When Dr. Bazzelle graduated from Texas Southern University in the spring of 1964,
he planned to start teaching like his parents. However, Dr. Lloyd Woods, his mentor and chair of the Chemistry Department, helped him secure assistantship opportunities to continue his studies in graduate school. Bazzelle chose Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit, Michigan where he had extended family.
In the fall of 1964, Bazzelle began his studies at WSU towards a Master of Science degree in chemistry. He was one of few Black graduate students at the school but felt welcomed by his professors and the students. Though the class sizes were much larger than those at Texas Southern, he found the academic work at WSU less rigorous than his undergraduate experience.
Midway through his master's program, Bazzelle’s advisor, Dr. George Schenk, invited him to transition directly into the chemistry PhD program. He accepted and began research experiments on unique methods of measuring and identifying different chemicals.
William Bazzelle’s PhD dissertation focused on measuring boron products in sulfuric acid. His research expanded chemists' understanding of boron’s behavior in various solutions. Studying chemical reactions can lead to the development of new materials with unique properties and serves as the foundation of synthetic chemistry—a key area of expertise for DuPont, Bazzelle’s future employer.
In this excerpt from Dr. William E. Bazzelle Sr.: A Life of Science & Service, Dr. Bazzelle discusses his graduate studies at Wayne State University:
Introduction | Heritage | Growing Up | College | Graduate School | DuPont Years | Family | STEM Mentorship | Philanthropy