Walter Brenner (July 21, 1923 – December 6, 2017) was an Austrian-American professor of chemical engineering and inventor. He also authored a number of patents, technical papers, magazine articles, and books. Brenner is recognized as having pioneered the development of high energy ionizing radiation for polymers to be used for industrial, aerospace, medical, and consumer applications.[citation needed][1][2][3] He died in December 2017 at the age of 94.[4][5]

Walter Brenner
Walter Brenner in 2012
Born(1923-07-21)July 21, 1923
Vienna, Austria
DiedDecember 6, 2017(2017-12-06) (aged 94)
New Jersey, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPolytechnic Institute of Brooklyn
Scientific career
FieldsChemical engineering
InstitutionsPolytechnic Institute, New York University, Master Bond Inc.
Doctoral advisorDonald Othmer

Early life and education

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Brenner was born in Vienna, Austria, in July 1923.

In 1938, the Brenner family was forced to leave Austria to escape the Nazi occupation. He attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn, NY, and in 1940 was admitted to the City College of New York where he graduated with a BA in Chemical Engineering.[6]

In 1943, Brenner served in the U.S. military, achieving the rank of technical sergeant and remained in the service until 1945. When he completed his service in the military, Brenner attended the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn where he earned his Master's degree (1949) and later his doctorate (1954) in chemical engineering studying under the renowned Donald Othmer.

Career

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Brenner served as a full professor at New York University for over 25 years teaching chemical engineering. He taught in the uptown Bronx campus and later in the downtown Greenwich Village campus. Brenner's expertise led him to become a consultant working for many different companies, institutions, branches of the government and military over his professional career.[7][8][9][10][11]

In 1976, Brenner and his son James co-founded a polymer formulation company called Master Bond Inc.[12] Brenner developed specialty systems including adhesives, sealants, coatings, and encapsulants that are primarily epoxy-based. Additionally, Master Bond produces silicone, polysulfide, polyurethane, and UV light curing systems.

Selected publications

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Books

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Articles

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  • Walter Brenner, Zvi Blank, Y. Okamoto. Growth of Single Crystals of Lead Sulphide in Silica Gels near Ambient Temperatures. In: Nature, Volume 212, Issue 5060, pp. 392–393 (1966).
  • Martin Prince, Bruce W. Bremer, Walter Brenner. Sodium Selenide Vicinal Dihalide Elimination In: The journal of organic chemistry. - [S.l.]: American Chemical Society, ISSN 1520-6904, Vol. 31, No. 12 (1966), p. 4292–4293.
  • Zvi Blank, Walter Brenner, Yoshiyuki Okamoto. The growth of single crystals of lead sulphide in silica gels at ambient temperatures - preliminary characterization and effect of various organic compounds as sulphide ion donors. Research Division, School of Engineering and Science New York University, New York, N.Y.. Published by Elsevier Ltd., 1968.
  • Walter Brenner. Recent Developments in Polymer Catalysis This paper was presented at a meeting of the Section of Catalysis on March 11, 1971. Published in: Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, Volume 33, Issue 7 Series II, pages 710–723, November 1971.
  • Walter Brenner, Barry Rugg. High Temperature Dilute Acid Hydrolysis of Waste Cellulose: Batch and Continuous Processes. Hazardous Waste Engineering Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1986.
  • Walter Brenner. Designers intro to advanced medical adhesives. Published in Medical Design, Penton Media Inc., November 1, 2008. Accessed October 26, 2012.
  • Walter Brenner. Choosing the Right Epoxy for Optical Applications. Published in Photonics Spectra, Laurin Media, October 2012. Accessed October 26, 2012.

Patents

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Patent Number Date of Patent Name of Patent Inventors
3,137,995 June 23, 1964 Ablation Resistant Reaction Profulsion Nozzle Donald F. Othmer & Walter Brenner
3,663,158 May 16, 1972 Method of Depositing an Oxymethylene Polymer from Formaldehyde in the Vapor Form on Cellulosic Textiles and the Resulting Product Walter Brenner, Jagadish Chanda Goswami & Barry A. Rugg
3,852,412 December 3, 1974 Nitric Acid Recovery System Walter Brenner
4,049,750 September 20, 1977 One Component Shelf Stable Low Shrinkage Structural Adhesive Systems Walter Brenner
4,216,134 August 5, 1980 Triallylcyanurate or Triallylisocyanurate Based Adhesive Sealant Systems Walter Brenner
4,316,747 February 23, 1982 Process for the Chemical Conversion of Cellulose Waste to Glucose Barry A. Rugg & Walter Brenner
4,319,942 March 16, 1982 Radiation Curing of Flocked Composite Structures Walter Brenner
4,334,477 June 15, 1982 Wear Reducer Sydney Axelrod, Walter Brenner & Barry A. Rugg
4,368,079 January 11, 1983 Apparatus for Chemical Conversion of Materials and Particularly the Conversion of Cellulose Waste to Glucose Barry A. Rugg & Walter Brenner
4,395,934 August 2, 1983 Wear Reducer Sydney Axelrod, Walter Brenner & Barry A. Rugg
4,413,019 November 1, 1983 Radiation Curable Adhesive Compositions and Composite Structures Walter Brenner
4,483,951 November 20, 1984 Radiation Curable Adhesive Compositions and Composite Structures Walter Brenner

References

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  1. ^ Walter Brenner, R. F. Shaffer, R. Vermes, Charles Marsel, William H. Kapfer. Nucleation Phenomena In Polymers Defense Technical Information Center, 1968, 216 p. Contributor: New York University, New York Research Division
  2. ^ Patent 4,413,019; November 1, 1983 Radiation Curable Adhesive Compositions and Composite Structures by Walter Brenner
  3. ^ Patent 4,483,951; November 20, 1984 Radiation Curable Adhesive Compositions and Composite Structures by Walter Brenner
  4. ^ Walter Brenner in the New Jersey, Death Index, 1901-2017
  5. ^ JCOT Dinner Honors Community Helpers/Israel Supporters
  6. ^ D.D.S. Form 1 Registration Card (World War II Draft Card).
  7. ^ Vermes, Rudolph; Brenner, Walter (1967). "Radiation Crosslinking of Some New Ethylene Copolymers". Irradiation of Polymers. Advances in Chemistry. Vol. 66. pp. 156–169. doi:10.1021/ba-1967-0066.ch011. ISBN 978-0-8412-0067-8.
  8. ^ Thomas Soules. Edge cladding gain media according to IL-11317, p.6. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  9. ^ Investigation of Polymer Encapsulation of Cotton Fibers to Provide New and Useful Textile Products: Final Report, July 1966-July 1969. USDA Southern Utilization Research and Development Division, 1969. Contributor: United States Agricultural Research Service. Southern Utilization Research and Development Division
  10. ^ Walter Brenner, Barry Rugg. High Temperature Dilute Acid Hydrolysis of Waste Cellulose: Batch and Continuous Processes. Hazardous Waste Engineering Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1986
  11. ^ Walter Brenner. Exploratory Research on Novel Ambient Temperature Curing Techniques for Adhesives, Sealants and Laminates: Final Report. National Technical Information Service, 1979. Contributors: New York University. Dept. of Applied Science, United States Naval Air Systems Command.
  12. ^ About Master Bond. Accessed October 26, 2012