Inventor Name
Othmer, Donald Frederick
Repository
Chemical Heritage Foundation
Othmer Library
315 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-873-8265
http://othmerlib.chemheritage.org/
Physical Description
169 linear feet
Summary
Donald Frederick Othmer was born on 11 May 1904 in Omaha, Nebraska to Frederick and Freda Othmer. As he grew he developed an interest in technology and chemistry. It did not take long for Othmer to realize he would pursue a career in chemical engineering. He received a scholarship that enabled him to attend Chicago’s Armour Institute of Technology in 1921. After two years at the Armour Institute, he withdrew and returned to Nebraska to attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1924. In less than a year, he was accepted at the University of Michigan, where he completed both his master’s degree and his Ph.D. After receiving his doctorate in 1927, Othmer took a job working for the Eastman Kodak Company, in Rochester, New York, where he began his initial work with acetic acid and distillation, two subjects which would be lifelong projects for him. In 1931, Othmer left Eastman Kodak, and began working on his own, in the field of distillation. However, owing to the Great Depression, the economy could not offer a steady income in this kind of work. As few had money to invest in Othmer’s new distillation processes or stills, he was forced to seek employment elsewhere. Despite the economic hardships of the time, he received two job offers, one at Standard Oil of New Jersey and one at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (now Polytechnic University). Othmer saw more freedom to act as an inventor, consultant, and entrepreneur in a career in teaching, than in one of working for a large company. Therefore, in the fall of 1932, he went to work as a professor for the Chemical Engineering Department of Polytechnic University in Brooklyn. He remained an active part of this department until his death in 1995. The freedom of the teaching profession allowed Othmer to begin a career as a private consultant, an occupation he pursued for the duration of his life. Othmer consulted for hundreds of companies both in the United States and in various locations around the world, which involved considerable amounts of travel, particularly to the Far East. Perhaps his most notable contributions to the field of chemical engineering were in the areas of acetic acid recovery, synthetic fibers, desalination, distillation, methanol, wallboard, and sugar refining. He helped create the technology necessary for the purification and separation of chemicals and for the creation of paint, fresh water, synthetic fiber, plastic, and refined fuel. Othmer gained fame by receiving over 150 patents worldwide for the creation of and improvements in various chemical processes. One of his most notable inventions was the “Othmer Still,” a basic laboratory device for the determination of vapor-liquid equilibrium data that he developed while working out the problems of acetic acid recovery. Despite his busy schedule of teaching, consulting, writing, traveling, and inventing, Othmer found time to act as an integral member of several chemical societies and organizations, including the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemists, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Institute of Consulting Engineers, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He also served as the president of the esteemed Chemists’ Club. The papers of Donald F. Othmer offer a glimpse into the life and work of one of the chemical engineering field’s most accomplished figures. With nearly 170 linear feet of papers, photographs, and artifacts, this collection presents a well-rounded view of a man who was a distinguished professor, a professional consultant, a prolific chemical engineer, a skilled author, a respected leader in his field, a devoted husband, a world traveler, a savvy investor, and a generous philanthropist. A large portion of the paper archives is correspondence, most of which relates to the chemical issues and research in which Othmer was interested. Other genres represented in the paper archives include patent applications, reports, and manuscripts. As the archives were highly organized when the Chemical Heritage Foundation received them, the original order of the creator, as well as the individual file folder names, have been preserved in most instances. The original filing system may offer the researcher insight into Dr. Othmer’s thought process. The materials date from 1921 to 1998, with the bulk of the collection falling between 1930 and 1990. The Othmer Collection is comprised of 15 series. With the exception of the first four and the last three, the series have been arranged alphabetically. The first four, Biographical Information; Associations, Societies, and Organizations; Awards and Honors; and Personal Files, have been located at the beginning of the collection as they provide the researcher information regarding the overall personal life and professional accomplishments of Donald Othmer. Series V, Consulting, Research, and General Correspondence – Domestic, is in alphabetical order by subject, and Series VI, Consulting, Research, and General Correspondence – Foreign is further di
Finding Aid
http://othmerlib.chemheritage.org/search/a?SEARCH=othmer%2C+d&searchscope=5