Simmons, Howard Ensign
Howard Ensign Simmons, Jr. papers, 1857-1997.
Approximately half of the materials deal with Simmons's role in overseeing the production of "Science and Corporate Stategy" by David A. Hounshell and John K. Smith, a scholarly history of Research and Development at DuPont. The file contains drafts of the manuscript submitted to DuPont for review, minutes of meetings of the advisory committee chaired by Simmons, and correspondence between Hounshell, Simmons, and other DuPont officers. The records document the company's critique of the manuscript, and Dr. Hounshell's acceptance of, and rebuttal to, company suggestions. The file also describes the search for relevant records in DuPont's records storage system and the transfer of some records to the Hagley Museum and Library. Most of the remaining files are reports dealing with DuPont's diversification program in the late 1960s, including many paths not taken, pamphlets, reports, and miscellaneous documents dealing with the history of the Chemical/Central Research Department and the Experimental Station. Among these are annual reports of the Development Department, a report on "Conduct of Research" by A. P. Tanberg, a list of Chemical Department personnel, a 1934 report on research at DuPont by Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., and memorandums covering the naming of Nylon, the Lavoisier Library, and the Carothers Laboratory. There are also speeches by CEO Edward G. Jefferson and a copy of Lammot du Pont's patent for substituting sodium nitrate for saltpeter in the manufacture of gunpowder.
Howard Ensign Simmons Jr. (1929-1997) was an industrial scientist and the Research Vice-President in the Central Research Department of the DuPont Company from 1979 until his retirement in 1991. Simmons received his doctorate in organic chemistry from MIT in 1954, and joined the DuPont Company as a research chemist the same year. He was a research supervisor in the Central Research Department from 1959 to 1970, associate director of research from 1970 to 1974, and research director from 1974 to 1979. He was named vice president of the Central Research and Development Department in 1979. He retired from DuPont in 1991. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware. He received several awards and honors including the National Medal of Science in 1992 and the ACS Priestley Medal in 1994. Simmons passed away at his home in Greenville, Delaware on April 26, 1997.
AIP-ICOS
Hagley Museum and Library. Manuscripts and Archives Department. 298 Buck Road East, Greenville, DE 19807, USA.