Paul John Flory, Chemistry

Paul Flory (1910-1985) received his PhD in chemistry from The Ohio State University and is widely recognized as the founder of the science of polymers.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1974 not for any single specific discovery, but, more generally, “for his fundamental achievements, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistry of macromolecules.”

After graduating he worked at DuPont, University of Cincinnati and Standard Oil. He joined the Stanford University Department of Chemistry in 1961, where he stayed until his retirement in 1975. In addition to his Nobel Prize, Flory was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and received the National Medal of Science in 1974.