William Dale Phillips (1925-1993) was an American chemist, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopist, federal science policy advisor and member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. He was born October 10, 1925, in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and died in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri, on December 15, 1993.

Training

Phillips graduated from public high school and immediately entered the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

V-12 program in 1943. He studied mechanical engineering at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, was commissioned, and left active duty in 1946. Phillips completed a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1948 at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

and obtained a PhD in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

under the direction of

Richard C. Lord Richard C. Lord (1910–1989) was an American chemist best known for his work in the field of spectroscopy. Academic career Richard Collins Lord was born in Louisville, Kentucky on October 10, 1910. He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry ...

studying the vibrational spectra of organic molecules.

Career

In 1951, Phillips joined

DuPont Central Research In 1957, the research organization of the Chemicals Department of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company was renamed Central Research Department, beginning the history of the premier scientific organization within DuPont and one of the foremost indu ...

. He held positions starting with research chemist, rising to research supervisor, manager and assistant and associate director. Phillips began to explore the nascent field of nuclear magnetic resonance (

NMR Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a physical phenomenon in which nuclei in a strong constant magnetic field are perturbed by a weak oscillating magnetic field (in the near field) and respond by producing an electromagnetic signal with a ...

). His initial interest was in molecular motion in organic systems. Together with Earl Muetterties, he also explored molecular dynamics in inorganic systems. DuPont's strength in organofluorine chemistry and cyanocarbon chemistry led to investigation of those systems. His work on paramagnetic molecules was the foundation of modern paramagnetic shift reagents and

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

imaging. Phillips' interests then turned toward the biological. His particular interests were

ferredoxins Ferredoxins (from Latin ''ferrum'': iron + redox, often abbreviated "fd") are iron–sulfur proteins that mediate electron transfer in a range of metabolic reactions. The term "ferredoxin" was coined by D.C. Wharton of the DuPont Co. and applied to ...

, and

lysozyme Lysozyme (EC 3.2.1.17, muramidase, ''N''-acetylmuramide glycanhydrolase; systematic name peptidoglycan ''N''-acetylmuramoylhydrolase) is an antimicrobial enzyme produced by animals that forms part of the innate immune system. It is a glycoside ...

. He also had a strong interest in the NMR and ESR of nucleic acids and other biological macromolecules.Phillips, W. D.. Biological applications of NMR. NMR Paramagn. Mol. (1973), 421-78. To further his understanding of biochemistry, he took a DuPont Industrial Postdoctoral in 1962 to go to MIT in biochemistry. In 1973 he was on assignment from DuPont to ICI as liaison to their program to produce protein for animal feed from

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

through

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

. Retiring from

in 1978, Phillips assumed the positions of chair and Charles Allen Thomas professor of chemistry at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. In 1984 he joined

Mallinckrodt Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals is an American-Irish domiciled manufacturer of specialty pharmaceuticals (namely, adrenocorticotropic hormone), generic drugs and imaging agents. In 2017 it generated 90% of its sales from the U.S. healthcare system. ...

, Inc. as senior vice-president for research and development. He accepted a role on the

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

administration's

Science Advisory Board The Science Advisory Board (SAB) is a United States group of independent scientists selected by the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The board provides advice to the agency on the scientific and technical aspects of ...

. He chaired the National Critical Technologies Panel through the

. He served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals and on the boards of directors of

Sigma-Aldrich Sigma-Aldrich (formally MilliporeSigma) is an American chemical, life science, and biotechnology company that is owned by the German chemical conglomerate Merck Group. Sigma-Aldrich was created in 1975 by the merger of Sigma Chemical Company a ...

, the

Missouri Corporation for Science and Technology Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to th ...

, the

St. Louis Science Center The Saint Louis Science Center, founded as a planetarium in 1963, is a collection of buildings including a science museum and planetarium in St. Louis, Missouri, on the southeastern corner of Forest Park. With over 750 exhibits in a complex of ...

, the St. Louis Technology Center, and

Celgene Corporation Celgene Corporation is a pharmaceutical company that makes cancer and immunology drugs. Its major product is Revlimid ( lenalidomide), which is used in the treatment of multiple myeloma, and also in certain anemias. The company is incorporated in ...

References

External links

Biography at The National Academy Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, William Dale 1925 births 1993 deaths People from Elgin, Illinois Scientists from St. Louis American physical chemists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences DuPont people United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II Chemists from Missouri Military personnel from Illinois Cockrell School of Engineering alumni University of Kansas alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty