Ray McIntire
Otis Ray McIntire (born August 24, 1918 in Gardner (Kansas) , † February 2, 1996 in Midland (Michigan) ) was an American chemical engineer who worked for the Dow Chemical Company, where he was the inventor of extruded rigid polystyrene foam (XPS , under the brand name Styrofoam ) applies.
McIntire received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1940 and then went to the Dow Chemical Company, where he stayed for the remainder of his career. He became Director of Research and later worked in the Venture Capital and Clients Department. Until his retirement in 1981 he was director of technology and purchasing there.
When there was a need for plastics in the USA during World War II, for example for flexible insulators, he developed a new plastic made from polystyrene and isobutene (Styrofoam) at Dow . The material insulated like polystyrene but was more flexible and much lighter because of the isobutene bubbles in the polystyrene. The process was patented in 1944 and was the first to be used for floats for unsinkable lifeboats for the US Coast Guard. It soon found extensive use for thermal insulation in buildings. In 2008 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame .
In Germany, Styropor was developed by Fritz Stastny from BASF in 1949.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Modern Styrenic Polymers: Polystyrenes and Styrenic Copolymers - Wiley Online Library . ISBN 978-0-471-49752-3 , doi : 10.1002 / 0470867213 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McIntire, Ray |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American chemical engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 24, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gardner (Kansas) |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 2, 1996 |
| Place of death | Midland (Michigan) |