The Ralph Connor Memorial Lecture was created by the Chemical Heritage Foundation to showcase periodic addresses on the role of research in the development of technology and industry by eminent practitioners in the chemical and molecular sciences.

2008-09 Lecture
The 2008-09 Ralph Connor Memorial Lecture was delivered by Joseph A. Miller, Jr., executive vice president and chief technology officer of Corning Incorporated, the October 2008 meeting of the Joseph Priestley Society. Miller discussed the role of R&D in a company that grows through innovation a lecture entitled "Growth through New Product Innovation—The Challenge of Balancing the Pipeline."

Miller retired from DuPont as chief technology officer and then joined Corning Incorporated in July 2001. He was named to his current position in March 2002. He began his career with DuPont in 1966 as a research chemist in polymer science. He also held a variety of positions in research and development, manufacturing, business, and marketing. Miller received a bachelor of science degree from Virginia Military Institute and a doctorate in chemistry from Penn State University. He is a member of numerous science and technology organizations, including the National Academy of Engineering and the Industrial Research Institute, and he is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is on the board of directors of Greatbatch, Inc., and Dow Corning.


About Ralph Connor (1907–1990)
Ralph Connor was a director of research and chairman of the board of directors at the Rohm and Haas Company. Before joining Rohm and Haas, he served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania and as a division chief on the National Defense Research Committee in World War II. He received many honors, including Great Britain's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom, the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Chemists, the Priestley Medal of the American Chemical Society, and the Chemical Industry Medal of the Society of Chemical Industry, American Section. Connor, who earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, is best known for his research in the fields of organic chemistry, catalysis, synthesis, explosives, and reaction mechanisms. He also coauthored an organic chemistry text with Reynold C. Fuson, Charles C. Price, and Harold R. Snyder.

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Past Ralph Connor Memorial Lecturers

Joseph Priestley Society