Edwin P. Plueddemann
Dow Corning Corporation
Inducted 1988
Edwin Plueddemann (1916 – 1991) made major contributions to the fields of reinforced plastics and adhesives. In the 1950s, he systematically searched for organofunctional silanes that would serve as coupling agents in glass fiber-reinforced thermosetting polyester and epoxy composites. Plueddemann is credited with creating a class of materials known as “silane coupling agents,” which are capable of bonding two dissimilar materials to each other. These coupling agents greatly enhanced the strength and toughness of glass fiber-reinforced plastic composites.
Plueddemann graduated cum laude from Baldwin Wallace College with a B.S. in chemistry and earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at the Ohio State University. He worked at Dow Corning Corporation, where he became a senior scientist.
Early in the development stage of silane coupling agents, Plueddemann realized the potential importance of this technology as a basis for improving the properties of plastic materials to allow for their expanded use in a wide variety of applications. He developed new chemical types of coupling agents as well as underlying mechanistic theories and studied the effects of the agents on various properties. He also extended the technology to improve the bonding of plastics, sealants, protective coatings, and adhesives to inorganic surfaces.
Plueddemann was an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, the Honorary Research Society, the Adhesion Society, the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI now PLASTICS), and the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). His research was published extensively. He holds 71 U.S. patents, contributed numerous chapters to materials books, and was the author of the book “Silane Coupling Agents”. He served as a consultant for the U.S. government and is recognized worldwide as an expert in the science of adhesion and bonding of plastic materials.
In 1984, Plueddemann received an award for Creative Development of Technical Innovation from NASA and the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award for Creative Invention. In 1988, he received the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Engineering/Technology Award.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic materials, Composites, Adhesives