Raymond B. Seymour: Coming of Age with Polymers - ACS

1 Raymond Β. Seymour: Coming of Age with Polymers

Downloaded by 196.10.148.254 on January 22, 2016 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: September 29, 1983 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1983-0229.ch001

W. N. TINNERMAN University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX 77006

This Symposium on "The Effects of Hostile Environments on Plastics" is to honor a Plastics Pioneer, Raymond B. Seymour. The co-chairmen David Garner and G. A. Stahl as well as this speaker are former graduate students of Dr. Seymour. I first met Professor Seymour in the Spring of 1972, when I was discharged from the U.S. Army. I chose to study and work under the guidance of this man. He convinced me that Polymer Chemistry was a highly rewarding discipline which took in the many areas of chemistry, physics and math. He repeatedly told me and his other students, including graduate students of other faculty members (sometimes to their displeasure), of the ad vantages of a background in polymer chemistry. Even the sta tistics indicating that more than 50% of all chemists work in a polymer related area did little to attract large numbers of students to pursue research in the area of polymer chemistry at the University of Houston. This was most unfortunate, as these non-believers missed an opportunity to study and work with a vigorous, dedicated, industrious man who has experienced success in both academic and industrial careers. He has been involved in production, research, management, achieving the top rung of the ladder as President of a chemical firm. I would l i k e i n the b r i e f time a l l o t t e d to me to give you a thumbnail s k e t c h o f the person we are honoring. I t would be im p o s s i b l e to go i n t o d e t a i l , p a r t i c u l a r l y as I am only p e r s o n a l l y f a m i l i a r with Dr. Seymour's achievements i n the l a s t 10 y e a r s . Therefore, I have taken the l i b e r t y to e x t r a c t i n f o r m a t i o n from l e t t e r s of nomination as w e l l as seconding l e t t e r s f o r the v a r i o u s r e g i o n a l and n a t i o n a l awards Dr. Seymour has r e c e i v e d along with h i s p e r s o n a l v i t a e . P r o f e s s o r Seymour was born on 26 J u l y 1912 a t New England B a p t i s t H o s p i t a l i n Boston, Massachusetts. He was the second of four c h i l d r e n . He attended grade schools i n Lexington, 0097-6156/83/0229-0001 $06.00/0 © 1983 American Chemical Society

In The Effects of Hostile Environments on Coatings and Plastics; Garner, David P., et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1983.

EFFECTS OF HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS


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Figure 1. Ray Seymour in 1932 during his first college years in Dover, NH.

Massachusetts; New F i e l d s , New Hampshire and Dover, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dover High School i n the S p r i n g of 1929. He was s e l e c t e d as an Edison s c h o l l a r i n 1929, and was p e r s o n a l l y examined by Thomas Edison. He entered the U n i v e r s i t y of New Hampshire i n the F a l l of 1929, where he majored i n Chemical Engineering. At the time, he d i d n t r e a l i z e the a b b r e v i a t i o n f o r Chemical Engineering was Ch.E. r a t h e r than C E . and he ended up with a c l a s s of c i v i l engineers i n h i s f i r s t q u a r t e r , which was c o r r e c t e d i n the second q u a r t e r . He r e c e i v e d an education i n both chemistry and chemical engineering and has lead a dual l i f e as both a chemist and chemical engineer. While at the U n i v e r s i t y of New Hampshire, Raymond Seymour was under the guidance of Dr. Harold A. I d d l e s , which Dr. Seymour s t a t e s was an outstanding teacher whose q u a l i t i e s he has t r i e d to emulate. Dr. Seymour must have succeeded, because i n 1976 he was awarded the E x c e l l e n c e i n Teaching Award by the Chemical Manufacturers A s s o c i a t i o n . T h i s p r e s t i g e o u s award had a l s o been presented p r e v i o u s l y to Dr. I d d l e s . f

He r e c e i v e d h i s B.S. i n Chemical Engineering w i t h high honor i n June 1933, whereupon he was accepted as a graduate a s s i s t a n t at the Graduate School of U n i v e r s i t y of New Hampshire. He completed h i s Master of Science i n Chemistry from the U n i v e r s i t y of New Hampshire i n 1935. He entered the U n i v e r s i t y of Iowa i n the F a l l of 1935. As a member of Alpha C h i Sigma, which he j o i n e d at U n i v e r s i t y of New Hampshire, he was able to l i v e i n the Alpha Theta F r a t e r n i t y House at Iowa C i t y which was next to a dormitory f o r g i r l students. Here he met F r a n c i s Horan who he married i n September 1936. F r a n c i s and he w i l l be


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c e l e b r a t i n g t h e i r 46th anniversary t h i s month. The f i r s t o f t h e i r f o u r c h i l d r e n was born 1 month before Dr. Seymour r e c e i v e d h i s Ph.D. degree i n Chemistry i n the l a t e summer o f 1937.


