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(1 - 4 of 4)
- Title
- Interview with Wesley Memeger, Jr., 2014 August 19
- Date(s)
- 2014-08-19
- Contributor(s)
- Memeger, Wesley, Jr. (interviewee), Smith, John K. (John Kenly), 1951- (interviewer), Oates, Mike (videographer), 302 Stories, Inc. (production company), Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation (originator)
- Description
-
Wesley Memeger, Jr. details his contribution to streamlining the synthesis of Kevlar, which allowed the timely start-up of the first commercial scale Kevlar plant. In the laboratory, the polymer for Kevlar had previously been prepared by polymerizing para-phenylene diamine and terephthaloyl chloride in a mixture of two solvents, HMPA (hexamethylphosphoramide) and NMP (N-methylpyrrolidinone). Memeger found that a polymer with satisfactory molecular weight could be made using only HMPA, a...
Show moreWesley Memeger, Jr. details his contribution to streamlining the synthesis of Kevlar, which allowed the timely start-up of the first commercial scale Kevlar plant. In the laboratory, the polymer for Kevlar had previously been prepared by polymerizing para-phenylene diamine and terephthaloyl chloride in a mixture of two solvents, HMPA (hexamethylphosphoramide) and NMP (N-methylpyrrolidinone). Memeger found that a polymer with satisfactory molecular weight could be made using only HMPA, a discovery which made the preparation of Kevlar more commercially viable, as it allowed for a continuous polymerizer in a single solvent system.
Memeger recounts that DuPont used HMPA as the solvent for Kevlar production in the early 1970s, but after toxicology tests conducted at the company's Haskell Laboratory raised doubts about the safety of the solvent, DuPont replaced HMPA with NMP and calcium chloride. Memeger describes his subsequent work at DuPont investigating melt processible polymers, which share some properties with Kevlar but lack equivalent chemical and thermal stability, as well as his work on ring opening routes to polymers with novel properties. An accomplished artist, Memeger continues to be impressed by the elegance and simplicity of the Kevlar polymer that produces such remarkable properties.
Show less - Collection ID
- History of Kevlar oral history interviews (Accession 2014.249)
- Hagley ID
- 2014249_20140819_Memeger
- Collection
- History of Kevlar oral history interviews
- Title
- Interview with Herbert Blades, 2014 August 19
- Date(s)
- 2014-08-19
- Contributor(s)
- Blades, Herbert (interviewee), Smith, John K. (John Kenly), 1951- (interviewer), Oates, Mike (videographer), 302 Stories, Inc. (production company), Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation (originator)
- Description
-
After describing his education and early work at the DuPont Company on polymer solutions, Herbert Blades recounts his contributions to the development of Tyvek and Kevlar. On the Tyvek project, he describes developing the polymerization process for creating high-density polyethylene fibers after such paper-like fibers had been accidentally created in the laboratory.
Blades details his work on Kevlar, for which he developed a commercially viable process to spin fibers from the polymer. Blades...
Show moreAfter describing his education and early work at the DuPont Company on polymer solutions, Herbert Blades recounts his contributions to the development of Tyvek and Kevlar. On the Tyvek project, he describes developing the polymerization process for creating high-density polyethylene fibers after such paper-like fibers had been accidentally created in the laboratory.
Blades details his work on Kevlar, for which he developed a commercially viable process to spin fibers from the polymer. Blades describes the three components of the process. First, he discovered that a relatively high concentration of polymer could be dissolved upon heating in 100 per cent sulfuric acid, which is non-aqueous and non-corrosive. The resulting solution had a low enough viscosity that it could be spun rapidly through a spinnerette, a small hole. Next, Blades discovered that instead of spinning the fiber directly into a water bath, leaving a small air gap led to fibers that were significantly stronger. Finally, he determined that the water "quenching" of the fiber occurred extremely fast. His spinning innovations made it possible to spin Kevlar fibers economically and at high speeds.
Show less - Collection ID
- History of Kevlar oral history interviews (Accession 2014.249)
- Hagley ID
- 2014249_20140819_Blades
- Collection
- History of Kevlar oral history interviews
- Title
- Interview with Wesley Memeger, Jr., 2020 September 27
- Date(s)
- 2020-09-27
- Contributor(s)
- Memeger, Wesley, Jr. (interviewee), Nutter, Jeanne D. (interviewer), Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation (originator)
- Description
-
During this interview, Dr. Wesley (Wes) Memeger details his early life in Florida. He describes his family, headed by his grandfather, working and travelling as migrant farmers. He then describes his elementary school, Webster School, and family beach trips to a segregated beach near Saint Augustine.
