February, 1946
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
same bold objective treatment of the study of ways to develop the goodness that is in people and the paths to their cooperation. Science has made of the world one neighborhood so that all people are our neighbors. The soundest teaching about neighbors and how to deal with them is to be found in the New Testament, which Frary knows so well. It is my personal belief that the answer to the crisis of our time must come from people who, like
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Frary, represent an intimate association with the metric values of physical science and the less tangible but supremely important nonmetric values which determine the behavior of human beings in their relation to one another. So it is with great hope that I take the measure of this man and commend his record to the rising generation, not implying that it is perfect but because it contains so much that is worthy of emulation.
Achievements of the Medalist WEBSTER N. JONES WICE within our lifetnne the Perkin Medal has been bestowed on scientists whose professional careers have been devoted to the study of aluminum, In 1911 Charles Martin Hall, a founder of the Aluminum Company of America, was recognized by the Perkin committee for his discovery of an electrolytic process by which aluminum could be separated from its oxide. Nom in 1946, when America’s aluminum industry has turned from supplying an indispensable war matcrial to assume leadership in peacetime economy, Francis Cowles Frary has been chosen to receive the award. The research for which these two scientists were recognized has been of the utmost significance in the amazing development of the aluminum industry. It is interesting to contemplate what influence the discovery of aluminum might have had on the early career of Francis Frary. He was born in Minneapolis a t the time when Charles Martin Hall, a college student, was laboring with the baffling problem of separating aluminum, the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust, from its ores; during his boyhood Hall’s discovery and the subsequent rapid growth of the aluminurn industry vied as a topic of dinner-table conversation with Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen’s discovery of x-ray and the work of Pierre and Marie Curie in the field of radium. Although the early 1900’s were days of scientific progres’s, it was the unusual parent who urged his son to follow a career in science. When young Frary showed an early interest in chemistry, however, he was encouraged by both his mother and father, who set aside the basement of their home for his laboratory. Francis received further support from his parents when he decided that he wished to become a chemist. He chose the University of Minnesota for his undergraduate work and remained there for graduate study. Germany was advancing rapidly in chemical research a t the time Francis received the master’s degree from Minnesota, and with the born scientist’s wish to acquire knowledge firsthand, he went to the Technische Hochschule in Berlin to study German progress in electrochemistry. When he returned to America after a year’s travel and experience abroad, his alma mater appointed him to the chemistry instructional staff. He was awarded the doctorate in 1912 and continued his work a t the University. I n addition t o his heavy teaching duties at Minnesota, Professor Frary was a productive research worker and an inspiration to his students. He usually took the stairs three a t a time, instead of the university elevators which could not carry him fast enough from one activity t o another. He worked night and day as well. This boundless energy and enthusiasm, backed by his scientific ability, brought results. I n spite of his teaching obligations, he was successful in producing the technically important hard alloys of lead with calcium, barium, and strontium by electrolysis from fused salt electrolytes. These alloys were later to find important application, particularly during the first World
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War, when the supply of other lead-hardening elements was cui Off.
