Warren G. Schlinger

Warren G. Schlinger begins the interview by tracing his family heritage. As a boy, Schlinger's family moved around in California to accommodate his father's employment with the United Parcel Service of America, Inc. It was in the sixth grade, Schlinger asserts, that his career began in earnest. His introduction to chemistry came in the form of a Gilbert Chemistry Set owned by a friend. It was not until the eleventh grade that he was formally taught in the subject, and by then he was already collaborating with classmates on experiments. While a young man, Schlinger began to attend public lectures at California Institute of Technology where he eventually was accepted and completed his education, earning a doctorate in mechanical and chemical engineering. After four years of post-doctoral research with Bruce H. Sage, Schlinger moved into the world of industrial research with Texaco, Inc. Schlinger spent the entirety of his career at the research lab in Montebello, California as an innovative and enthusiastic force within the West Coast branch of research and technology at the oil company. Schlinger recollects the history of Texaco, and especially, of the Montebello research facility. He shares aspects of his private life—stories of meeting his wife Katharine, the successes of their three children, and the Warren and Katharine Schlinger Foundation that the Schlinger family established and manages. He concludes the interview by reflecting on his career and the evolution of chemical engineering at Caltech.

California Institute of Technology

1949 - 1953 Instructor and Research Fellow

Texaco, Inc.

1953 - 1957 Chemical Engineer

Texaco, Inc.

1957 - 1961 Senior Chemical Engineer

Texaco, Inc.

1961 - 1969 Supervisor, Research

Texaco, Inc.

1969 - 1981 Manager

Texaco, Inc.

1981 - 1987 Associate Director, Gasification

Texaco, Inc.

1987 Consultant

Arnold Thackray

Arnold Thackray founded the Chemical Heritage Foundation and served the organization as president for 25 years. He is currently CHF’s chancellor. Thackray received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history of science from Cambridge University. He has held appointments at Cambridge, Oxford University, and Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In 1983 Thackray received the Dexter Award from the American Chemical Society for outstanding contributions to the history of chemistry. He served for more than a quarter century on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the founding chairman of the Department of History and Sociology of Science and is currently the Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus.