517:, to form Research Corporation, a foundation devoted to philanthropy in science. The original board of directors—academics, scientists, lawyers and bankers—invested a total of $ 10,100 to fund the fledgling organization, and served without compensation. The board of directors shared Cottrell's goal of acquiring inventions and patents, developing them, making them available to industry under licensing, and applying all profits to support investigations in fundamental scientific research. Within a year, all of the board's investments had been repaid and the precipitator business was under way. Cottrell is perhaps best known for this act of philanthropy.
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plants, and which became a primary means for controlling industrial air pollution. Cottrell made it work by developing a reliable high-voltage power supply and electrodes that permitted electrical energy to leak across a gas-filled chamber from many small points. In 1906, electric current was applied to a small laboratory device emitting sulfuric acid mist, and the concept became a reality. The first patent, No. 895,729, was issued on August 11, 1908. The electrostatic precipitator remains a principal technology for pollutant removal from industrial waste flows to this day.
598:“...the main problem at Research Associates, Inc.–the complete inability of this brilliant heterogeneous group of prima donnas to stick sufficiently long on any line of investigation to determine either that it would or would not work. It seemed as if the moment any particular experiment was started everyone, including Cottrell particularly, lost all interest in that experiment. Sparks began flying about some other experiment and dropping the older one without any specific determinations, off they would go after the new spark.”
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544:. During his tenure, the department developed a working catalyst for a Haber-type process. Cottrell was responsible for recommending what to do with the nitrogen plant erected by the government at Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River during World War I. After the war, production had been converted from explosives to fertilizer manufacturing and Cottrell's recommendation that the government continue to operate it as an experimental facility was ultimately incorporated in the plans for the
441:, “My old-time enthusiasm, which during my Berlin stay may sometimes have waned a little, is coming back in full force and I find I have about twice to four times as many schemes to try as there is possibly time for. The change is mainly due, I think, to my being turned loose once more on my own work and being thrown in contact with a large number of men with diverse ideas.” For his work with Ostwald, Cottrell earned a
533:, with Cottrell playing a vital role in making helium production financially feasible during World War I. The cost of a cubic foot of helium at that time was $ 1,700, making it prohibitive for use in World War I. In 1920, Cottrell's search for an inexpensive process for recovering helium from oil well gases resulted in its commercial availability at a cost as low as 1 cent per cubic foot.
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resolved that science would be the principal beneficiary of his invention. Those associated with him in developing electrostatic precipitation agreed with this highly unusual suggestion, and
Cottrell made several attempts to donate the patent to organizations that might market the precipitator, using the proceeds to finance scientific research. After the University of California and the
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Died. Dr. Frederick
Gardner Cottrell, 71, California-born chemist and inventor (Cottrell Electrical Precipitator); of a heart ailment; in Berkeley, Calif. Dr. Cottrell founded the famed Research Corporation in 1912 as a nonprofit organization for the advancement of science, authorized it to spend the
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in 1911. At that time, the Bureau of Mines was the primary U.S. Government agency conducting scientific research on mineral resources. Starting out by establishing an office in San
Francisco, Cottrell served the bureau in several capacities, including that of director in Washington, D.C. Experimental
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Degrees in hand, Cottrell returned to
California and began teaching at University of California, Berkeley. On New Year's Day 1904, he married Jessie Mae Fulton, a former high-school classmate he had met in botany class. Jessie was shy and frail, a sharp contrast to Cottrell's bounding enthusiasm and
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Although
Cottrell was gone, the Foundation carried on his inspiration. In 2012, Research Corporation for Science Advancement celebrated 100 years of funding early-career teacher-scholars at America's leading colleges and universities. Shortly before his death, Cottrell said, “Bet on the youngsters.