Frary’s proficiency and the breadth of his interests in analytical chemistry and in electrochemistry were also evidenced by his early publications. At Minnesota he contributed such papers as “Rapid Analysis by Electrolysis without Rotating Electrodes”, “Rapid Determination of Zinc by Electrolysis”, “Use of a Mercury Cathode in the Determination of Metals”, “Electrodeposition of Gold and Silver”, and “Uber einen neuen Apparat fur elektrolytische Schnellmethoden”. One of his first enthusiasms was photography, and many of his papers were on such topics as “Direct Positives in the Camera by Thiourea and Its Compounds”, “Microstructure of Wet Negatives”, “Contributions of the Chemist to the Photographic Industry”, “Reducing Power of Photographic Developers as Measured by Their Single Potentials”, and “Reaction between Alkalies and Metol and Hydrochinone in Photographic Developers”. Frary’s achievements, especially his discovery of a novel and safe method of producing phosphorus sesquisulfide, attracted widespread attention. It was only natural that industry should be impressed and should compete for his services, and The Oldbury Electrochemical Company enticed him to leave teaching for industry. With this company he had great success in applying his knowledge to electrochemical products and became an authority on the production and handling of phosgene, soon to be in great demand for use in chemical Tarfare. Just before America entered the first World War, the management of the Aluminum Company decided t o establish an organized research laboratory so that the many fundamental problems confronting the aluminum industry could be given full attention. The company canvassed the field thoroughly to find a director capable of developfng its research program. Since Frary was a leader in chemistry, chemical engineering, and metallurgy, and a man with breadth of vision, high ethical standards, and deep human interest, he qualified in every way for the position offered him, which he continues to fill so admirably today. Before Francis Frary could assume his duties with the Aluminum Company, America was a t war and ‘cc as confronted M ith the new threat of poison gas. Here was an opportunity for him to apply his knowledge of phosgene. At the urgent request of the Government, his services were loaned by the company, and he was assigned by the Army to design and to build a phosgene plant at Edgewood Arsenal. Kot until December, 1918, after the end of the war, was Major Frary free to undertake his new duties with the Aluminum Company of America. He saw in the company’s widespreadinterests a broad field for research, and he attacked the multitude of problems in aluminum with skill and vigor. Under his direction, investigations ranged from the beneficiation of bauxite, the production of pure alumina, and the electrolytic production of alu-
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minum, t o the melting, alloying, casting, and n-orkiiig of aluminum into the numerous forms of commerce. Included Irere problems such as those involved in tjhe structural use of aluminum alloys and their behavior in many environments, together with occasional forays into the electrothermal refining of bauxite and the electrothermal production of aluminum. Frary’s interests have been broad, and his detailed knowledge of a ?vide range of subjects has amazed his friends. H e has contributed generously t o the literature on such varied subjects as “Aluminum Alloys of High Strength”, “Electrolytic Refining of Pure Aluminum”, “Future Developments in the Light Metals”, “Aluminum and I t s dlloys”, “Progress in the Electrochemical Industries”, “Aluminum in the Chemical Industry”, “Aluminum as a Material for Building Construction”, “Aluminum-How and Why. The Development and Commercial Production of a Kew Construction Material”, and “Aluminum Chemical Equipment”. He has expressed views on “Research as a T‘ocation” and on “Logical Divisions of a Research Organization”. H e has written an excellent book the “Laboratory Manual of Glassblowing” and is coauthor of a tivo-volume York on “The Aluminum Industry”. To those of us who know Francis Frary well, his most likable characteristics are his modesty and his generosity. He claims credit for only a few of the many Contributions which emanate from the Research Laboratory; he alviays gives credit where credit is due. Oiie compliment can be paid him without fear of contradiction : There has never been a more harmoniously knitted, integrated, and effective organization of management and research than is to be found under his direction in the laboratories of the Aluminum Company of America. This must be very gratifying t o Frary, Tvho has beea able to impart his own spirit of loyalty t’othe members of his research staff, The outstanding achievements of the Aluminum Research Laboratories have been an incentive to research in our country. Heat-treated aluminum alloy castings were developed and used here for many years before they r e r e adopted elsemhere. The early duralumin alloy was difficult) to forge. However, through research effort, more forgeable alloys were discovered, and the know-how thus obtained has resulted in the ability to forge harder and stronger alloys. During the n-ar years just closed, millions of pounds of forgings n-ere made for propellers, crankcases, and pistons for aircraft engines. I n the production of aluminum, impurities such as iron and silicon in the alumina or in the carbon anodes are elect,rolytically reduced and go into the met’al. The problem of obtaining aluminum of the highest purity was solved by