Vandenberg grew up in Hawthorne, New Jersey, where his father owned a grain and feed store. After talking about his schooling, where he learned the violin, Edwin Vandenberg recalls a friend and his home laboratory. Attending Stevens Institute of Technology, Vandenberg concentrates on chemical subjects, influenced by F. J. Pond. His first years at Hercules were with Spurlin's paper chemistry group, where he contributed to the understanding of paper sizing as a colloid phenomenon. After a spell working on the wartime production of smokeless powder, Vandenberg returns to the Hercules research center to work on a wide range of polymer syntheses, which he describes in some detail. The interview concludes with an account of his retirement activities at Arizona State University, and reflections on his family, colleagues and ACS activities.