Kenneth T. Gillen is a retired

Sandia National Labs Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force B ...

researcher noted for contributions to service life prediction methods for elastomers

Education

Gillen completed his PhD in chemistry at University of Wisconsin - Madison in 1970 under advisor Joseph H. Noggle.

Career

Gillen joined

in 1974, working on elastomeric seals in

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

and satellites. His research has focused on the prediction of the service life of polymers under exposure to temperature, radiation, humidity and mechanical stress. His most highly cited published work was the development of testing and analysis methods for the combined effects of diffusion and oxidation in polymers. His methods overcame limitations of earlier, less accurate methods based on the Arrhenius equation. His development of a technique for profiling of oxidation-induced stiffness gradients in aged elastomers was applied in the tire industry. Gillen served as an editor of the Elsevier journal Polymer Degradation and Stability from 1999 to 2006. He retired from Sandia in 2004 but continued in a part time consulting role until 2015.

Awards

* 2020 -

Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award The Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award is a professional award conferred by the American Chemical Society, Rubber Division. Established in 1983, the award is named after Melvin Mooney, developer of the Mooney viscometer and of the Moone ...

from Rubber Division of the ACS

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillen, Kenneth T. Polymer scientists and engineers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)