In 1997 the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) published Chemical Achievers: The Human Face of the Chemical Sciences, the book by CHF historian Mary Ellen Bowden on which this Web site is based. The book answered a request from high school and college teachers of introductory chemistry for a source of pictorial material about famous chemical scientists that would be suitable as a teaching aid. To answer the request, CHF collected biographical information and images into one convenient volume for teachers.
In 2000 CHF brought the print book to the World Wide Web. This first electronic incarnation of Chemical Achievers was developed by Mark Michalovic, an educational consultant for CHF. Now, in 2005, we bring you a new, fresh version of the Chemical Achievers Web site, with an updated design and added features, such as an image index and a quick-access name index.
The images on this site come from the pictorial collections at CHF and at many other institutions. For the image index and information on using these images, see Using Images.
Over the years, corrections and updates have been made to the text, so there may be slight variations from the original book. In addition, some pictures that were used in the book do not appear on the Web site, and vice versa. We welcome suggestions for improvements in our presentation and ways to make Chemical Achievers more useful. Send comments and suggestions to webmaster@chemheritage.org.
Credits for the Web Site
Mary Ellen Bowden, Author
Maskar Design, Web Designers
Gwen A. Burda, Web Editor
Patricia Wieland, Proofreader and Word Processor
Mark Michalovic, Image Scans and Image Permissions for the Web
Acknowledgments for the Book
Chemical Achievers was underwritten in part by educational grants from Glaxo Wellcome and the Shell Oil Company Foundation. The concept was suggested by chemistry teachers participating in a summer workshop, sponsored by the Chemical Heritage Foundation and generously supported by the Dibner Fund, the Henkel Corporation, the Monsanto Company, and Union Carbide Corporation. Mary Ellen Bowden, the author of the book, gratefully acknowledges the following individuals for their contributions: Derek Davenport and William Jensen, for teaching the workshop and drawing up the original list of potential subjects for the book; historians Mi Gyung Kim, Theodor Benfey, Arthur Metzner, and Mark Albers for their comments and suggestions; Howard Sauertieg for research assistance; Jean Hunsberger for word processing assistance; Thelma McCarthy, Marjorie Gapp, Daniel Flaumenhaft, Liesl Allingham, and the many curators, archivists, and public relations specialists for their assistance with acquiring the photographs and images, especially John Pollack of the Edgar Fahs Smith Collection, University of Pennsylvania; editors Patricia Wieland and Frances Kohler; designer Sylvia Barkan; and the living chemists and chemical engineers profiled in this book who patiently answered questions and provided photographs of themselves.