The i n d u s t r i a l career o f Dr. Seymour was now underway, as he had already interviewed f o r and accepted a job i n A p r i l 1937 with U n i v e r s a l O i l Products, paying $250 a month. He, F r a n c i s and t h e i r 1-month o l d son, David, drove from Iowa C i t y , Iowa t o R i v e r s i d e , I l l i n o i s i n a Model A where he was to begin h i s j o b at the U.O.P. l a b o r a t o r y . He was met by Dr. Gus E g g l o f f and t o l d there wasn't any job because the chem i c a l engineers and a r c h i t e c t s were on s t r i k e . As a p r o f e s s i o n a l chemist and President o f the American I n s t i t u t e o f Chemists, Dr. E g g l o f f suggested that Dr. Seymour look i n the want ads o f the Chemical Engineering News. Continuing E a s t , Dr. Seymour drove t o Akron, Ohio where he interviewed with Dr. Loren S e b r e l l at Goodyear T i r e & Rubber Co. on Monday morning and was a t work i n the l a b o r a t o r y that afternoon. But because o f the depression, h i s s a l a r y was only $210 per month.

Figure 2. The Seymours—Frances, David and Ray—in 1940 on an outing in AIlent own, PA.


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At Goodyear, he was a research chemist, working i n the area of rubber a c c e l e r a t o r s , but he turned h i s a t t e n t i o n to the pro duction of copolymers of v i n y l c h l o r i d e and s y n t h e t i c rubber. A f t e r one year, he and a l l the other employees were informed that t h e i r s a l a r i e s had been reduced by 10%. A f t e r v o i c i n g h i s complaint, Dr. Seymour resigned and took a p o s i t i o n as Chief Chemist f o r A t l a s M i n e r a l Products i n Mertztown, Pennsylvania at the s a l a r y of $225 per month. He was t h e i r only chemist, de v e l o p i n g a product l i n e of p r o t e c t i v e coatings based on PVC, and pioneered the development of polymer concrete. One year at A t l a s M i n e r a l Products, and h i s s a l a r y was increased to $250 per month. (Thus, i t had taken him 4 years to overcome the e f f e c t of the s t r i k e at U.O.P.) But along with the r a i s e came the request to spend l e s s time on product development and more time i n management. He resigned and took a p o s i t i o n as Research Group Leader at Monsanto Co. i n Dayton, Ohio i n 1941. At Monsanto, Dr. Seymour worked with Dr. George Ham, Dr. Harry Szmant (Chairman o f Chemistry of U n i v e r s i t y of D e t r o i t ) , Dr. Ray Meyers (Professor of Kent State U n i v e r s i t y ) among o t h e r s .

Figure 3. Ray Seymour on the lecture circuit in 1945 in Chattanooga, TN— and he is still talking.

Figure 4. The young executive in 1948 in New Brunswick, Ν J.


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While at Monsanto, he was confronted with the philosophy (which l a t e r changed) that chemists at Monsanto were not per mitted to p u b l i s h papers. He resigned i n 1945 to accept the p o s i t i o n as D i r e c t o r of Research at the U n i v e r s i t y of Chattanooga, at Chattanooga, Tennessee. In January 1949, he returned to A t l a s M i n e r a l Products, t h i s time as P r e s i d e n t .


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He found that A t l a s products were those he had developed i n 1939, but the sons of the founder d i d not know the formulas or how to manufacture the m a t e r i a l . During h i s 5 years at A t l a s , Dr. Seymour was i n v o l v e d i n the development of p l a s t i c p i p e , formed and welded PVC s t r u c t u r e s , polyurethane coatings and many new concepts i n c o r r o s i o n r e s i s t a n t equipment. He l e f t A t l a s i n 1955 to become P r e s i d e n t of Loven Chemical near Los Angeles, C a l i f o r n i a . While i n C a l i f o r n i a , he was an Adjunct P r o f e s s o r at Los Angeles Trade Tech. C o l l e g e . In 1960, having been the President of two chemical companies during the l a s t 10 y e a r s , he resigned and once again entered h i s r e a l l o v e , the f i e l d of academia. He accepted the p o s i t i o n of Chairman of the Department of Chemistry at Sul Ross U n i v e r s i t y i n A l p i n e , Texas i n 1960. He was a one man department. He taught 40 semester hours a week. C l a s s began at 6 a.m. and some ended at 10 p.m. His enthusiasm f o r s c i e n c e and education was contagious. The students seemed to enjoy i t , as they were very much above average. The Raymond B. Seymour Award i s given annually to S u l Ross outstanding chemistry student. In 1964 he accepted a p o s i t i o n as A s s o c i a t e Chairman of the Department of Chemistry and A s s o c i a t e Chairman of U n i v e r s i t y Research at the U n i v e r s i t y of Houston i n Houston, Texas. 1

