Polymer Research Institute, Brooklyn

Alstadt-Lord-Mark Professor Department of Chemistry Polymer Research Institute Polytechnic University Brooklyn. New York... 

Current address Polymer Research Institute, Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, NY 11201... 

J. P. Huang, E. M. Pearce, A. Reiser, and T. K. Kwei Polymer Research Institute, Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, NY 11201... 

Some of the older polymer institutions grew, such as the rubber and polymer based institute at the University of Akron, which was formed in the 1940 s, and where Maurice Morton took the Directorship in 1954. Others remained essentially the same and still others slipped. "Brooklyn Poly", the center of academic polymer chemistry in the USA in the 1940 s and 1950 s remained as such but became less dominant because a number of their excellent staff left to found other institutes. For instance, Charles Over-berger, who rose to Dean of Science and Director of the Polymer Research Institute, left in 1967 to take the chairmanship of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Michigan where he helped found their macromolecular based institute. 

Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Materials Science and The Herman F. Mark Polymer Research Institute Polytechnic University 6 Metrotech Center Brooklyn, New York 11201... 

Polymer Research, Institute of 148 Polymer Science, Institute of 149 Polytechnic Institute 148 Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn 150 Powers, P.0.61,189 Presswork 218 Priesner, C. 27... 

Frantisek Mikes, Polymer Research Institute, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY, USA... 

Scientists who joined the Polymer Research Institute at Brooklyn Polytechnic were encouraged by Herman Mark to carry out research in areas they might have been familiar with in their studies of small molecules. Professor Mark knew from his scientific experience that there existed no boundaries between the principles of the science that depended on molecular size. In 1980 therefore when I first met him on joining Polytech he asked about my background and, on discovering that I had an interest in stereochemistry and chirality, he suggested that I look at the stereochemical properties of the vinyl polymers. This led me to read the work of two... 

Department of Chemical and Biological Science, Herman F. Mark Polymer Research Institute, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, 6 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA e-mail mgreen duke.poly.edu... 

In summary, therefore, Staudinger s efforts in setting the stage for studies of the properties of polymers are demonstrated across the spectmm of polymer classes in stereochemical phenomena associated with chirality studied at the Herman F. Mark Polymer Research Institute at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn [12-17],... 

Polymer Research Institute and Chemistry Dept. Polytechnic Institute of New York 333 Jay Street Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201... 

Dr. Eli M. Pearce was the President of the American Chemical Society. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Art at Brooklyn Polytechnic University in New York as well as a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He was the Director of the Polymer Research Institute, also in Brooklyn. At present, he consults for the Polymer Research Institute. As a prolific author and researcher, he edited the Journal of Polymer Science (Chemistry Edition) for 25 years and was an active member of many professional organizations. 

On our walk from Livingston to Willoughby Street, I discovered to my horror that these gentlemen were not chemists but rather French architects commissioned to plan the Institute Plastique in France. They wanted to pattern their design on the "world famous" Polymer Research Institute at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Those of you who remember our laboratories on Willoughby Street recognize the sheer ludicrousness of this situation. When I next saw Dr. 

In September, 1950, E.H. Volwiler, then president of the ACS, announced formation of the Division of High Polymer Chemistry (later shortened to the Division of Polymer Chemistry). C.S. Marvel, noted for his work with synthetic rubber during W.W. II and at that time associated with the University of Illinois, was appointed chairman. H.F. Mark, internationally recognized as a leading polymer scientist and director of The Polymer Research Institute at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, was appointed secretary-treasurer. Other officiers included W.E. Hanford, R.F. Boyer,... 

At the time this division began, there was only one school with a specific program in polymers the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn with its Polymer Research Institute. Polymer studies at other institutions were largely instances of isolated efforts by dedicated individuals in the classic area of organic chemistry. 

The story of Herman Mark and his polymer friends provides a strong basis for a coherent narrative. Brooklyn Poly was a fortress from which many polymer battles could be fought. With the death of Herman Mark, times have changed and the Polymer Research Institute is now an historical artifact. 

After the war. Professor Mark or nized the Institute of Polymer Research in a vacant razor blade factory on Jay street in downtown Brooklyn. The principal additional expense for the institute was the cost of printing... 

Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews (Bucksburn, Aberdeenshire, Commonwealth Bureau of Animal Nutrition, 1931-) RRP-Resins Rubbers Plastics (Institute of Polymer Research, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn). This literature service consists of a monthly list of world polymer literature, and extensive abstracts, issued semi-monthly, with special reference to Eastern Europe and Japan. Published by Interscience, semi-annual subject indexes are issued Review of Current Literature on the Paint and Allied Industries (London, Chorley Pickersgill, 1927-)... 

The United States Bureau of Standards had a strong and growing polymer research group and the Mellon Institute maintained serious research in polymers. Academic programs at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, University of Akron, Western Reserve University, The University of Massachusetts, the University of Illinois, Princeton University, Cornell University, and others were thriving. 

In 1953, he received an offer from the University of Pennsylvania, one of the oldest and most distinguished universities in the United States, which was also located in a major center of chemical industries. In 1954, he accepted the position as the Benjamin Franklin Professor of Chemistry and chairman of the Chemistry Department. In the transitional summer of 1954, he gave a series of lectures on polymer chemistry at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, which became the basis of his first book, Reactions at the Carbon-Carbon Double Bond. An important original idea posited in this book was the phenomenon of pi-bonding. From the beginning of his doctoral research at Harvard, a major common thread to many of Charles contributions was his keen interest in the detailed mechanisms by which chemical reactions occur. 

Despite his own achievements, Furukawa s chapter indicates the need for future research. How did chemists and physicists work together in the 1940s and 1950s to create a new unified discipline of polymer science It would also be useful to look at how the discipline was taught in the period between 1940 and 1965, especially in the United States. To do this, one would need to examine which courses were taught, the launch of new journals and the evolution of textbooks across various editions. As the polymer science in America started in a few key institutions, notably Brooklyn Polytechnic, it would also be valuable to look at the diffusion of the new discipline from these seed institutions, tracing the careers of the early alumni and coworkers such as Charles Overberger. 

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