However, this part of the story illustrates that the concepts developed by H. S. had
the strongest impact on research and development in industry and led to revolutionary
activities in the production of polymer-based materials. Among others, Wallace
H. Carothers was a careful reader of Staudinger’s publications [1, 2]. The two
scientists actually met once in 1937 [2] and seemed to have understood each other
very well. Another record describing the tremendous impact and response of the
concepts of H. S. on industrial developments is to be found in the book by Ernst
Trommsdorff [11] on the achievements of Otto Ro ¨hm, the founder of Ro ¨hm and Haas
Company. This company did significant work in the industrial development of
acrylate chemistry and materials based on this chemistry, all as a consequence of
applying the ideas of H. S.
In summary, although H. S. always felt himself to be a true innovator in organic
chemistry, this innovation found little applause by his contemporaries working as
organic chemists in academia. It needed the wisdom and thought of the Nobel Prize
committee to point to the enormous importance of Staudinger’s work in the
development of modern chemistry, in particular to the chemical industry as a
supplier of modern materials. It was the success in industry that then spurred the
development of a scientific community of polymer scientists (and engineers) as a
branch of modern science in its own right.
References
1. Morawetz H (1985) Polymers: the origins and growth of a science. Wiley, New York
2. Furukawa Y (1998) Inventing polymer science: Staudinger, Carothers and the emergence of
macromolecular chemistry. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia
3. Priesner C (1980) H. Staudinger, H. Mark and K. H. Meyer: Thesen zu Gro ¨ße und Struktur der
Makromoleku ¨le. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim
4. Deichmann U (2001) Flu ¨chten, Mitmachen, Vergessen! Chemiker und Biochemiker in der
NS-Zeit. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
5. Lo ¨ser B (1996) Zur Gru ¨ndungsgeschichte und Entwicklung des Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institutes fu ¨r
Faserstoffchemie in Berlin-Dahlem (1914/19–1934). In: Vom Brocke B, Laitko H (eds) Die
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft und ihre Institute: Studien zu ihrer Geschichte: das HarnackPrinzip. de Gruyter, Berlin, pp 275–302
6. Go ¨bel W (1996) Max Bergmann und das Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut fu ¨r Lederforschung in
Dresden. In: Vom Brocke B, Laitko H (eds) Die Kaiser-Wilhelm-/Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
und ihre Institute: Studien zu ihrer Geschichte: das Harnack-Prinzip. de Gruyter, Berlin,
pp 303–318
7. Schuller H (1994) Die Geschichte der Polymerforschung in der BASF von den Anfa ¨ngen bis
1952. Verlag ZK, Ludwigshafen
8. Meyer KH, Mark HF (1930) Aufbau der hochpolymeren Substanzen. Hirschwaldsche
Buchhandlung, Berlin
9. Meyer KH, Mark HF (1930) Der Aufbau der hochpolymeren organischen Naturstoffe.
Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig
10. Staudinger H (1932) Die hochmolekularen organischen Verbindungen: Kautschuk und Cellulose.
Julius Springer, Berlin
11. Meyer KH, Mark HF (1937) Hochpolymere Chemie. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft,
Leipzig
12. Trommsdorff E (1976) Dr. Otto Ro ¨hm: Chemiker und Unternehmer. Econ, Du ¨sseldorf
52
G. Wegner
the strongest impact on research and development in industry and led to revolutionary
activities in the production of polymer-based materials. Among others, Wallace
H. Carothers was a careful reader of Staudinger’s publications [1, 2]. The two
scientists actually met once in 1937 [2] and seemed to have understood each other
very well. Another record describing the tremendous impact and response of the
concepts of H. S. on industrial developments is to be found in the book by Ernst
Trommsdorff [11] on the achievements of Otto Ro ¨hm, the founder of Ro ¨hm and Haas
Company. This company did significant work in the industrial development of
acrylate chemistry and materials based on this chemistry, all as a consequence of
applying the ideas of H. S.
In summary, although H. S. always felt himself to be a true innovator in organic
chemistry, this innovation found little applause by his contemporaries working as
organic chemists in academia. It needed the wisdom and thought of the Nobel Prize
committee to point to the enormous importance of Staudinger’s work in the
development of modern chemistry, in particular to the chemical industry as a
supplier of modern materials. It was the success in industry that then spurred the
development of a scientific community of polymer scientists (and engineers) as a
branch of modern science in its own right.
References
1. Morawetz H (1985) Polymers: the origins and growth of a science. Wiley, New York
2. Furukawa Y (1998) Inventing polymer science: Staudinger, Carothers and the emergence of
macromolecular chemistry. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia
3. Priesner C (1980) H. Staudinger, H. Mark and K. H. Meyer: Thesen zu Gro ¨ße und Struktur der
Makromoleku ¨le. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim
4. Deichmann U (2001) Flu ¨chten, Mitmachen, Vergessen! Chemiker und Biochemiker in der
NS-Zeit. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
5. Lo ¨ser B (1996) Zur Gru ¨ndungsgeschichte und Entwicklung des Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institutes fu ¨r
Faserstoffchemie in Berlin-Dahlem (1914/19–1934). In: Vom Brocke B, Laitko H (eds) Die
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft und ihre Institute: Studien zu ihrer Geschichte: das HarnackPrinzip. de Gruyter, Berlin, pp 275–302
6. Go ¨bel W (1996) Max Bergmann und das Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut fu ¨r Lederforschung in
Dresden. In: Vom Brocke B, Laitko H (eds) Die Kaiser-Wilhelm-/Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
und ihre Institute: Studien zu ihrer Geschichte: das Harnack-Prinzip. de Gruyter, Berlin,
pp 303–318
7. Schuller H (1994) Die Geschichte der Polymerforschung in der BASF von den Anfa ¨ngen bis
1952. Verlag ZK, Ludwigshafen
8. Meyer KH, Mark HF (1930) Aufbau der hochpolymeren Substanzen. Hirschwaldsche
Buchhandlung, Berlin
9. Meyer KH, Mark HF (1930) Der Aufbau der hochpolymeren organischen Naturstoffe.
Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig
10. Staudinger H (1932) Die hochmolekularen organischen Verbindungen: Kautschuk und Cellulose.
Julius Springer, Berlin
11. Meyer KH, Mark HF (1937) Hochpolymere Chemie. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft,
Leipzig
12. Trommsdorff E (1976) Dr. Otto Ro ¨hm: Chemiker und Unternehmer. Econ, Du ¨sseldorf
52
G. Wegner