C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

Noyes Laboratory:
One Hundred Years of Chemistry

A Century of Accomplishment
The Bare Facts
Nobel Prize Winners
ACS Presidents
Priestley Medal Winner

Fine Chemicals

The Illinois State Water Survey

Chemists and Chemistry at Noyes:
Roger Adams: "The Chief"
Ludwig F. Audrieth and Synthetic Sweeteners
John C. Bailar Jr. and Coordination Chemistry
St. Elmo Brady: Pioneer
George L. Clark and High-Intensity X-Ray Tubes
Willis H. Flygare and Microwave Spectrometry
Reynold C. Fuson: Teaching Chemistry
Herbert S. Gutowsky and NMR Spectroscopy
B. Smith Hopkins and the Chemistry of Rare Earths
Henry Fraser Johnstone and the Study of Air Pollution
Herbert A. Laitinen and Analytical Chemistry
Carl "Speed" Marvel: Advances in Polymer Chemistry
William A. Noyes: The Department Comes of Age
Arthur W. Palmer: The Early Years
Samuel W. Parr and Applied Chemistry
Charles C. Price III and Antimalarials
Worth H. Rodebush and Physical Chemistry
William C. Rose and Amino Acids
George F. Smith and the Aerosol Can
Harold R. Snyder and Antimalarials
Marion Sparks and Chemical Information

Landmark Designation

Samuel Parr joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1891 as Professor of
Applied Chemistry, a post he held until his retirement in 1926. In 1901 Parr established the curriculum of chemical engineering.

Parr’s academic interest was the chemistry of coal and coal products. He supplied the chemistry industry with practical instruments used to analyze coal: the Parr Peroxide Calorimeter, the gas calorimeter, the automatic recording gas calorimeter, and the sulfur photometer. He developed a superior coking process after discovering that bituminous coal, after being dried below coking temperatures, decomposes with an exothermic reaction when heated to a higher temperature.

Parr worked extensively on alloys and discovered the nonferrous alloy illium, which is of high tensile strength and ductibility and is highly resistant to corrosion. Another research interest of his led to the solving of the problem of the embrittlement of boiler steel. His work resulted in vast savings for industry.

Parr founded the Standard Calorimeter Company in 1899 in Champaign, Illinois. This company grew out of Parr’s development of a simplified instrument for measuring the heating value of coal. Parr’s calorie meter, or calorimeter, and other devices for testing fuel contributed to the development of the extensive bituminous coal fields in Illinois at a time when conventional wisdom held the only valuable coal in the United States came from eastern fields. In 1911 the company moved its manufacturing facility to East Moline, Illinois, and a few years later to Moline. In 1933 the company became the Parr Instrument Company and it is still in operation.

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