Kurt F. Wissbrun

1930 – Present

Physical Chemist

Awarded Bingham Medal 1992

Fellow, Elected 2015

Kurt Falke Wissbrun obtaining his B.S. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and his M.S. as well as Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Yale University in 1953 and 1956 respectively. He took a position as Dreyfus fellow at the University of Rochester from 1955 to 1957. He subsequently worked as a research chemist at Hoechst-Celanese (now the Celanese Corporation) in Summit, New Jersey beginning in 1957. He was promoted to the position of Group Leader in 1960, Research Associate in 1966, and Senior Research Associate in 1970. After retiring in 1990, he served as a consultant to the polymer industry. Additionally, Wissbrun served as an adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of Delaware beginning in 1974.

Wissbrun’s research at Celanese focused on the rheology and processing of linear polyethylenes, oxymethylene copolymers and thermotropic aromatic polyesters as well as the interaction of ionic charges on polymers. Through his interactions with Prof. Art Metzner (1977 Bingham Medalist) he also became involved with studies on shear-induced phase separation of polymer solutions. After devoting over forty years to the field, Wissbrun collaborated with John M. Dealy (1998 Bingham Medalist) on the text Melt Rheology and Its Role in Plastics Processing.

Wissbrun wrote numerous articles and book chapters over the course of his career and also obtained twelve patents for his work at Celanese. He was awarded the Bingham Medal of The Society of Rheology in 1992. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, The Society of Rheology, British Society of Rheology, and Sigma Xi. He served The Society of Rheology as president from 1995 to 1997 and the American Institute of Physics as a member of the Governing Board in the 1990s.