About Malcolm Renfrew
Malcolm MacKenzie Renfrew (October 12, 1910 – October 12, 2013) was an American polymer chemist, inventor, and professor emeritus at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Renfrew Hall, the university's chemistry building, was named for him in 1985. Renfrew is noted for his contribution to the development of Teflon, including the first paper on the subject. In 1946 he spoke on behalf of DuPont at the American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting at which Teflon was announced. == Early life == Born in Spokane, Washington, Renfrew was the elder of two sons of Earl and Elsie MacKenzie Renfrew. Earl was an accountant and the family later moved to the Palouse at Colfax, and then across the Idaho border to nearby Potlatch in 1923. Renfrew graduated from Potlatch High School in 1928 and attended the University of Idaho in nearby Moscow, where he joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and wrote for The Argonaut, the student newspaper. Originally interested in journalism, he switched his major to chemistry and graduated with a B.S. in 1932 and an M.S. in 1934. He then traveled to the Midwest to continue his studies and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in 1938. == Career == After gaining his doctorate, Renfrew worked for DuPont in New Jersey, where he produced a number of patents on polymethyl methacrylate, including one on photopolymerization, material for tooth repair, as well as epoxy resins and the first method of synthesis of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) in a form which was suitable for the commercial production of Teflon.
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