Willis Rodney Whitney
American chemist and founder of the research laboratory of the General Electric Company (1868-1958) · United States · On the map · Scientists · Died at 89
Willis Rodney Whitney 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.
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William Coolidge, Willis Rodney Whitney, Thomas Edison, Charles Proteus Steinmitz, Irving Langmuir at the G.E. Laboratory. (front row, left-to-right) 1923.
Irving Langmuir (left) and Willis R. Whitney (right) in the G.E. Laboratory. 1920
The big three of the G.E. Laboratory. Willis R. Whitney (center) and Irving Langmuir and William Coolidge. 1909
Whitney (left) and Langmuir (center) showing Guglielmo Marconi (left) a vacuum tube that G.E. produced for radio transmitters. This is one of the many other experiments that Whitney was not majorly involved in, but still oversaw the progress of.Awards
About this person
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 also a professor at M.I.T. for some time before his career transition into research directing. 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.
