Paul john flory biography

Flory (born June 19, 1910, Sterling, Ill., U.S.—died Sept.
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Paul John Flory (June 19, 1910 – September 9, 1985) was an American chemist and Nobel laureate who was known for his work in the field of polymers.

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Paul John Flory

Many consider Paul Flory to be the "founder of polymer science" for his pioneering work which placed the physical chemistry of polymers on a sound scientific footing. Paul Flory was born in Sterling, Illinois in 1910. Flory's interest in chemistry began when he attended Manchester College for his undergraduate degree, which he received in 1931. He studied for his Ph.D. at The Ohio State University, completing it in 1934.

Dr. Flory took at position at the DuPont Company, working in a group headed by Dr. Wallace H. Carothers, inventor of nylon and neoprene. Through this association, he became interested in exploration of the fundamentals of polymerization and polymeric substances. Through the course of his career, Dr. Flory spent time working in both academia and industry. Flory developed theories describing the behavior of polymers in solution, the kinetics of other polymerization reactions, the formation of crosslinked systems, and rubber elasticity. He also pioneered the use of infrared spectroscopy as a tool for determining the chemical structure of polymers

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Paul John Flory

1910-1985

Flory was awarded the 1974 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his fundamental achievements, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistry of macromolecules". After obtaining the Ph.D. at the Ohio State University (1934) Flory joined Carothers' (see portrait) research group at the DuPont company, where he was introduced to polymer research. Kinetic studies of condensation polymerization enabled him to calculate the "most probable distribution" of molecular sizes in the polymer by assuming, contrary to conventional wisdom of the time, that reactivity is largely independent of molecular chain length. Other major contributions include the concept of "chain transfer" in the kinetics of vinyl polymerization, a statistical theory of gel formation from monomers with more than two functional groups, the Flory-Huggins theory of polymer solution thermodynamics, and the "excluded volume effect" which causes significant expansion of polymer coils over what had been previously theorized, theories of rubber elasticity and of liquid crystals, and many

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Paul Flory

American chemist (1910–1985)

Paul Flory
Flory in 1973
Born	Paul John Flory (1910-06-19)June 19, 1910 Sterling, Illinois, U.S.
Died	September 9, 1985(1985-09-09) (aged 75) Big Sur, California, U.S.
Nationality	America
Alma mater	Manchester University (Indiana) and Ohio State University
Known for	Polymer chemistry Polymer physics Flory convention Flory–Fox equation Flory–Huggins solution theory Flory–Rehner equation Flory–Schulz distribution Flory–Stockmayer theory Random sequential adsorption Star-shaped polymer Self-avoiding walk
Awards	Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1974) National Medal of Science (1974) Priestley Medal (1974) Perkin Medal (1977)^[1] Elliott Cresson Medal (1971) Peter Debye Award (1969) Charles Goodyear Medal (1968) William H. Nichols Medal (1962) Colwyn medal (1954)
Scientific career
Fields	Physical chemistry of polymers
Institutions	DuPont, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University
Doctoral advisor	Herrick L. Johnston

Paul John Flory (Ju