Nathaniel C. Wyeth (October 24, 1911 – July 4, 1990) was an American

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. He is best known for creating a variant of

polyethylene terephthalate Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibre, fibres for clothing, packaging, conta ...

that could withstand the pressure of carbonated liquids. Made of recyclable PET plastic, lighter than

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

and virtually unbreakable, Wyeth's invention is used widely today for both carbonated and non-carbonated drinks.

Early life and education

Born in Asgard near Chadds Ford, he displayed an engineering talent throughout his youth. Wyeth held a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Wyeth is also known as the brother of painters

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist and one of the best-known American artists of the middle 20th century. Though he considered himself to be an "abstractionist," Wyeth was primarily a realis ...

, Carolyn Wyeth, and Henriette Wyeth Hurd, the father of musician Howard Wyeth, and as the son of artist and illustrator N. C. Wyeth. Wyeth often called himself "the other Wyeth" because N.C. and Andrew Wyeth were so well known.

Career

Nathaniel Wyeth joined

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

in 1936 as a field engineer. By 1963 he was the company's first engineering fellow and when he retired in 1976, was DuPont's first senior engineering fellow, the company's highest technical position. In 1967, he pondered whether soda (carbonated drinks) could be stored in

plastic bottle A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo or milk. They range in sizes, from very ...

s. After experimenting with a plastic detergent bottle that proved incapable of withstanding the forces of pressurized liquids, he realized that a much stronger material would be required. He initially experimented with

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

, but ultimately settled on

as the material and received the patent in 1973. Wyeth received the 1981 Society of Plastics Engineers international award for outstanding achievement, and was inducted into the Society of the Plastics Industry Hall of Fame in 1986. He was a fellow of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

. Wyeth was the first person named senior engineering fellow at DuPont, the company's highest technical position. Nathaniel invented or co-invented twenty-five products. and In 1990, Wyeth was award DuPont's Lavoisier Award for Technical Achievement. Wyeth's other innovations included improvements to manufacturing process, plastics, textiles, electronics and mechanical devices.

Personal life

He married Caroline Pyle (

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator, Painting, painter, and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life ...

's niece) in 1937. Local residents were inclined to think Caroline and Wyeth's father, N. C. Wyeth, carried on a relationship, though biographer David Michaelis found little evidence to suggest it. Caroline died in 1973 and in 1984 Wyeth married Jean Grady. Wyeth and Caroline had six sons.New York Times: "N. C. Wyeth 3d, Edith Gluckman Marry on Coast
July 17, 1972 and one daughter. Newell, their oldest child, died in 1945 alongside his grandfather,

N.C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was a student of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

(Wyeth's father), when their car stalled on a railroad crossing near their home and they were struck by a milk train.

Notes

References

MIT Inventor of the Week, Aug. 1998
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External links