Memeger goes on to describe his first remembered experience with science, doing pendulum experiments in eighth grade physical science class. He then details his high school years at Excelsior ...
Show moreDuring this interview, Dr. Wesley (Wes) Memeger details his early life in Florida. He describes his family, headed by his grandfather, working and travelling as migrant farmers. He then describes his elementary school, Webster School, and family beach trips to a segregated beach near Saint Augustine.
Memeger goes on to describe his first remembered experience with science, doing pendulum experiments in eighth grade physical science class. He then details his high school years at Excelsior (later Richard J. Murray High School), both his studies and his participation on the football team. He also recounts an incident during a summer working on a flower farm when his mother stood up for him over the objection of the farm's white foreman.
Memeger then describes how he came to attend Clark College. He details various aspects of his college experience, including his dormitory and his chemistry professors. He discusses the impact that his English professor, M. Carl Holman, had on his life. He also details his participation in a 1961 student day of protest for civil rights. He then discusses his membership in Omega Psi Phi and how he met his future wife, Harriet.
Memeger goes on to discuss his graduate education at Adelphi University, including the impact that being a new father had on his graduate school experience. He then details his hiring by DuPont and describes the three other Black chemists who were at the company when he was initially hired. He also discusses how DuPont used a composite sketch of a Black contract employee on the cover of the 200th company anniversary issue of DuPont Magazine.
Memeger then details his involvement on the Kevlar project, describes the molecular structure of the monomer of Kevlar, and lists Kevlar products. He then discusses his patents and other aspects of his career at DuPont. He then speaks about his children and his involvement with the Delaware community serving on the boards of cultural institutions. Finally, Dr. Memeger discusses his life as an artist, from an early sketch of his son to his current projects and his collaboration with his wife, who is a fiber artist.
Show less - Collection ID
- Wesley Memeger oral history project (Accession 2021.202)
- Hagley ID
- 2021202_20200927_Memeger_video
- Collection
- Oral History
- Title
- Interview with Wesley Memeger, Jr., 2020 September 27 [transcript]
- Date(s)
- 2020-09-27
- Contributor(s)
- Memeger, Wesley, Jr. (interviewee), Nutter, Jeanne D. (interviewer), Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation (originator)
- Description
-
During this interview, Dr. Wesley (Wes) Memeger details his early life in Florida. He describes his family, headed by his grandfather, working and travelling as migrant farmers. He then describes his elementary school, Webster School, and family beach trips to a segregated beach near Saint Augustine.
Memeger goes on to describe his first remembered experience with science, doing pendulum experiments in eighth grade physical science class. He then details his high school years at Excelsior ...
Show moreDuring this interview, Dr. Wesley (Wes) Memeger details his early life in Florida. He describes his family, headed by his grandfather, working and travelling as migrant farmers. He then describes his elementary school, Webster School, and family beach trips to a segregated beach near Saint Augustine.
Memeger goes on to describe his first remembered experience with science, doing pendulum experiments in eighth grade physical science class. He then details his high school years at Excelsior (later Richard J. Murray High School), both his studies and his participation on the football team. He also recounts an incident during a summer working on a flower farm when his mother stood up for him over the objection of the farm's white foreman.
Memeger then describes how he came to attend Clark College. He details various aspects of his college experience, including his dormitory and his chemistry professors. He discusses the impact that his English professor, M. Carl Holman, had on his life. He also details his participation in a 1961 student day of protest for civil rights. He then discusses his membership in Omega Psi Phi and how he met his future wife, Harriet.
Memeger goes on to discuss his graduate education at Adelphi University, including the impact that being a new father had on his graduate school experience. He then details his hiring by DuPont and describes the three other Black chemists who were at the company when he was initially hired. He also discusses how DuPont used a composite sketch of a Black contract employee on the cover of the 200th company anniversary issue of DuPont Magazine.
Memeger then details his involvement on the Kevlar project, describes the molecular structure of the monomer of Kevlar and Kevlar products. He then discusses his patents and other aspects of his career at DuPont. He then speaks about his children and his involvement with the Delaware community serving on the boards of cultural institutions. Finally, Dr. Memeger discusses his life as an artist, from an early sketch of his son to his current projects and his collaboration with his wife, who is a fiber artist.
Show less - Collection ID
- Black Delawarean STEM pioneers oral history project (Accession 2021.202)
- Hagley ID
- 2021202_20200927_Memeger_transcript
- Collection
- Oral History