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the free encyclopedia
Dr. Daniel W. Fox (about
1927 - February 15 1989) was a
polymer chemist who is often
regarded as the father of
LEXAN. LEXAN is the flagship
product of
GE Plastics (a division of
General Electric) and is used
in everything from CDs and DVDs to
car bumpers and
Nalgene products. Though Dr.
Fox is often credited with the
invention of LEXAN resin, the
patent and agreement to share the
plastic between
Bayer and General Electric is
much more complicated than the
simplistic "Father of LEXAN
Polycarbonate" title bestowed upon
Dr. Fox by many sources.
Education and Employment
Dr. Fox began his academic
career at
Lebanon Valley College in
Annville, Pennsylvania.
1 He graduated in 1948 with a
degree in chemistry. He then
continued his education at the
University of Oklahoma in
Norman, obtaining both his M.S.
and Ph.D. degrees from this
institution.
2
Upon his graduation, he was
hired by General Electric in
Schenectady, New York as the new
manager of chemical development.
It was there in 1953 that he
invented LEXAN while working on a
project to develop new wire
insulation material. For the next
35 years, he produced ground
breaking research in his field and
eventually was the holder of 44
patents. He retired from GE in
June 1988, but continued his
polymer research until his death
in February 1989.
1
At GE, his employees often
referred to themselves as students
of "Dan Fox University" because of
Dr. Fox's impressive ability to
recognize and promote young,
talented scientists. Jack Welch,
former CEO and chairman of GE, was
one of the most notable students
to graduate from Dan Fox
University.
Awards, Honors, and
Achievements
- He was the recipient of GE's
first Steinmetz Award in 1973, a
recognition of their top
scientists.
- He was the youngest living
person to be inducted into the
Plastics Hall of Fame in
1976.
- He held 44 patents.
- He developed LEXAN, a strong
and useful thermoplastic
products, that is credited with
kicking off the thermoplastics
business.
Selected Journal Articles
- Fox, Daniel W., Peters,
Edward N. (1985). Engineering
thermoplastics: Chemistry and
technology. ACS Symposium
Series, 495-514.
- Fox, D.W., Gallucci, R.R.,
Peters, E.N., Smith, G.F.
(1985). Polysulfone carbonate
copolymers. Annual Technical
Conference - Society of Plastics
Engineers, 951-953.
LEXAN Patent
Even though Dr. Fox is often
credited with the invention of
this plastics product, he was not
the first. In 1955, Fox applied
for a patent, two years after his
initial discovery of the material.
In the same year, Bayer in Germany
had also applied for a U.S. patent
on a molecule invented by Dr.
Hermann Schnell that was
virtually identical to Fox's. So
before it was decided who was to
receive the patent, GE and Bayer
entered into an agreement that
stipulated whoever received the US
patent would agree to allow the
other to operate by paying a
royalty to the patent holder. This
worked out in GE's favor after the
patent was awarded to Bayer
because Schnell's date of
invention preceded Fox's by only
one week. Dr. Fox may be
considered the father of LEXAN
polycarbonate, but indeed he
shares that honor with Dr.
Schnell.
3
