Willis R. Whitney
American chemist
Who was Willis R. Whitney?
Willis Rodney Whitney (August 22, 1868 – January 9, 1958) was an American chemist and founder of the research laboratory of the General Electric Company. He is known as the "father of industrial research" in the United States for blending the worlds of research and industry together; which at the time, were two very distinct careers. He is also known for his corrosion theory of iron which he developed after studying at M.I.T. and the University of Leipzig. Whitney was born in Jamestown, New York, the son of John Jay Whitney and Agnes (nee Reynolds) Whitney. He had a sister named Caroline Whitney Barrett. He received many awards, including the Willard Gibbs medal, the Franklin medal, the Perkin medal, the Edison medal, the John Fritz medal, the Chandler medal, and many others.
He was an astute believer in researching and experimenting for pleasure and voiced his belief at various science conferences. Whitney was curious from the very start. He would wonder why things were the way that they were and often performed various experiments at home.
Historical significance
Whitney was also a professor at M.I.T. for some time before his career transition into research directing.
