Gordon M. Kline
National Bureau of Standards
Inducted 1973
Gordon M. Kline (1903 – 1986) contributed to the science and technology of plastics through research and publications while Chief of the Plastics Section of the United States National Bureau of Standards (USNBS) from 1935 to 1951 and Head of the USNBS Polymers Division from 1951 to 1963.
He also served as technical editor of Modern Plastics Magazine, beginning in 1936. Kline was also a pioneer in organizing several national organizations, including The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI, now PLASTICS). He also served on international organization boards, including the International Standard Organization (ISO) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) committees to develop standards for plastics and polymers. In addition, he was an advisor to several government agencies on the uses of plastics in aeronautics, building construction, and various military applications.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic materials
Related Links:
The transcript of an oral history conducted with Kline for the Chemical Heritage Foundation in 1987 is available at http://www.chemheritage.org