Obituaries

Warren F. Bartz, 91, a chemical engineer, died on Oct. 14, 2004.

Born in Iowa, he earned a B.S. in chemistry in 1935 from Iowa State University. In 1939, he earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of North Carolina.

He started his engineering career in the Barrett Division of Allied Chemical Corp. Four years later, he took a job with Rohm and Haas. He retired in 1975 after 32 years of service.

Bartz played the clarinet for more than 80 years. He marched in bands until he was 78 years old and continued to play in orchestras for the next 10 years. A volunteer in his church, he was also a Boy Scout troop leader.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Alice, and is survived by two sons and six grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1937.

James E. Guillet, 78, a polymer scientist, died on Sept. 23.

Born in Toronto, he earned a B.A. with honors in physics and chemistry from the University of Toronto in 1948. He spent the next four years working at Eastman Kodak as a research chemist. During this time, he discovered novel types of graft and block copolymers that resulted in the commercial development of new acrylic fibers.

Guillet returned to Kodak to work on polyethylene and polyolefins in 1955 after completing his Ph.D. in polymer photochemistry at Cambridge University. In 1963, he joined the chemistry department at the University of Toronto as a professor, where he would spend the rest of his career. In 1974, Cambridge awarded him an Sc.D.

His published research and 81 patents include the areas of photochemistry, photo- and biodegradable plastics, and the kinetics and mechanism of polymerization reactions and their catalysts. Three patents led to the formation of small companies. He also served as an industry consultant, on committees of the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry, and as a visiting scientist at various research labs around the world. Among his awards, he was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 1981 and a Killam Research Fellow from 1987 through 1989. He served on the editorial advisory boards of five journals.

He is survived by his wife, Helen; four children; and nine grandchildren. He joined ACS in 1951.

George S. Hammond, 84, a pioneering organic photochemist, died on Oct. 5.

Hammond was born in 1921 on a dairy farm on the aptly named Hardscrabble Road on the outskirts of Auburn, Maine. He fell in love with science in high school and went on to receive a bachelors degree in chemistry from Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, in 1943. He worked for Rohm and Haas before going for a Ph.D. in chemistry at Harvard University, which he received in 1947.

After a year of postdoctoral study at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he worked on intermolecular compounds that later became known as charge-transfer complexes, he accepted a faculty position at Iowa State University, Ames. His 1955 publication on the interpretation of transition-state structures has become widely known as the Hammond postulate.

In 1958, he joined the faculty at California Institute of Technology. In 1972, he moved to the budding UC Santa Cruz as vice chancellor.

After election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1965, Hammond served as the academys foreign secretary from 1974 until 1978. That year, he surprised his colleagues by taking a position at Allied Chemical. After he retired in 1987 as executive director for bioscience, metals, and ceramics research, he consulted and became a visiting faculty member at several universities.

Hammond wrote five textbooks; the best known, Organic Chemistry, was coauthored with Donald J. Cram. Colleagues say the books emphasis on reaction mechanisms revolutionized teaching of the subject.

Hammond received numerous awards. In 1976, he was awarded the Priestley Medal, the highest honor bestowed by ACS. In 1994, he received both the National Medal of Science from President Bill Clinton and the Seaborg Medal from ACS.

He is survived by his five children from his first marriage and by his second wife, Eve Menger, and her two daughters. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1945.

Harold Jabloner, 67, a polymer scientist, died on Oct. 3.

He received a B.S. from the City College of New York and, in 1963, a Ph.D. from Brooklyn Polytechnic (now Polytechnic University) in New York City. He worked for 37 years at Hercules in various R&D and management roles. From 1988 to 1999, he held the position of distinguished scientist, the highest technology position in the company. Jabloner had broad technical expertise in areas including aerospace, composite materials, synthetic pulp, asphalt additives, artificial sweeteners, paper chemicals, medical devices, and anticancer materials. Among his notable achievements were his fundamental studies of polyolefin oxidation; the invention of the H-resin, a thermosetting polymer for aerospace application; and his leadership of a team that developed a family of high-performance resins for carbon-fiber composites. He held more than 30 patents.

Jabloners former colleagues at Hercules remember fondly his enthusiasm, his dedication to work, and his unquestioned brilliance.

At ACS, he was involved in the Polymer Chemistry Division, serving as member-at-large in 1994 and alternate councilor from 1997 to 1999.

He is survived by three children from his first marriage and by his second wife, Anne Boyd. He joined ACS in 1958.

Yorke P. Phillips, 73, a polymer engineer, died on Aug. 21 after a long illness.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he received a bachelors degree in chemical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. After two years in Korea, he left the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant and joined Monsanto. While working, he earned a masters degree in business at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He spent 29 years at Monsanto as a group leader for research and development.

Phillips also donated his time to his community, serving the schools, hospitals, and his church. He was a radio and aviation enthusiast.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; three children; and six grandchildren. He joined ACS in 1956.

Joseph R. Siefker, 72, chemistry professor emeritus, died on Sept. 2.

He earned his bachelors degree from Wabash College, in Indiana; masters degree from the University of North Dakota; and Ph.D. from Indiana University. He taught at St. Louis University from 1960 to 1962 and retired from Indiana State University in 1995.

Siefker is survived by his wife of 49 years, Joyce; two daughters; five grandchildren; his mother; and two brothers. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1956.

Obituaries are written by Rachel Petkewich. Obituary notices may be sent to r_petkewich@acs.org and should include detailed educational and professional history.