William H. Joyce
The information listed below is current as of the date the transcript was finalized.
Interview Details
Interview Sessions
Abstract of Interview
William H. Joyce begins his interview with a description of his early childhood. As a young man, Joyce was significantly influenced by both his parents, in particular his father, who instilled in Joyce a strong knowledge of business. Throughout his childhood, Joyce was very active, participating in sports such as golf and skiing, but also had a strong interest in chemistry. Very early in his academic career, before high school even, Joyce decided to become a chemical engineer, and, with that in mind, participated in many school science fairs. With a Navy scholarship, Joyce was able to attend college at Penn State University. While at Penn State, Joyce participated in numerous extracurricular activities, but also took his studies very seriously and found his time there quite enjoyable. After graduating, Joyce accepted a position at Union Carbide as a product development engineer. While at Union Carbide, Joyce received numerous promotions and worked in various capacities, from the R&D side of industry to speech writing for chairmen. Throughout his career at Union Carbide, spanning over forty years, Joyce made several contributions to his field, working to create a new transoceanic telephone cable to the UNIPOL process for creating high-density polyethylene. After a short time at Hercules Incorporated, in 2003, Joyce began to work at Nalco Company, where he continues to use his energy to create new and innovative techniques and products to solve problems in the water treatment and processing chemicals industry. Joyce concludes his interview by discussing current events as related to the chemical industry.
Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Pennsylvania State University | BS | Chemical Engineering |
| 1971 | New York University | MBA | |
| 1974 | New York University | PhD |
Professional Experience
Union Carbide Company
Hercules Incorporated
Nalco Company
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 1993 | National Medal of Technology |
| 1994 | Industry Achievement Award, Plastics Academy |
| 1997 | Lifetime Achievement Award, Plastics Academy |
| 1997 | Inducted into the National Academy of Engineering |
| 2003 | Perkin Medal, Society of Chemical Industry (American Section) |
| Chairman, Society of Plastics Industry |
|
| Board of Directors, Executive Committee, American Plastics Council |
|
| Board of Directors, Executive Committee, American Chemistry Council |
|
| Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Society of Chemical Industry |
|
| Board of Trustees, University Research Associates |
|
| Co-Chair, National Academies Research Roundtable |
Table of Contents
Born in Western Pennsylvania. Influence of father. Raised in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. Interest in chemistry from older brothers. Conducted science experiments in basement. High school experiences and participation in science fairs.
Navy scholarship. Chose Penn State over several Ivy League schools. Chemical engineering major. Lived on campus freshman year and at fraternity house following that. Many extracurricular activities including football manager.
Accepted job as Product Development Engineer directly after college. Worked on insulating materials. Electric Boat project. Transoceanic telephone cable. Bell Laboratories. Operate out of New York. Semiconducting polyethylene. Night school at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Stevens Institute of Technology. Promotion to Product Manager of Chemicals and Plastics. Receive MBA. Receive PhD. Operations Manager. High-density polyethylene.
Devised practical methods and solutions for creating high-density polyethylene. Improved wire and cable, as well as a molding material. Reverted cash-flow back into R&D.
Philosophy to being successful in a large corporation. Hercules Incorporated. Nalco Company. Technology for water treatment. Thoughts on government and chemical industry with current events.
About the Interviewer
Arnold Thackray founded the Chemical Heritage Foundation and served the organization as president for 25 years. He is currently CHF’s chancellor. Thackray received MA and PhD degrees in history of science from Cambridge University. He has held appointments at Cambridge, Oxford University, and Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In 1983 Thackray received the Dexter Award from the American Chemical Society for outstanding contributions to the history of chemistry. He served for more than a quarter century on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the founding chairman of the Department of History and Sociology of Science and is currently the Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus.