaille award and the Swinburne Award.

Dr. John Swallow (1903 – 1968) was born in Kingsbridge, Devon, England and was educated at Colfe's Grammar School and afterwards attended Queen Mary College London. Upon graduation, he spent two years studying low temperature reactions under Professor Kamerlingh Onnes at Leiden University, The Netherlands. He joined the Brunner Mond Company as a research chemist at Winnington, England in 1924, just prior to Brunner Mond joining ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) in 1926.

In 1928, Dr. Swallow visited Dr. A. Michel's laboratory in Amsterdam, an event that led to a proposal by Dr. Swallow and M. W. Perrin to carry out research on chemical reactions at high pressures of between one thousand and twenty thousand atmospheres. The proposal was approved by the Board of ICI Alkali Division in 1932. An outcome of this research work was "a waxy solid found in the reaction tube" that was reported by R.O. Gibson in March, 1933. This led to the discovery of polyethylene and it was Dr. Swallow that is credited with the first to recognize its true significance. Along with Gibson, Fawcett and Perrin the development of the polymer was recognized and patented in the United Kingdom in 1936. The first ton of polyethylene was produced in December 1938 and commercial production commenced in 1939.

Dr. Swallow quickly established an international reputation as a polymer scientist and his interests in plastics received additional stimulus through his wife Irene, the daughter of Mrs. Alfred Rée, a member of the DuPont family. This family link and his reputation in the world of science allowed Dr. Swallow to learn details of the work of Carrothers, which led to the discovery of nylon and a fascination with the field of elastomers and synthetic rubbers.

Dr. Swallow was named Research Director of ICI Plastics Group in 1942, later ICI Plastics Division in 1945. During the war, in addition to polyethylene, the main emphasis of ICI plastics research was the development and manufacture of its acrylic sheet and molding material, thermosetting resins and molding powders, and PVC products along with nylon monofilaments under license. He is credited with building a first class research and development facility for ICI Plastics and under his leadership many new materials were developed and new applications realized for existing products. In these post-war years ICI Plastics introduced polyester yarn, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), rigid PVC sheet, nylon 66 and cements for acrylics.

Dr. Swallow was named Chairman of ICI Plastics Division in 1951, a position he held until his retirement in 1963. During his tenure as Chairman, he guided the Plastics Division through a difficult period of adolescence with commercial development of existing products and the introduction of new polymers, including polyester film, butadiene copolymers, vinyl copolymers, polypropylene resin and film, and acetal copolymers.

Honors

1955 Delivered the first Christmas Lecture on "The Wonder of Plastics

1957 Named President of the Plastics Institute

1962 Awarded the Swinburne Award in recognition of his contribution to world science and commerce