electrolyt,ically refining aluminum in a bath of fused salts. By this novel and ingenious process 99.99% pure aluminum was produced in quantity. With metal of this purity available, the determination of the fundamental relationships in aluminum alloy systems, without the presence of contaminating irrpurities, was made possible. Such information n-as most valuable in the development of modern aluminum alloys. The principal product of the aluminum industry is, of course, metallic aluminum, and the most spectacular performances of aluminum have been in the alloy field. The well-knox-n alloy duralumin was discovered in Germany before the first World X a r ; except for Zeppelin construction, it found little use in that conflict. Hoxvever, the potential applications of the strong alloys of aluminum in the structural field and in the airplane induat r y 1%-ereforeseen by Frary and his associates, and the research efforts of t’he laboratories were directed accordingly, despite the fact that as late as 1928 only 1.7% of the aluminum produced went into planes. By 1937, just’ two years before the outbreak of the second World War, 25% of the outlay for research v e n t into investigations t o increase the usefulness of aluminum in aircraft, although only 5.87, of the metal made went into planes. A new alloy (24S), developed in the 1930’s, possessed higher strength and was the principal aircraft material of the second
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World War. Before the end of the n-ar, miotlier new alloy (75s) was in production. This alloy furnishes over 50% h i g h yield strength than v a s available in any alloy in u3e a t tlic beginning of the war. All new designs of military planes viere based on it. Bnothcr research development, the dlclitd products, IVUS indispensable in the conetruction of t~riinsport m d military aircraft. The rllclad sheet is a duplex mcthl product n-hich combines a thin surface layer of high-purity alurririum or alloy with a strong alloy core. The surface layer of aluminum afl‘ords protection against corrosion, arid the core supplies the structural strength. The Alclad structure has been extended t o tlic production of brazing sheet, in which a low-melting brazing alloy and a suitable core met’al are combined to enable the practical manufacture of complex parts, such as intercoolers for aircraft. During the lvar nearly 70% of Alcoa’s production was devoted to the manufacture of aircraft. Production in the United Statcs rose from six thousand planes in 1938 to eighty-six thousand in 1943. Three quarters of the n-eight of the average TYar plane was aluminum, and Alcoa produced over 90% of the domestic primary aluminum used. I n contrast to what happened n i t h other strategic war materials, the Aluminum Company foresaiv its responsibilities in war production and made certain that there irould be no shortage of aluminum for essential military purposes. While aluminum rcsearch T T ~ Sbeing subsidized directly or indirectly by Europeun countries as part of their program of military security, in this country Alcoa carried on its 0xr-11 research a t its on.n expense. One of the important contributions of the Research Laborutoi war the process devised t o utilize lon--grade domestic bauxit when South American supplies were cut off by enemy submarine&. The \Tar years brought on a phenomenal expansion of the aluminum industry in this country. I n order to meet gigantic military requirements, prewar capacity vias increased nearly 70GYc. This Herculean task vias accomplished with record-breaking speed. Alcoa began its plant expansion three years before our government-financed program started, and TVBS later asked to assume responsibility for the major share of the government building program and for the operation of the many new plants. The Aluminum Company’s support of and sympathetic attitude toward research have made possible these astonishing results. Over t’lie years millions of dollars have been reinvestedplowed back-to bring about a better understanding of aluminum, to develop improved alloys, and t o discover new uses. Alcoa’s amazing war record could have been made only by a thoroughly integrated company in n-hich research WRS permitted to function a t its optimum. By the same token, ive now need peacetime progress in the promotion of pure and applied science for the development of nex and enlarged uses of aluminum t,hrough a continuation of the efforts of Francis Frary and his associates, backed by a company with willing resources. -411 of America should profit from the example set us by the Aluminum Company. However, I am not sure t h s t we have learned our first lesson, the lesson that American indu be kept free. We may have already forgotten that superior industrial management in America v a s responsible for the rapid equipping of our armed forces. We may have completely overlooked the fact that Americans have always been able to plan, to venture, t o produce, and t80sell, and that superiority has thus been von. It can be lost, as Jvell, n-it’hevery move that is made to etifle and t o curb free enterprise. What a compliment to Francis Frary and t o the compmy he serves that such a high tribute is being paid him tonight! If either the man or the organization had been unsuccessful, hoth could have worked on unnoticed and unpraised. Along with the others whose names have made Perkin Medal hist’ory, Francis C. Frary exemplifies creative genius, capacity for hard work, and the urge to serve mankind. I n no other country of the n.orld has a scientist of his talent been given such free rein and unstinted support!
