Leonard Mullins (1918 – 19 September 1997) was a scientist and long-time Research Director at the former Malaysian Rubber Producers' Research Association. He is known for his work on the stress-softening behavior of rubber, a phenomenon now known widely as the

Mullins effect The Mullins effect is a particular aspect of the mechanical response in filled rubbers, in which the stress–strain curve depends on the maximum loading previously encountered. The phenomenon, named for rubber scientist Leonard Mullins, workin ...

Personal

Mullins was born on 21 May 1918 and died on 19 September 1997 at the age of 79. Leonard was the eldest of 7 children, with his brothers Eric, Kenneth, John, known as Alan, and sisters Sylvia, Muriel and Eugenie. He married Freda Churchouse on 6 March 1943 and had 2 daughters Margaret and Janet.

Education

Mullins graduated from University College London in 1939 BSC (Hons), PhD, DSc

Career

He had originally hoped to enter academia, but

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted his plans and he ended up working in weapons research for the British government. In 1949, he oversaw the dismantling of the Bayer A.G. rubber labs and pilot plant at Leverkusen, Germany. In 1950, he joined the physics group of the

British Rubber Producers' Research Association The Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre, originally known as the British Rubber Producers' Research Association, carries out research into rubber and is funded by the Malaysian government. Early years: as the British Rubber Producers Research Associa ...

. He became deputy director of the group in 1960 and its director in 1962. He retired in 1983. During his tenure, MRPRA's control shifted to Malaysia from Great Britain. He expanded the association's research team and laboratories.

Awards and recognitions

* 1966 -

Colwyn medal Colwyn was a local government district with borough status from 1974 to 1996, being one of six districts in the county of Clwyd, north-east Wales. History The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered ...

in 1956 from the former Institution of the Rubber Industry * 1975 - honorary title Johan Mangku Negara for his work with natural rubber, bestowed by the king of Malaysia * 1976 - CMG * 1982 - Médaille de la ville de Paris * 1985 - Outstanding Service Award from PRI * 1986 -

Charles Goodyear Medal The Charles Goodyear Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society, Rubber Division. Established in 1941, the award is named after Charles Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization, and consists of a gold medal, a framed c ...

from the ACS Rubber Division * 1988 - Carl Harries, Carl-Dietrich Harries Medal from the German rubber organization Dkt * 1988 - Eminent Citizen's Medal, Ho Chi Minh City

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Leonard Polymer scientists and engineers 1918 births 1997 deaths