chloride react in solution to form Kevlar
(Hagley Digital Archives)
In 1971, Dr. Memeger joined the group working on what would become a flagship fiber for DuPont, Kevlar.
Kevlar has remarkable strength and heat-resistance and is used in myriad products, from undersea cables to bulletproof vests. In 1965, Dr. Memeger's fellow DuPont chemist, Stephanie Kwolek, had discovered the polymer.
While on the research and development team, Dr. Memeger found a commercially viable method of synthesizing polymer chains of sufficient length for Kevlar products. In the following clip, Dr. Memeger describes his contribution to the Kevlar project and gives a tour of Kevlar's molecular structure:
Photographs
The banner image includes a detail from Toward Disharmony II, a painting by Wesley Memeger Jr. Images in this digital exhibit (unless otherwise noted) are from the private collection of Wesley Memeger Jr.