Carl S. Marvel

In this interview, Carl Marvel speaks about his life and career as a chemist. He begins by recalling his youth on a farm and his early education. Considerations of his undergraduate days at Illinois Wesleyan College and of his graduate studies at the University of Illinois follow. Marvel then describes his first teaching job at Illinois, his colleagues, and the operation of the chemistry department. In the central portion of the interview, Marvel provides extended discussion of his consulting work for DuPont, his direction of the federal government's program on synthetic rubber during World War II, and his research on anti-malarial and chemical warfare agents. He then talks about his postwar research in polymer chemistry. Marvel concludes with an appraisal of his contributions to chemistry and remarks about his family, hobbies, and involvement with the American Chemical Society.

Du Pont

1928 - 1988 Consultant

United States Rubber Reserve Corporation

1941 - 1944 Director, synthesis program

National Research Council

1944 - 1946 Chairman, panel to synthesize anti-malarial drugs

National Advisory Health Council

1945 - 1947 Consultant

National Science Foundation

1952 - 1954 Consultant

National Research Council

1954 - 1964 Consultant

University of Illinois

1920 - 1921 Instructor, Department of Chemistry

University of Illinois

1921 - 1923 Associate, Department of Chemistry

University of Illinois

1923 - 1927 Assistant professor, Department of Chemistry

University of Illinois

1927 - 1930 Associate professor, Department of Chemistry

University of Illinois

1930 - 1953 Professor of Organic Chemistry

University of Illinois

1953 - 1961 Research professor, Department of Chemistry

University of Illinois

1961 - 1988 Emeritus research professor, Department of Chemistry

University of Arizona

1961 - 1988 Professor, Department of Chemistry

Leon B. Gortler

Leon Gortler is a professor of chemistry at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He holds A.B. and M.S. degrees from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from Harvard University where he worked with Paul Bartlett. He has long been interested in the history of chemistry, in particular the development of physical organic chemistry, and has conducted over fifty oral and videotaped interviews with major American chemists.

Charles C. Price

Charles C. Price was a chemist who received his bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College in 1934 and his Ph.D. degree from Harvard University two years later. He taught at the University of Illinois, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Pennsylvania. His research focused on the mechanisms of organic reactions and the synthesis of organic compounds. Price published almost 300 articles, wrote seven books, and edited several chemical journals. He also consulted extensively and was president of the American Chemical Society.