Robert McKee Thomas (1908 – July 23, 1984) was a co-inventor of

butyl rubber Butyl rubber, sometimes just called "butyl", is a synthetic rubber, a copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. The abbreviation IIR stands for isobutylene isoprene rubber. Polyisobutylene, also known as "PIB" or polyisobutene, (C4H8)n, is the ho ...

, along with

William J. Sparks William Joseph Sparks (February 26, 1905 – October 23, 1976) was a chemist at Exxon. As an inventor, his most important contribution was the development of butyl rubber. Sparks served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1966 and ...

. Thomas held 75 patents, and directed the work of several notable polymer scientists including

Francis P. Baldwin Francis Paul Baldwin (November 23, 1915 — August 17, 1993) was a former Exxon Chief Scientist noted for his work on chemical modifications of low functionality elastomers. Personal Baldwin was born on November 23, 1915, in Brooklyn, Kings Co ...

. He worked at the Standard Oil Company, in New Jersey, starting work in 1929 after obtaining a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He retired in 1965. The ACS Rubber Division's Sparks-Thomas award is named after Thomas and Butyl rubber co-inventor

. In 1969, he received the

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 ...

References

* R. B. Seymour, Pioneers in Polymer Science, 193-195, 1989, Kluwer Academic Publishers.

External links

Link to audio interview with Robert M. Thomas
1908 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American chemists Polymer scientists and engineers ExxonMobil people {{US-chemist-stub