Gustavus John Esselen (1888–1952) was an American

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

notable for his work with

anhydride An acid anhydride is a type of chemical compound derived by the removal of water molecules from an acid (chemistry), acid. In organic chemistry, organic acid anhydrides contain the functional group . Organic acid anhydrides often form when one ...

curing agent development and improving

polyvinyl butyral Polyvinyl butyral (or PVB) is a resin mostly used for applications that require strong binding, optical clarity, adhesion to many surfaces, toughness and flexibility. It is prepared from polyvinyl alcohol by reaction with butyraldehyde. The m ...

for commercialized

laminated glass Laminated glass is a type of safety glass consisting of two or more layers of glass with one or more thin polymer interlayers between them which prevent the glass from breaking into large sharp pieces. Breaking produces a characteristic "spider ...

. During his career, he was part 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 ...

(ACS) for 43 years, serving in roles including chairman of the Northeastern Section and councilor and direction of the national organization. He was also chairman of the American Section of the

Society of Chemical Industry The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Offices The society's headquarters is in Belgrave Square, London. There are semi-in ...

between 1919 and 1951.

Biography

Born in

Roxbury, Boston Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

, Massachusetts, Esselen studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where he was awarded the A.B. (

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

) in chemistry in 1909 and a doctorate in 1912. Until 1921 he was a member of the research staff of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

and then of

Arthur D. Little Arthur D. Little is an international management consulting firm originally headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1886 and formally incorporated in 1909 by Arthur Dehon Little, an MIT chemist who extended the applicatio ...

. There with

Little Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

and Wallace Murray he contrived to make a 'silk' purse from reconstituted collagen extracted from a sow's ear. In 1930 he founded Gustavus J. Esselen, Inc., which, following a merger, became Esselen Research Division of United States Testing Co., Inc. Among the successful projects for industrial clients he was involved with was the development of

curing agents for

epoxy resins Epoxy is the family of basic components or Curing (chemistry), cured end products of epoxy Resin, resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide fun ...

and

as an improved material for the subsequent commercialization of

for use in vehicles etc. More than 40 U.S. patents were issued as a result of his research efforts. Esselen was a member of the

for 43 years, twice chairman of the Northeastern Section (1922–23) and served as councilor and director of the national organization. From 1919 to 1951 he was chairman of the American Section of the

. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a reserve officer in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Chemical Warfare Service The Chemical Corps is the branch of the United States Army tasked with defending against and using chemical weapon, chemical, biological agent, biological, radiological weapon, radiological, and nuclear weapon, nuclear (Chemical, biological, r ...

. During the war he was a committee chairman with the

Office of Scientific Research and Development The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May ...

Esselen Award

In 1987, the

established the Esselen Award in his honor. The Esselen Award for Chemistry in the public interest is one of the most prestigious honors provided by the Northeastern Section of the ACS. The award of $5,000 annually recognizes "a chemist whose scientific and technical work has contributed to the public well-being, and has thereby communicated positive values of the chemical profession." Notable recipients include

F. Sherwood Rowland Frank Sherwood "Sherry" Rowland (June 28, 1927 – March 10, 2012) was an American Nobel laureate and a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. His research was on atmospheric chemistry and chemical kinetics. His bes ...

Mario Molina Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (19 March 19437 October 2020) was a Mexican physical chemist. He played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, and was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role ...

Bruce Ames Bruce Nathan Ames (December 16, 1928 – October 5, 2024) was an American biochemist who was a professor of biochemistry and Molecular Biology Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and was a senior scientist at Children's Hospital ...

, Kyriacos C. Nicolaou, Robert S. Langer, Joseph M. DeSimone,

Jean Fréchet Jean M.J. Fréchet (born August 1944) is a French-American chemist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for his work on polymers including polymer-supported chemistry, chemically amplified photore ...

Ronald Breslow Ronald Charles David Breslow (March 14, 1931 – October 25, 2017) was an American chemist from Rahway, New Jersey. He was University Professor at Columbia University, where he was based in the Department of Chemistry and affiliated with the Depa ...

and

Bruce Roth Bruce D. Roth is an American organic and medicinal chemist who trained at Saint Joseph's College, Iowa State University and the University of Rochester, and, at the age of 32, discovered atorvastatin, the statin-class drug sold as Lipitor that w ...

. The 2011 winner was Arthur J. Nozik.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esselen, Gustavus 1888 births 1952 deaths 20th-century American chemists Harvard College alumni Scientists from Boston Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni