Obituary: Otto Vogl, pioneering polymer scientist

Otto Vogl, 85, of Amherst, professor emeritus of Polymer Science and Engineering, died April 27 at home.

 

Born in Traiskirchen, Austria, near Vienna, he studied organic chemistry, receiving his doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1950, having completed his thesis on steroids. He became an instructor at the Chemical Institute of the University of Vienna.

 

In 1953, he came to the U.S.to the University of Michigan as a postdoctoral fellow. He moved to Princeton University where he continued his research. In 1956, he joined the polychemicals department of Du Pont in Wilmington, Del.

 

In 1970, he was appointed a professor in the Polymer Science Program and played a pivotal role in its development into the present-day Polymer Science and Engineering Department. Later, he and Chemistry professor Richard Stein founded the Center for UMass-Industry Research on Polymers (CUMIRP), one of the first academic-industry cooperative programs in the U.S. and the only one of its era still running strong.

 

In 1983, he was appointed to the new Herman F. Mark Professorship at the Polytechnic University in New York, the first endowed polymer professorship in the country.

 

He retired from the Polytechnic University in 1996 and returned as professor emeritus in the Polymer Science and Engineering Department.

 

During his career, he strived successfully to make polymer science a global science and organization. Vogl worked and published in several innovative fields, from organic polymer chemistry to polymer physics to polymer technology. He also was involved in the globalization of polymer science. Starting from the early 1970s, he fostered U.S. cooperation with the Japanese polymer community, and served as the first president of the Pacific Polymer Federation.

 

During his academic career, Vogl supervised approximately 100 students and postdoctoral research associates from around the world, published 450 scientific papers, wrote an additional 150 science-related articles and held more than 50 U.S. and foreign patents. He served on 15 editorial boards, received many international awards and honorary degrees from the University of Jena in Germany, Polytechnic Institute of Iasi in Romania, Osaka University in Japan, the Academy of Science in the Slovak Republic and the University of Leoben in Austria.

 

In 1998, the city museum in Traiskirchen, Austria, dedicated an 800-square-foot room to a permanent exhibition of his documents, photographs, medals and other memorabilia.

Otto was also very active in committee work in the polymer field and developed and led many of its critical organizations. He was a member of, among others, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society, the Austrian Chemical Society, the Pacific Polymer Federation, which he founded in furtherance of his commitment to international science, and the prestigious Royal Swedish Society of Sciences.

 

Otto leaves his wife of 57 years, Jane, their son Eric of Houston, Texas, and daughter Yvonne of New York; eight grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and Gracie, his dog.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, May 7 at 10 a.m. in St. Brigid’s Church. A private family burial will follow in Wildwood Cemetery.