Finding Aids

Kevlar is a synthetic fiber developed by chemists Stephanie Kwolek (1923-2014), Paul Morgan (1911-1992), and Herbert Blades in 1965 while working at the DuPont Company. The oral histories presented here document the research and development processes that transformed Kevlar from a novel polymer in the laboratory to a life-changing product in the marketplace.

Science and Corporate Strategy is a scholarly history of research and development at the DuPont Company authored by David A. Hounshell (1950-) and John Kenly Smith (1951-). As part of their research, Hounshell and Smith conducted sixty-one oral history interviews with forty-seven current and former chemical engineers involved in DuPont's R & D programs. The interviews constitute an exhaustive first-person account of DuPont's research programs with special emphasis on personalities and the organizational culture of the various DuPont research facilities.

James Burton Nichols (1902-1995) was a chemist at the DuPont Company, a chemical research and manufacturing company. He worked at DuPont from 1927 to 1967, researching polymers, pigments, and ultracentrifugation. The Nichols papers include research papers and publications describing research work on the ultracentrifuge, colloid, and polymer chemistry projects.

Stephanie Louise Kwolek (1923-2014) was an American chemist known for inventing Kevlar. The papers of Stephanie L. Kwolek chronicle her work over a forty year span at the DuPont Company. The collection includes patents, journal articles, awards, subject files, and speeches that were either produced by or aided Kwolek in her work.