Obituaries

George Gregory, retired chair and CEO of Products Research & Chemical Corp. (PRC), now part of PPG Industries, died on March 17 at the age of 87.

Gregory was best known for transforming PRC from a struggling distribution firm to a successful specialty adhesives and coatings producer. His major innovations include the first jet-fuel-resistant sealant for the aerospace industry and the first elastomeric insulating glass sealant.

Gregory was born in Moscow under the Jewish surname Bergmann. His family fled Russia's Communist revolution when he was three years old, moving first to Latvia and later to Hamburg, Germany. His father was a prominent metallurgist.

When his family was forced to flee Germany for England in 1936, Gregory went to Belgium to attend the University of Brussels. He then joined his parents in the U.K. and attended Pitman's Business College and the Imperial College of Science & Technology in London.

In 1940, Gregory enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1942. He worked briefly with West End Chemical and Pioneer Soap before being assigned to a position with the U.S. Naval Rubber Research Laboratory in 1944.

Gregory joined PRC in 1948 as vice president and research director. His sealant inventions combined with his business acumen propelled him up the ranks, and he was named president and general manager in 1959, then chair and CEO in 1966. He retired from PRC in 1989.

In recognition of his achievements, Gregory was honored with the 1984 Winthrop-Sears Award from the Chemical Industry Association, the 1986 Adhesive & Sealant Council Award, and the 1990 Glenn T. Seaborg Medal from UCLA.

A decade after retiring, Gregory contacted the German firm that had forcefully bought out his father's Hamburg factory under the Nazi regime. Through personal communications with the firm's current president, Gregory convinced the company to make a charitable donation as a form of reparation. The firm awarded $260,000 to help build a gymnasium at the Jewish Federation's Ferne Milken Youth & Sports Complex in West Hills, Calif.

Gregory is survived by his wife, Gerry; two sons; and three grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1944.

Samuel P. Massie Jr., the first African American faculty member at the U.S. Naval Academy, died on April 10 at the age of 86.

Massie was a highly regarded leader in chemistry education and in improving opportunities for minorities in the sciences. Among his many honors, C&EN named him one of the Top 75 Distinguished Contributors to the Chemical Enterprise in 1997.

A native of Little Rock, Ark., Massie graduated from high school at the age of 13, and by the age of 18 had received a bachelor's degree summa cum laude in chemistry from the Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal (AMN) College of Arkansas, now the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff.

Massie went on to earn an M.A. in chemistry from Fisk University, Nashville, in 1940 and taught for a year after graduation at AMN College. He left to pursue a doctorate in organic chemistry at Iowa State University, during which time he also contributed to uranium research for the Manhattan Project.

After graduation, Massie spent a year as a chemistry instructor at Fisk, then took a position as a chemistry professor and later chair of the department with Langston University in Oklahoma. In 1953, he returned to Fisk to serve as department chair, and in 1961 he took a position as chair of the chemistry department at Howard University. From 1963 to 1966, he served as president of North Carolina College, Durham, now North Carolina Central University.

Massie joined the Naval Academy faculty in 1966 and was appointed chemistry chair in 1977. He continued to serve as an emeritus professor after retiring in 1993 and held a position as vice president for education with the Bingwa Software Co.

As a scientist, Massie made significant contributions to silicon chemistry and the study of antibacterial agents. He also authored a chemical review of phenothiazine that is considered a classic in the field. He is best known for his work encouraging disadvantaged students in the sciences. He served over the years on a number of educational institution boards, including 21 years with the Maryland State Board for Community Colleges.

In recognition of his work, Massie was invited to give 11 guest lectureships, received five honorary doctorates, and was presented with numerous awards. The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers named him its 1980 Outstanding Professor, and ACS honored him with the 1994 James Flack Norris Award and the 1996 ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences.

In 1995, the National Academy of Sciences hung Massie's portrait in its gallery, and aspects of his career are on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. In 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy created the Samuel P. Massie Chairs of Excellence program to support environmental education and research at nine historically black colleges and universities and one Hispanic-serving institution. Massie also has an elementary school named in his honor in Prince George's County, Md.

Massie was preceded in death by his wife, Gloria, who passed away in January. He is survived by three children, six grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1953.

Malcolm J. Thompson, a biochemist retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, died on Nov. 16, 2004, at the age of 77.

A native of Baldwin, La., Thompson joined the U.S. Army immediately after graduating from high school in 1944. He was honorably discharged in 1947 and enrolled at Xavier University, where he earned a B.S. degree in 1950 and an M.S. in 1952.

Thompson served as a chemistry instructor at Xavier for two years after graduating, then moved to Maryland to join the National Institutes of Health as an organic chemist. In 1960, he took a position at the Army's Chemical Center in Baltimore, but in the same year accepted an offer to join USDA's Insect Physiology Laboratory in Beltsville. He retired from USDA in 1989.

Thompson was internationally recognized for his work in insect and plant biochemistry, especially for his work with the group of steroid hormones that regulate molting in insects and other invertebrates. His honors include induction into USDA's Agricultural Research Hall of Fame in 1994 and the 1987 Hillebrand Prize from the Chemical Society of Washington.

Thompson was a devoted church deacon who enjoyed fishing, baseball, and golf. He is survived by his wife, Mary Louise; three children; a granddaughter; and two brothers. He joined ACS in 1951.

Obituaries are written by Victoria Gilman. Obituary notices may be sent by e-mail to v_gilman@acs.org and should include detailed educational and professional history.