William Joseph Sparks (February 26, 1905 – October 23, 1976) was a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

at Exxon. As an inventor, his most important contribution was the development of

butyl rubber Butyl rubber, sometimes just called "butyl", is a synthetic rubber, a copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. The abbreviation IIR stands for isobutylene isoprene rubber. Polyisobutylene, also known as "PIB" or polyisobutene, (C4H8)n, is the ho ...

. Sparks served as president of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

in 1966 and chairman of the National Research Council's Division of Chemistry and Technology from July 1953 to June 1955. Sparks was the holder of 145 patents. Sparks was posthumously inducted to the American Inventor Hall of Fame in the Spring of 2016. Sparks was a firm believer in the benefits that innovation could provide to society. However, he was concerned that the education of the upcoming scientific generation did not include the awakening of the social consciousness. He stated that "the scientific profession has become much larger than medicine, law or the clergy. Yet, many young scientists are not taught by their professors to feel an obligation to society in their work." Sparks believed that good science should benefit the world in which we live, contending that "Science without purpose is an art without responsibility."

Honors and awards

*1954 Awarded

American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal The American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal is the highest award of the American Institute of Chemists The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) is an organization founded in 1923 with the goal of advancing the chemistry profession in the Uni ...

*1963 Awarded

Charles Goodyear Medal The Charles Goodyear Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society, Rubber Division. Established in 1941, the award is named after Charles Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization, and consists of a gold medal, a framed ...

for the functionality of elastomers. *1964 Awarded the

Perkin Medal The Perkin Medal is an award given annually by the Society of Chemical Industry (American Section) to a scientist residing in America for an "innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development." It is considered the ...

*1965 Awarded the Priestley Medal *1965 Awarded the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

*1967 Elected to

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

*1970 Awarded Chemical Pioneer Award *The ACS Rubber Division's Sparks-Thomas award is named after Sparks and Butyl rubber co-inventor Robert M. Thomas. *2016 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee

References

1905 births 1976 deaths Polymer scientists and engineers ExxonMobil people 20th-century American chemists {{US-chemist-stub