Oral history interview with Charles E. Reed, 1986 July 11.

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Oral history interview with Charles E. Reed, 1986 July 11.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/712066299

Charles Reed begins the interview with a discussion of his family background and early education. Reed grew up in Findlay, Ohio, and credits his high school teachers with fostering his interest in the sciences. He attended Case School of Applied Science, earning his B.S. in chemistry in 1934. At Case, he was influenced greatly by Professor Carl Prutton, and Reed decided to continue on to graduate school. There, Reed wanted to pursue both chemistry and chemical engineering, and he combined his interests at MIT, where he earned his D.Sc. in chemical engineering in 1937. His thesis focused on colloid chemistry, which led to his later fascination with polymer chemistry. Upon receiving his doctorate, Reed became an assistant professor at MIT. While there, he also began to consult for various companies. In 1942, he accepted a permanent position with General Electric Company, where he spent the rest of his career. His first work involved organosilicon polymers and the scaling up of processes. When G.E. decided to set up a chemical engineering department, Reed was selected as the manager. Through the years, Reed gradually moved up the management ladder, becoming senior vice-president of corporate technology in 1971. During his time at G.E., he helped scale up the silicone processes and worked on phenolic laminates, the commercial development of synthetic diamonds, and the development of both polycarbonates and polyphenylene oxide. Reed concludes the interview with his thoughts on the future of G.E. and his experience as a member of one of its Sector Boards.

Sound files ; digital, mp3 fileTranscript : (65 leaves) ; 29 cm.

Chemical Heritage Foundation, Othmer Library of Chemical History

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 8078910

Chemical Heritage Foundation, Othmer Library of Chemical History

Related Entities

There are 6 Entities related to this resource.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sv8d0k (corporateBody)

The Department of General Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) did not officially exist until 1882. Courses in general studies were offered as early as 1865, when the MIT Catalog offered a curriculum option called the Course in Science and Literature. At that time, all regular MIT students were required to take “general studies” classes from the Course in Science and Literature, in addition to English, history, and modern languages. In 1882 the Course in Scienc...

Fine, Leonard W.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61g1vhd (person)

Chemical Heritage Foundation.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jq5h3g (corporateBody)

Wise, George, 1944-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69w1q13 (person)

General Electric Company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j42m45 (corporateBody)

Founded 1892. Corporate interests include: Broadcasting; Electric Components; Household Appliances; Lighting Equipment; Motors; Telecommunications; Electromedical Industry. From the description of Technical records. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 84865339 Founded 1892. From the description of General Electric Company in Camden, N.J., collection, 1878-1989. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70979711 Schenectady, NY. From the description of Electr...

Reed, Charles E. (Charles Eli), 1913-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6223j6k (person)

Professor of Education. From the description of Memorabilia, 1930-1968. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155503627 Born in Findlay, Ohio on 11 August 1913. Died on 16 November 2007. Education: B.S., Chemistry, Case Institute of Technology (1934), D.Sc., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1937). Employment: 1937-1942 Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 1942-1979 General Electric Company. From the description of Oral history interview wit...