Institutions DuPont Co Institution DuPont | Died January 9, 2008 Name William Drinkard | |
Born 11 May 1929 ( 1929-05-11 ) Notable awards Lavoisier MedalACS Award for Industrial Chemistry Alma mater University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
William Charles Drinkard, Jr. (May 11, 1929 - January 9, 2008) was an American industrial chemist and the inventor of the catalytic hydrocyanation process for making adiponitrile, a key intermediate in nylon production.
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Scientific education
Drinkard received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Huntingdon College in 1950, followed by a Masters of Science at Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1952. He earned his Ph.D. degree at the University of Illinois in 1956. Initially, he was an Assistant Professor at UCLA prior to becoming an industrial research scientist at the DuPont Co at the DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware.
Scientific career
With impetus from research director Frank McGrew, Drinkard invented a robust nickel-based catalyst system with a co-catalyst that formed the basis of an industrial preparation of adiponitrile based on addition of hydrogen cyanide to butadiene. Further refinements of Drinkard’s initial discovery by other members of DuPont's research staff led to a commercially viable catalyst composition, one that afforded significant cost advantage over the next best alternative. This innovation provided an important competitive advantage.
Drinkard was awarded the Lavoisier Medal of the DuPont Company in 1997. Additionally, he received the American Chemical Society's Award for Industrial Chemistry in 1998.