February, 1931
IYDUSTRIAL A N D EXGINEERING CHEMISTRY
PERKIN MEDAL AWARD The Perkin Medal for 1931 was presented to Arthur D. the most valuable work in applied chemistry. The award Little, president of Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., may be made to any chemist residing in the United States on January 9, a t the joint meeting of the American Section of of America for work which he has done a t any time during the Society of Chemical Industry, the AMERICANCHEMICAL his career, whether this work proved successful a t the time SOCIETY, the Soci6tC de Chimie Industrielle, and the American of execution or publication, or whether it became valuable Electrochemical Society in New York City. in subsequent development of the industry. The medalist Frederick G . Keyes, of Masshchusetts Institute of Tech- is chosen by a committee representing this society, the nology, gave an account of the “developments, projects, AMERICANCHEMICAL SOCIETY, the American Electrochemical processes, and enterprises” with which Doctor Little has Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and been identified, which was followed by the presentation of the Socibti: de Chimie Industrielle. It was founded in 1906 the medal by D. D. Jackson, chairman of the American a t the time of the semi-centennial celebration of the discovery Section, and the address by the medalist himself. of mauve by Sir William H. Perkin, the first medal being The Perkin Medal may be awarded annually by the presented to Sir William himself. American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry for Perkin Medal Awards DATE
AWARDED TO
1906 190s
Sir William H. Perkin J. B. F. Herreshoff
1909
Arno Behr
1910
E . 0.Acheson
1911
Charles M. Hall
1912
Herman Frasch
1913
James Gayley
1914
John W. Hyatt
1915
Edward Weston
1916
Leo H. Baekeland
1917
Ernst Twitchell
1918
Buguste J . Rossi
1919
F. G. Cottrell
1920
Charles F. Chandler
1921
IA’illis R. Whitney
PRINCIPAL ACHIEVEMENTS Pioneer work in synthetic dye industry Improvements in chamber process for sulfuric acid; development of the contact process for sulfuric acid, a roasting furnace for pyrites fines, a copper smelting furnace, and electrolytic refining of copper Work in field of corn products, including grape sugar, crystallized dextrose, mill starch; and utilization of various byproducts Development of Carborundum, artificial graphite, graphitized electrodes, soft graphite, deflocculated graphite, Siloxicon, Aquadag, and Oildag Development of process for manufacture of aluminum b y electrolysis of alumina in fused cryolite bath Contributions t o refining of Canadian and Ohio petroleums and his method of mining sulfur Invention of dry air blast for manufacture of iron Discovery of celluloid and development of its manufacture Achievements in electrodeposition of metals, electrolytic refining of copper, construction of electric generators and motors, arc and incandescent illumination, electric measuring instruments, and the Weston standard cell Discovery of Velox paper, Bakelite, and of other synthetic resins Discovery and development of use of organic sulfo acids as catalysts in hydrolysis of oils and fats for production of fatty acids and glycerol Achievements in field of titanium steel and other titanium alloys Recovery of helium from natural-gas wells and electrical precipitation of suspended particles Work as educator and expert in field of industrial chemistry, as pioneer in field of sanitary chemistry, and for invention of system of assay weights Achievements as research director of General Electric Company, in development of metallized incandescent filaments of Gem lamps, tungsten lamps, gas-filled lamps, insulating materials,
DATE
AWARDED TO
1922
William M. Burton
1923
Milton C. Whitaker
1924
Frederick M. Beckei
1925
Hugh K. Moore
19%
R. B. Moore
1927
John E. Teeple
1928
Irving Langmuir
1929
E. C. Sullivan
1930
Herbert H. Dow
1931
Arthur D. Little
PRINCIPALACHIEVEMENTS alloys, and new apparatus and electric equipment High-temperature process of cracking petroleum under pressure Achievements in manufacture of alcohol, ethyl acetate, acetone, other solvents, and the utilization of by-products Processes for extraction of rare metals from ores, manufacture of calcium carbide, and reduction of rare metals and alloys Development of electrolytic processes for chlorine and caustic soda and recovery and utilization of by-products in pulp and paper industry Achievements in field of helium and radioactive elements Achievement in manufacture of acids, alkalies, chlorine, permanganate, special chemicals; design of plants for same, distillation of hardwoods; utilization of pine oil; and chiefly for recovery of potash and borax a t Searles Lake, Calif. Accomplishments in field of low pressures; conduction, convection, and radiation of heat; vapor pressure of metals; new vacuum pumps and vacuum gages; atomic and crystal structure: electronic and ionic currents; high-power vacuum tubes, theories of absorption, evaporation, and passivity; first to apply argon and nitrogen in tungsten lamps; atomic hydrogen flame for welding; and conception of space charge in thermionic tubes Development of special glasses for heat resistance, for transmission of certain light rays, and for other purposes Developments in bromine and electrolytic production of chlorine and alkali; in manufacture of metallic magnesium and its salts; and in introduction of novel processes for phenol, aniline, and other organic chemicals Work as a pioneer in the application of research to industry and development of processes for chrome-tanned leather, chlorate of potash, cellulose acetate, smoke filters, newsprint from southern woods, recovery of naval stores from lumbering wastes, and vapor-phase cracking of petroleum.
