Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc. was a chemical company based in Wilmington, Delaware. The company was originally founded in 1912 as Atlas Powder Company as part of the court-ordered breakup of the explosives monopoly of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. As part of the settlement, parts of DuPont's black powder and dynamite business were spun off to two new companies, the Hercules Powder Company, capitalized at $13 million, and the Atlas Powder Company, capitalized at $6 million. Atlas began diversifying from explosives into other chemical lines beginning in 1917, eventually changing its name to Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc. in 1961. In 1971, it was acquired by Imperial Chemical Industries, changing its name to ICI America in 1972, ICI United States in 1974, and ICI Americas in 1977. The pharmaceuticals portion of the business later became AstraZeneca LP, which has its headquarters in the former Atlas facilities in the Wilmington suburbs.

Matthew J. Lynch (1922-2016) was a research pharmacist who spent much of his career at Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Lynch earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Rhode Island and became a registered pharmacist before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He began his career in 1950 at Abbott Laboratories in Chicago, Illinois, before joining Atlas Chemical in 1961, where he worked in the Product Development Technical Center. He remained with the company until 1986. Over the course of his career, he worked on a wide spectrum of pharmaceuticals that included sulfa drugs, antihistamines, anesthetics, estrogens, antibiotics, and artificial sweeteners. These led to the development of Erythromycin, Selsun shampoo, Mylanta, Trident gum, and various gel toothpastes. Lang was granted more than 100 U.S. and foreign patents, published numerous scientific papers, and authored several reference textbook chapters.

He married Genevieve Irene McWeeney Lynch (1924-2016) in 1950; the couple had four children.