Ray Putnam Dinsmore (24 April 1893 – 26 October 1979) was a rubber scientist, known for pioneering the use of

rayon Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose ...

as a reinforcing material in auto tires. In 1928, Dinsmore patented the first water-emulsion synthetic rubber in the United States. The material later became a staple of the rubber industry during the World War II shortage of natural rubber. Dinsmore worked for the

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, ...

and developed Chemigum, an early

synthetic rubber A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About 32-million metric tons of rubbers are produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubbe ...

. Dinsmore hired noted rubber physicist

Samuel D. Gehman Samuel Dwight Gehman (December 7, 1903 – June 1, 1992) was a Goodyear physicist noted for development of a modulus-based measurement of rubber's glass transition temperature. Personal Gehman was born on December 7, 1903. He died in Akron, O ...

. Dinsmore served as Chairman of the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society in 1927. He received the 1947

Colwyn medal Colwyn was a local government district with borough status from 1974 to 1996, being one of six districts in the county of Clwyd, north-east Wales. History The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered ...

and was named the 1955

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 c ...

ist. Dinsmore was educated at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

, completing a degree in chemical engineering at the age of 21. He entered the rubber industry in 1914. He was Vice President of Research and Development (1943-1961) and a Member of the Board of Directors (1960-1964) at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. He died on October 26, 1979.

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Interview
with Ray Dinsmore. Polymer scientists and engineers U.S. Synthetic Rubber Program 1979 deaths Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni 1893 births Presidents of the American Institute of Chemists Tire industry people Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company people {{US-scientist-stub