Richard B. Bishop
Foster Grant Corporation
Inducted 1991
Richard B. Bishop (1916 – 1996) was a major contributor to the development of processes and installation of polystyrene and ABS polymer plants worldwide. He devoted equal energy and ingenuity to research, education, and industry activities.
He was born in Baltimore, MD, where he graduated with honors from Loyola High School. He received his B.S. degree in chemistry (Cum Laude) from Holy Cross College in 1938 and his M.S. (1939) on a fellowship. He did additional graduate work on a scholarship in organic chemistry at Johns Hopkins University (1940). During his 50-year career in plastics, Bishop has dedicated vast amounts of his time to young people and fostered in them his love and knowledge of the plastics industry. Bishop has developed many processes that are still in commercial use, including:
- Manufacture of 2,2-dinitropropane
- Process for producing aromatic nitriles
- Production of acetonitrile and other low molecular weight nitriles
- The aromatic formalite reaction products as extenders and modifiers for other resins
- A nitrile process used for an improved melamine resin formulation
- An improved method of suspension polymerization that increased existing plant capacity by 50%
- New impact materials made by mass graft polymerization
- Nylon pilot plant for polymerization of caprolactam
Bishop became an international consultant in plastics and petrochemicals in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe. He was also a Research Associate Professor of Chemistry at Holy Cross College, Director of Research for Foster Grant Corporation, Sales and Production Coordinator for the Berlyn Corporation, and Research Chemist for Socony Mobil.
He has 40 patents granted in the field of plastics production and polymerization. His book, Practical Polymerization for Polystyrene, and numerous other publications contributed to the plastics industry’s growth.
In addition to his activities in the Society of Plastic Engineers and the SPI (now PLASTICS), Bishop is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, and the Plastic Pioneers.
Related Links:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ie50485a019