Donald F. Othmer
Donald Frederick Othmer (born May 11, 1904 in Omaha , Nebraska , † November 1, 1995 in New York City ) was an American chemist and philanthropist.
Othmer received his degree in chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1924 and received his PhD from the University of Michigan in 1927 . From 1927 to 1931 he worked at Eastman Kodak , where he received 40 patents (as part of the conversion of photographic films from cellulose nitrate to the less dangerous cellulose acetate ), and from 1932 he taught at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn . In 1961 he became a Distinguished Professor there and in 1976 he retired.
He was a successful consultant in the chemical industry and continued to develop patents (partly with students studying with him for higher degrees while they were already working in the chemical industry). Thanks to clever investment (they invested early in the early 1960s in the funds of Warren Buffett , who was friends with them and also came from Omaha), the couple left behind $ 750 million in 1998 when Donald's second wife Mildred Jane Topp died, both of which were largely invested in foundations. In addition to various universities (the Polytechnic Institute, which was at times threatened with bankruptcy, received 175 million dollars) and for medical purposes such as Planned Parenthood - especially in chronically underfunded Brooklyn - also in the Chemical Heritage Foundation . That is why a number of donated buildings, prizes and grants are named after him.
In chemistry he is best known as editor (with Raymond Eller Kirk (1890–1957), also at the Polytechnic Institute) of the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology , the first volume of which appeared in 1947 and the first edition was complete in 1949. In this area there was only Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Technical Chemistry in German before that . The 5th edition was complete in 2007 with 27 volumes.
While at Eastman Kodak he invented a later common laboratory instrument ( English Othmer silent ) for a simple and precise determination of equilibrium data in vapor-liquid systems. He also made other contributions to distillation technology .
In 1978 he received the Perkin Medal and EV Murphree Awards in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry and in 1977 the Chemical Pioneer Award . In 1987 he received the New York Mayor's Prize for Science and Technology.
The Othmer gold medal is named in his honor .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ You invested $ 50,000 in its fund in the early 1960s and again around 1970 when the fund's shares were worth $ 42 - in 1995 they were worth $ 30,000
- ↑ The marriage was childless
- ↑ Larry Kanter on Warren Buffett and the Othmers
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Othmer, Donald F. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Othmer, Donald Frederick (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American chemical engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 11, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Omaha |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 1, 1995 |
| Place of death | New York City |