Oral history interview with Frank R. Mayo
- 1981-Jan-21
Oral history interview with Frank R. Mayo
- 1981-Jan-21
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.In this interview Dr. Frank Mayo first discusses his educational career as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Chicago. He then traces his professional career as a research chemist with Du Pont, an instructor at the University of Chicago where his primary role was the supervision of Morris Kharasch's research group, a group leader at U.S. Rubber during and after World War II, a research associate at General Electric, and finally, a fellow at SRI International. He discusses his closest associates, explains his scientific work, and comments on the rise of free radical chemistry and the value of applying basic research to practical problems.
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About the Interviewer
Leon Gortler is a professor of chemistry at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He holds AB and MS degrees from the University of Chicago and a PhD from Harvard University where he worked with Paul Bartlett. He has long been interested in the history of chemistry, in particular the development of physical organic chemistry, and has conducted over fifty oral and videotaped interviews with major American chemists.
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| Oral history number | 0031 |
Related Items
Interviewee biographical information
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Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | University of Chicago | BS | Chemistry |
| 1931 | University of Chicago | PhD | Chemistry |
Professional Experience
University of Chicago
- 1931 to 1932 Lilly Fellow
- 1936 to 1942 Instructor
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company
- 1933 to 1935 Research Chemist
United States Rubber Company
- 1942 to 1950 Group Leader, Research Chemist
General Electric Company
- 1950 to 1956 Research Associate
SRI International
- 1956 to 1982 Scientific Fellow
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 1967 | Award in Polymer Chemistry, American Chemical Society |
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Complete transcript of interview
The published version of the transcript may diverge from the interview audio due to edits to the transcript made by staff of the Center for Oral History, often at the request of the interviewee, during the transcript review process.