Theodore L. Cairns
Theodore L. Cairns (born July 20, 1914 in Edmonton , † September 16, 1994 ) was a Canadian - American chemist . He was director of research at DuPont and research advisor to US President Richard Nixon .
Cairns studied at the University of Alberta chemistry with the bachelor's degree in 1936 and was in 1939 Roger Adams at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with the issue on the stereochemistry substituted biphenyls ) PhD . Until 1941 he was an instructor in organic chemistry at the University of Rochester and then went to DuPont at their research center in Wilmington (Delaware). He stayed there until his retirement in 1979. He was laboratory director in the Central Research Department from 1952, research director in 1966 and director of the Central Research Department in 1971. When this merged with the development department in 1977, he also became director of the newly established Research and Development Department.
As part of industrial research (in which he initially worked on nylon modifications) he succeeded in synthesizing some new organic compounds, such as tetracyanoethylene (inspired by Teflon developed at DuPont ) .
From 1949 to 1952 he was editor of Organic Syntheses and 1959 to 1969 editor of Organic Reactions. From 1970 to 1973 he was a scientific advisor to Richard Nixon and previously from 1969 to 1972 on the scientific advisory board of the Governor of Delaware. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and was a director of organic chemistry at the American Chemical Society. In 1973 he received the Perkin Medal , in 1974 the Elliott Cresson Medal and in 1968 the American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry . In 1970 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Alberta.
He was a US citizen. Since 1940 he was married to Margaret McDonald, with whom he had four children. His daughter Margaret Etter (d. 1992) was a chemistry professor at the University of Minnesota .
Web links
- Obituary by Blaine McKusick, pdf ( Memento of May 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Obituary at McKusick NAS
Individual evidence
- ↑ biographical data, publications and Academic pedigree of Theodore L. Cairns at academictree.org, accessed on 23 January 2018th
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cairns, Theodore L. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian-American chemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 20, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Edmonton |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 16, 1994 |