Two of h i s students at S u l Ross followed him to Houston and became h i s f i r s t graduate students. They are Dr. Peter Tsang, p r e s e n t l y at Bendix Corporation, and Dr. Jose Sosa of Vulcan Chemical Company of W i c h i t a , Kansas. In 1976 he was f o r c e d to r e t i r e from the U n i v e r s i t y of Houston because of h i s age. He was made a P r o f e s s o r Emeritus, but not w i l l i n g to q u i t , he accepted a p o s i t i o n as D i s t i n g u i s h e d P r o f e s s o r i n the Coatings and Polymer Science Department at the U n i v e r s i t y of Southern M i s s i s s i p p i . He and Mrs. Seymour now have a home adjacent to the g o l f course i n H a t t i e s b u r g . Dr. Seymour's personal q u a l i t i e s are not confined to the formal classroom, i t i s found i n the research l a b o r a t o r y , i n the i n d u s t r i a l l a b o r a t o r y , i n the c o n t i n u i n g education of p r o f e s s i o n a l chemists and secondary chemistry teachers, i n p r e s e n t i n g chemical education through r a d i o and t e l e v i s i o n programs, and i n h i s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n e d u c a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s of the ACS and other p r o f e s s i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s (such as American I n s t i t u t e of Chemists, American I n s t i t u t e of Chemical Engineers s i n c e 1945,




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Figure 5. Ray Seymour back at college in 1970; this time in Alpine, TX.

Charter member of Society of P l a s t i c Engineers, L i f e t i m e member of American A s s o c i a t i o n f o r the Advancement of Science, Society of the P l a s t i c s I n d u s t r y ) . Just w i t h i n the ACS (a 50-year member), he has served i n a variety of capacities : Member s i n c e 1932 Secretary Dayton S e c t i o n 1943-45 Chairman e l e c t Dayton S e c t i o n 1945 C o u n c i l o r Chattanooga S e c t i o n 1945-48 Member P r o f e s s i o n a l T r a i n i n g Committee 1946-48 Member Executive Committee Organic Coating and P l a s t i c s Committee 1948, 1975-6 Chairman E l e c t Lehigh V a l l e y S e c t i o n 1955 Chairman Permian Basin Section 1964 Councilor Southeastern Texas S e c t i o n 1976 Member Executive Committee Polymer D i v i s i o n 1974 Member P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s Committee 1973-76 Tour Speaker 1945, 1948, 1968, 1972, 1981, 1982, 1983 A b s t r a c t o r Chemical Abstracts Radio Commentator f o r Men and Molecules P a r t i c i p a n t f o r ACS TV shows Chairman Symposium a t Mexico C i t y , 1975; San F r a n c i s c o , 1976; New Orleans, 1977; Anaheim, 1977 I n v i t e d speaker at most ACS meetings Chairman N a t i o n a l Awards Committee, 1977 Member ACS Advisory Committee, Advances i n Chemistry Series 1978


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Chairman ACS Polymer Chemistry Syllabus Committee 1980 Co-Chairman ACS Polymer Education Resources Committee 1981 Chairman Education Committee, D i v i s i o n of Polymer Science 1982 Member Alpha Chi Sigma s i n c e 1932 Dr. Seymour has been awarded 45 patents and i s the author or co-author of 24 books and two audio courses. He has authored more than 1000 research and t e c h n i c a l a r t i c l e s and was recog n i z e d by Polymer News i n 1980 as the "world's best known polymer chemist". He has served as a consultant f o r some 12 or more companies and has served as a v i s i t i n g p r o f e s s o r of polymer science i n Bangladesh, India, Taiwan, Y u g o s l a v i a , Czechoslovakia, T r i n i d a d , USSR and A u s t r a l i a . Dr. Seymour has r e c e i v e d a l a r g e number of honors awards which i n c l u d e the f o l l o w i n g :

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Western P l a s t i c s Award 1960 U n i v e r s i t y of Houston Teaching E x c e l l e n c e Award 1975 P l a s t i c Pioneer Award 1975 Chemical Manufacturers A s s o c i a t i o n C a t a l y s t Award 1976 American I n s t i t u t e of Chemists Honor S c r o l l i n L o u i s i a n a 1980 Inducted i n t o the Western P l a s t i c s H a l l of Fame 1981 Southern Chemists Award 1981 Society of P l a s t i c s Engineers I n t e r n a t i o n a l Education Award 1982.

Figure 6. Frances and the Chief, fam iliarfaces at ACS meetings, in 1982 in Kansas City, MO.


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Raymond B. Seymour i s known to many f r i e n d s and a s s o c i a t e s as Ray, a P l a s t i c s Pioneer, as Dad to h i s four c h i l d r e n and by a v a r i e t y o f grandfatherly terms by h i s 10 grandchildren, but to h i s former students; i n c l u d i n g , Peter Tsang, Jose Sosa, Don Owen, Clem LaSada, Hubert A. Wood, Murray C l a r k , G. A l l a n S t a h l , David P. Garner, E a r l Johnson and me, he i s "The C h i e f " .


RECEIVED June 7, 1983


Raymond B. Seymour: Coming of Age with Polymers - ACS

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