An American C o n t e m p o r a r y . . .
Charles M.A.Stine A. D. MCFADYKN
fessor of chemistry at t h e Maryland College for Women. At 2 3 , Johns Hopkins University elected him a fellow, and a year later awarded him the P h . D . degree, with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. H e was the recipient of the coveted Perkin Medal for 1939. Thrice he h a s been honored with doctorate degrees. H e is a life member of Franklin Institute, and a member of the executive committee of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. H e has served as councilor of t h e AMERICAN C H E M I N L· SOCIETY, a n d for a number of
years was a member of the editorial advisory board of Industrial and Engineering W H E N Charles Milton Atland Stine retired from E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. as a member of the executive board and adviser on research and development, he completed a career that long will stimulate both chemists and the chemical industry. His rise in a little more than 20 years from a minor research position to chief technical adviser t o t h e world's largest chemical' manufacturing company will indicate to young chemists t h e u n limited opportunities of their chosen profession, w h i l e the dividends yielded to D u P o n t b y his introduction of fundamental research doubtless will effect future research throughout the chemical industry. iVnen 23 years of age, Stine abandoned t h e staff of Johns Hopkins University (1907) to join t h e D u Pont organization, whereupon h e w a s assigned t o the company's explosive laboratory near Gibbstown, N . J. There his researches led to major improvements in explosives suitable for use i n coal mines, in low freezing dynamites, and t o a radically new process for the manufacture of picric acid. After two years h e was placed in charge of all organic chemical research of the company. Under his direction t h e first commercial production of T N T in this country was initiated. His work a t Gibbstown made Stine one of the few American research men familiar a t the time of World War I with basic intermediates from which are derived coaltar dyes a field long monopolized b y Germany. I n 1916, he w a s dispatched to England with a group of D u Pont chemists t o study work under w a y to establish a dyestuffs industry independently of Germany. Information that the expedition was able t o gather, plus further intensive research under D r . Stine's direction, enabled the D u Pont Co. to begin, in 1917, construction of i t s great dye works a t Deepwater Point, N . J. In 1919 Stine was named assistant chemical director and in 1924 chemical director of t h e D u P o n t organization. Six years later, in 1930, h e was elected to the com-
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pany's board of directors, and made a vice president and member of the executive committee, advisory over all research and chemical matters. After 38 years with the company, D r . Stine retired for reasons of health on June 30, 1945, as a member of the executive committee and as the company's adviser on research a n d development. He retained, however, his position as a member of the board of directors. Fostered Brilliant Developments Stine's ability to organize and conduct research into a great range of problems along many different lines, involving i n tensive efforts over long periods b y large numbers of highly trained specialists, h a s been recognized both a t home and abroad. Much of his success i n this work has been ascribed t o h i s example and insistence upon the most friendly and complete c o operation between t h e various research groups of the organization. During his tenure as chemical director many significant developments were recorded at D u Pont, including light-stable lithopone pigments, improved finishes for household and industrial use, and more efficient processes for the manufacture of nitric and sulfuric acids. From fundamental research initiated by Stine stemmed, among other things, neoprene synthetic rubber, and the compound known to women the world over by the name "nylon". Dr. Stine served for years a s one of the consultants appointed b y the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY to the
Chemical Warfare Service i n connection with pilotplant construction and operation. He was the first D u P o n t official concerned with the atomic energy project and was instrumental i n the selection of many of the technicians who helped carry i t to completion. Born a t Norwich, Conn., son of a Lutheran clergyman, Stine entered Gettysburg College a t the age of 15, where, in five years, h e won four degrees in science and art, all with first honors. A t 22 h e was pro-
CHEMICAL
Cliemistry and CHEMICAI, AND ENGINEER-
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H e is 1947 president of the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Despite his many industrial activities at D u Pont, Stine has never dropped his pedagogic bent. H e n o w serves on the advisory committee on chemical engineering curriculum of Princeton University, and has served in t h e same capacity a t Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is president of the board of trustees of Gettysburg College, and a trustee of Tower Hill School, Wilmington, as well as of t h e University of Delaware. Dr. Stine was one of the earliest advocates of a popularized science. H e has delivered hundreds of science lectures during the past 30 years, a s well as contributing t o numerous magazines, journals, and books on the subject. Indeed, i t would be hard t o find a more sought-after speaker, harder still t o find a m a n who yields s o many of his busy hours t o engendering interest in t h e science to which he has devoted his life. H e has advocated a closer alliance of medicine and chemistry as essential to a more rapid advance toward checking human ills, and a broad extension of research as t h e most likely approach t o economic ailments. Deeply interested in hospital work, he has been active i n fostering research in t h e field of chemotherapy, and has served as president and chairman of the board of directors of Delaware Hospital i n Wilmington. I n addition, he has served many local institutions, including the Y M C A , the Delaware Safety Council, the Delaware Academy of Medicine, and t h e Wilmington Society of Fine Arts. As a member of t h e Trustees' Agricultural Committee a t Delaware, Stine has instituted many interesting experiments in soil conservation a n d i n investigating diseases of cattle. H e maintains a model dairy farm, "Foxdown Farm", near N e w ark, Del. Still in h i s early sixties, his friends throughout t h e world wish for him good health and many more years of fruitful contributions t o chemistry.
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