Rubin, Irvin I., 1919-

Irvin I. Rubin (1919- ) is an American chemist, engineer, businessman, author and educator who developed many technical processes in the plastics industry, especially in the field of injection molding.

Rubin received his BS in chemistry in 1938 at City College of New York and earned credits at Brooklyn College towards his Masters. His career in plastics began in 1940 as technical director of the molding plant of Robinson Plastics Corp., in New York City (the company later relocated to Hoboken, New Jersey). From 1942 to 1945, he was chief shift chemist at Montrose Chemical Co., in charge of producing tri-cresyl phosphate plasticizer for PVC cable for the war effort. From 1945 to 1946, he ran the manufacturing plant of Columbia Plastic Products, which fabricated acrylic products.

In 1946, Rubin joined Robinson Plastic Corporation. In 1967, he purchased the company and became its president. He was responsible for injection molding, designing, engineering, and production. From 1962, he was president and owner of Irvin I. Rubin Plastics Corp., a manufacturer of plastics medical devices and equipment.

Rubin’s technical contributions to the industry include the development of vacuum metalizing on polystyrene as a commercial process for industrial lamp parts. Also significant was the development of internal carving and coloring of fabricated acrylic parts. In the late 1960s he assisted in the production of the first injection molded thoracic drainage system -- a process that is now standard.

In the 1960s, Rubin published his first series of technical articles. His first book, Theory and Practice of Injection Molds and Molding, was published in 1972. In 1977, he wrote the chapter on injection molds and molding in Introduction to Polymer Science and Technology .

In 1990, he edited the Handbook of Plastics Materials and Technology and wrote the chapter on injection molds and molding in the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) Plastics Engineering Handbook .

He is a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). He has served as president of the New York Section, vice chairman of 1955 ANTEC, chairman of the Publications Committee, chairman of I.T. Quarnstrom Foundation, president of the Plastics Molders Guild, consultant to the New York City Board of Education, and as an expert witness in state and federal courts. Rubin was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 1994.

From the guide to the Irvin I. Rubin Papers, 1940-2007, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)