Otto Vogl

Otto Vogl (November 6, 1927 – April 27, 2013) was an American chemist, polymer scientist, and educator.

Otto Vogl was the Herman F. Mark Professor Emeritus of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, and Professor Emeritus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

He is noted for his work on the polymerization of higher aldehydes and the importance of the ceiling temperature of polymerization, His other contributions were in functional polymers, polymeric drugs, polymeric stabilizers, macromolecular asymmetry, the single helix, chirality and chiral crystallization, and the chemistry of oriental lacquers.

Vogl was the chairman of the American Chemical Society Division of Polymer Chemistry and the president of the Pacific Polymer Federation.

He was a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

He was on the editorial board of virtually every polymer related journal and was for years the editor-in-chief of Progress in Polymer Science, the international review journal.

Vogl was born in Traiskirchen, Austria, near Vienna.

He attended the local elementary school and the Realgymnasium in Baden bei Wien.

In 1945, Vogl began his studies in chemistry at the University of Vienna.

His doctoral thesis, on steroids, was carried out under the guidance of Professor Friedrich Galinovsky.

In October 1948, Vogl was appointed an instructor at the II.

Chemical Institute of the University of Vienna.

He obtained his PhD in April 1950.

He left for the United States in 1953.

He spent three years as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Michigan (1953–1955) and Princeton University (1955–1956).

He spent the years 1956-1970 at E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.

In 1970, Vogl was appointed professor in the new program of polymer science and engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

At the beginning of 1983, he accepted the newly created position of Herman F. Mark Chair of Polymer Science at Polytechnic University.

1983 Dr. rer.

nat., honoris causa, University of Jena, Germany

Berlin-Brandenburgische Academy of Sciences, Berlin, Germany (1985–92)

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden

1992 Dr. honoris causa, Polytechnic Institute of Iasi, Romania

In 1996 he retired, and returned to the University of Massachusetts.

In addition to his scientific activities, Vogl was a dedicated philatelist.

He had a considerable collection of stamps, mainly from Austria and Japan.

His Austrian collection provided a link to his native country.

The Austrian Philatelic Magazine Die Briefmarke dedicated a voluminous article to Prof. Vogl in 2008.

The City Museum Traiskirchen ordered a special edition of stamps from the Austrian post office with Vogl's picture on it; the edition was only produced in 200 pieces.

Also, his strong interests in the arts (he collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum in New York) may have helped to create the notion of a radiant uniqueness that turns persons into personalities.

Vogl died at home in Amherst, Massachusetts, on April 27, 2013, and was buried in Wildwood Cemetery.

He was survived by his wife Jane C. Vogl, their son Eric Vogl of Houston, Texas, and their daughter Yvonne of New York, as well as by eight grandchildren, including Fariss Jane Marsh, one great-granddaughter, and one great grandson.

Otto Vogl was a well-known polymer pioneer who contributed to the health and vitality of polymers in several major ways.

First, he contributed to the science of polymers as already noted.

Second, he served effectively as an ambassador for science and for polymers to the world.

Along with the "feel good" aspect, he made valuable connections with senior scientists, allowing an international exchange of ideas and approaches.

Otto Vogl published his extensive scientific research in a number of professional journals, among them the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Journal of Polymer Science Part A, the Journal of Macromolecular Scienceand some science-related articles in the "popular" journal Polymer News.

He was on many editorial boards and was for many years editor-in-chief of Progress in Polymer Science.

Academy of Sciences, Austria

New York Academy of Sciences