soon had a family with four children. In 1907, at the age of 26, Staudinger obtained his
“habilitation” in Strasbourg with Johannes Thiele for his work on ketenes, and in
1907 became a professor at Karlsruhe University as the successor to Roland Scholl.
Staudinger was deeply impressed in Karlsruhe by Carl Engler’s personality (Engler
played an important role in the hiring of Staudinger), and their close friendship lasted
until Engler’s death in 1925. Engler served as a role model in terms of organization
and industrial contacts for Staudinger, as well as for Fritz Haber.
In Karsruhe, Staudinger’s work was mainly related to ketenes, diazo compounds,
oxalyl chloride, the preparation of isoprene and butadiene, and the polymerization
of different compounds [1, 2]. In 1907 Carl Engler was 65 years old and very well
known. Engler was on the Board of Directors for BASF, where he influenced the
development of ammonia production via the Haber process [3]. Engler’s main
research interest was mineral oils, but he was also connected to polymers. The
terms “polymers” and “polymeric” had already been coined by J.J. Berzelius in
1833 [4] and were used by Engler. Engler and Kronstein had published a first work
on the polymerization of styrene as early as 1902 [5].
In his lecture notes for a presentation to “Der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft fu ¨r
chemische Industrie” on 7th October 1917 [6], Staudinger remarked on Engler’s
statements that auto-oxidation can speed up polymerization and this was the reason
why Staudinger wanted to study this effect. This study was conducted between
1911–1913 as part of the Ph.D. thesis of Ludwig Carl Lautenschla ¨ger (see below).
To give a feeling for the faculty members at the time we refer to Fig. 1, where the
chemistry faculty of Karlsruhe in 1910/1911 is listed, including their private
addresses. Prior to the introduction of the internet, it was very common for German
universities to mention the private addresses of the professors and university
employees.
Please be aware that this page lists all members of the chemistry faculty of
Karlsruhe in 1910. On pages 72 and 73 of this university calendar (not shown), a
joint colloquium for the students of Engler and Staudinger, taking place every
semester, is listed. Besides Fritz Haber and Staudinger (see Fig. 1), Staudinger’s
Ph.D. student at the time, Leopold Ruzicka, also eventually received a Nobel prize.
After finishing his Ph.D. with Staudinger, Ruzicka continued to work with him as an
assistant. It was again Carl Engler who introduced Staudinger to questions related to
technical chemistry. For example, Engler developed a rheometer and Leo Ubbelohde
(also listed in Fig. 1) from the same faculty developed a very simple and efficient
viscosimeter to study low-viscosity mineral oils. Even today, an “Ubbelohde” is in
use in many polymer laboratory courses. Therefore, there is a good chance that
Staudinger developed his interest in the viscosity of liquids during his time in
Karlsruhe. The measurement of the viscosity of polymer solutions became a very
important scientific tool for him in his later time in Freiburg, especially as the
“Notgemeinschaft der deutschen Wissenschaft” (Hardship Association of German
Science) refused to give him an ultracentrifuge in 1929. Professor Paul Askenasy
(Fig. 1) was the direct successor of Carl Engler in technical chemistry and had
previously taught electrochemistry and battery technology in Karlsruhe between
54
M. Wilhelm
“habilitation” in Strasbourg with Johannes Thiele for his work on ketenes, and in
1907 became a professor at Karlsruhe University as the successor to Roland Scholl.
Staudinger was deeply impressed in Karlsruhe by Carl Engler’s personality (Engler
played an important role in the hiring of Staudinger), and their close friendship lasted
until Engler’s death in 1925. Engler served as a role model in terms of organization
and industrial contacts for Staudinger, as well as for Fritz Haber.
In Karsruhe, Staudinger’s work was mainly related to ketenes, diazo compounds,
oxalyl chloride, the preparation of isoprene and butadiene, and the polymerization
of different compounds [1, 2]. In 1907 Carl Engler was 65 years old and very well
known. Engler was on the Board of Directors for BASF, where he influenced the
development of ammonia production via the Haber process [3]. Engler’s main
research interest was mineral oils, but he was also connected to polymers. The
terms “polymers” and “polymeric” had already been coined by J.J. Berzelius in
1833 [4] and were used by Engler. Engler and Kronstein had published a first work
on the polymerization of styrene as early as 1902 [5].
In his lecture notes for a presentation to “Der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft fu ¨r
chemische Industrie” on 7th October 1917 [6], Staudinger remarked on Engler’s
statements that auto-oxidation can speed up polymerization and this was the reason
why Staudinger wanted to study this effect. This study was conducted between
1911–1913 as part of the Ph.D. thesis of Ludwig Carl Lautenschla ¨ger (see below).
To give a feeling for the faculty members at the time we refer to Fig. 1, where the
chemistry faculty of Karlsruhe in 1910/1911 is listed, including their private
addresses. Prior to the introduction of the internet, it was very common for German
universities to mention the private addresses of the professors and university
employees.
Please be aware that this page lists all members of the chemistry faculty of
Karlsruhe in 1910. On pages 72 and 73 of this university calendar (not shown), a
joint colloquium for the students of Engler and Staudinger, taking place every
semester, is listed. Besides Fritz Haber and Staudinger (see Fig. 1), Staudinger’s
Ph.D. student at the time, Leopold Ruzicka, also eventually received a Nobel prize.
After finishing his Ph.D. with Staudinger, Ruzicka continued to work with him as an
assistant. It was again Carl Engler who introduced Staudinger to questions related to
technical chemistry. For example, Engler developed a rheometer and Leo Ubbelohde
(also listed in Fig. 1) from the same faculty developed a very simple and efficient
viscosimeter to study low-viscosity mineral oils. Even today, an “Ubbelohde” is in
use in many polymer laboratory courses. Therefore, there is a good chance that
Staudinger developed his interest in the viscosity of liquids during his time in
Karlsruhe. The measurement of the viscosity of polymer solutions became a very
important scientific tool for him in his later time in Freiburg, especially as the
“Notgemeinschaft der deutschen Wissenschaft” (Hardship Association of German
Science) refused to give him an ultracentrifuge in 1929. Professor Paul Askenasy
(Fig. 1) was the direct successor of Carl Engler in technical chemistry and had
previously taught electrochemistry and battery technology in Karlsruhe between
54
M. Wilhelm