Up for auction "Polybenzimidazole" Carl "Speed" Marvel Hand Signed 2.25X5 Card. 

ES-4648E

 Carl

Shipp "Speed" Marvel (September

11, 1894 – January 4, 1988) has been considered "one of the world's

outstanding organic chemists. Throughout his career, almost no area

of polymer chemistry escaped his interest. He

made important contributions to U.S. synthetic rubber program during World War

II, and later worked at developing polybenzimidazoles,

temperature-resistant polymers that are used in the aerospace industry, in

fire-fighting equipment, and as a replacement for asbestos. He received numerous awards, including the

1956 Priestley Medal and

the 1986 National Medal of Science,

presented by President Ronald Reagan. Carl Shipp Marvel was born on September

11, 1894, in Waynesville, Illinois,

U.S., to farmers John Thomas Marvel and Mary Lucy Wasson Marvel. An uncle urged

him to study chemistry. Marvel attended Illinois Wesleyan

University from 1911 to 1915. He graduated with an A.B. and

M.S. in chemistry. On the recommendation of his advisor, Alfred W.

Homberger, Marvel obtained a $250 scholarship to the University of Illinois.

Marvel had to take extra classes to "catch up" during his first

year at University of Illinois. He obtained the nickname

"Speed" early on in his career as a chemist from his habit of rushing

to breakfast after studying all night. While at Illinois, Marvel became a

friend of fellow student Wallace Carothers. Marvel received his M.A. in Chemistry from

the University of Illinois in 1916.

Marvel's studies were interrupted by World War I. As the war cut off previous sources of supply, it

became difficult to obtain many of the chemicals used in synthetic organic

chemistry and related industrial processes. Clarence Derick set up the Organic

Chemical Manufactures unit at Illinois to make and sell chemicals that had

previously been imported from Germany. From 1916 to 1919 Marvel worked at the

production unit under Roger Adams. His work in

the Organic Chemical Manufactures unit gave him extensive experience in

chemical preparation. Students were required to take careful notebook

records of each preparation, including the cost of chemicals, apparatus, and

the time needed. Marvel was known for his ability to modify poor procedures to

make them more effective, and to describe procedures so that others could

follow them. Many of these laboratory procedures were later published, first as

pamphlets on Organic Chemical Reagents, by Roger Adams, O. Kamm,

and C. S. Marvel, and later in the journal Organic Syntheses.

Marvel was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. He was initiated into Alpha Chi Sigma at the Zeta Chapter, University

of Illinois, in 1918. In 1919, Marvel returned to

graduate study full-time, supported by a fellowship from DuPont. Marvel received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the

University of Illinois in 1920, working with department head William Albert Noyes. His

thesis was A Study of the Possible Asymmetry of Aliphatic Diazo

Compounds.