Hermann Schnell
Bayer AG
Inducted 2008
Hermann Schnell was born in Gaienhofen, Germany, in September 1916. After his military service, he studied chemistry and physics at the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Germany, where he studied under Nobel Prize Laureate Professor Hermann Staudinger (Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1953). He completed his studies with a summa cum laude doctoral degree.
After graduation, he joined the Research and Development Department at Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany. Shortly thereafter, he and his research team discovered the synthesis reaction of a new plastic, polycarbonate – a transparent, virtually unbreakable thermoplastic, from co-monomers bisphenol A and phosgene. The official patent for polycarbonate synthesis was granted on Oct. 16, 1953. At just 36 years of age, he was named department leader and was tasked with designing and building a second laboratory for Bayer Central Research at Krefeld-Uerdingen. The polycarbonate discovered by Hermann Schnell and his team was registered under the brand name Makrolon® on April 2, 1955. Bayer started producing Makrolon® polycarbonate on an industrial scale in Uerdingen, Germany. Schnell was appointed the department head of Bayer’s entire central research facility in Leverkusen in 1971. Dr. Schnell retired from Bayer in 1975.
In 1995, he established the Hermann-Schnell Foundation with euro 500,000 of his personal money to support young scientists in macromolecular chemistry research. Dr. Schnell received numerous honors and awards for his work, including the Hermann Staudinger Gedächtnismedaille and Swinburne awards.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic materials, Plastic management