Paul John Flory
Flory, Paul John (1910-1985), an American physical chemist, was awarded the 1974 Nobel Prize in chemistry. He received the award for his research into macromolecules (large, complex molecules made up of many smaller molecules). An important area of Flory's work was the chemistry of long chains of molecules called polymers.
Flory's first research focused mostly on photochemistry (the study of the chemical action of light) and spectroscopy, which enables scientists to determine the composition of molecules by analyzing the light they emit when heated. Later, Flory began researching the physical chemistry of polymers. He studied their properties in solution and in bulk. His research revealed the connections between the chemical structures of the individual polymer molecules and their physical properties. Some of the polymers that Flory worked on–in particular, nylon and synthetic rubber–proved to be of great commercial importance.
Paul John Flory was born in Sterling, Illinois. He was educated at Ohio State University and worked briefly as a research associate at the University of Cincinnati. He worked as a research chemist for various manufacturing companies, including E. I. DuPont de Nemours, the Esso Laboratories of the Standard Oil Development Company (now the Exxon Research and Engineering Company), and the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. From 1957 through 1961, he was director of research at the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in Pittsburgh. He taught at Stanford University from 1961 to 1975.
Flory was an active supporter of human rights, and after he received the Nobel Prize, he used his prominence to publicize human rights issues, especially the political persecution of scientists in the Soviet Union.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Flory received many other prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Science and the American Chemical Society's Priestly Medal.