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Cottrell was not a businessman, but he recognized the business potential of his invention and decided to use it to fund scientific research through the creation of
Research Corporation. In the time before science was routinely funded by government and private sources, Cottrell, at the age of 34,
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in
England, Cottrell began experimenting with electrostatic precipitation as a means of collecting sulfuric acid mists. The result of Cottrell's work was the electrostatic precipitator, a device which could collect fly ash, dust and fumes, acid mists and fogs that spewed from turn-of-the century
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in
Washington D.C. Funded by “grants” from Research Corporation, Research Associates represented an effort by Cottrell to create another Research Corporation which would, in time, become self-supporting through returns for its services and products. Among its projects were Brackett headlights,
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As a science consultant, Cottrell was highly regarded in national and international circles, in industry and the academic community. He traveled widely, was acquainted with scientists in the U.S. and abroad, and was especially well known for his ability to identify and contribute to new ideas.
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recalled: “The purpose of was to conduct scientific and social research and to eliminate as far as possible the time lag between the perfection of scientific ideas and their introduction into the national life. The period of
Research Associates’ activity, from 1935 through 1938, was a most
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Cottrell struggled with learning new languages. In France, his efforts to speak French were often met with blank stares. Although his German became good enough to study with German scientists, and to write his dissertation, he was far from fluent. Inspired no doubt by
Ostwald (who studied
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Cottrell declined any role at Research Corporation as an officer or director, but remained active as an adviser for the rest of his life. Many of Research Corporation's early grants were made to scientists who Cottrell had identified as “movers and shakers” in their fields, among them
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By the time the United States entered World War II, Cottrell was 64 years old. His health was declining and his mind was weary. In 1944, he and Jess bought a house in Palo Alto, California and retired. Jessie Cottrell died in February 1948.
461:, by donating the proceeds of his Nobel Prize for its support), Cottrell became interested in the movement to establish a universal language for speakers of different linguistic backgrounds. In 1924, he was one of the founders of the
473:, “but my work comes first.” After two difficult pregnancies and the loss of two children, they settled into a quiet, solitary life. They enjoyed reading aloud to one another, travel, and attending lectures and theatre performances.
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Throughout his life, Cottrell had suffered periods of depression. The failure of Research Associates resulted in a long, difficult depression and marked a decline in Cottrell’s previously unbounded fervor and enthusiasm.
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613:, beginning in 1939. Daniels and associates were trying to develop a thermal process for nitrogen fixation using a regenerative pebble-bed furnace, which they hoped would be an inexpensive alternative to the
337:, saving money (his annual salary was $ 1,200) until he could afford to continue his formal education. A notation in his diary, dated January 15, 1900, reads: “Week for lunch and yard duty at school.”
403:(“ to summit”), and visited “Old Paris.” His diary entry on August 11 notes: “got up at 5 a.m. on account of bed bugs. Shook out and packed up things and made arrangements… to change room.”
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496:, 20 miles north of the University. DuPont wanted to address the problem of precipitating the acid mists which form when sulfur trioxide is bubbled through water or dilute
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Cottrell's immense curiosity gained him notice early in life. One acquaintance said, “He read textbooks like novels.” He finished high school at age 16, entered the
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in chemistry “in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions.”
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For many reasons, the organization eventually floundered. In a letter dated September 18, 1951, J.W. Barker, then-president of Research Corporation, discussed:
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ammonia synthesis. Although the project helped rejuvenate Cottrell emotionally, the development of the process was not complete until after Cottrell’s death.
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They are long shots, but some of them pay off.” His investment has financed thousands of scientific research projects, many of which have changed our world.
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399:, the 1900 world's fair designed to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next. There, Cottrell saw the new
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Another Cottrell “brainchild” was Research Associates Inc. which was organized January 1, 1935, with 10 employees and offices on the campus of
548:. After resigning his position with the Department of Agriculture in 1930, he remained a consultant to the department for the next decade.
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Establishing Research Corporation: A Case Study of Patents, Philanthropy and Organized Research in Early Twentieth-Century America
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At the time, it was common for American scientists to conduct their graduate studies abroad. To that end, Cottrell left for
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On November 16, 1948, Research Corporation’s founder, Frederick Gardner Cottrell, died while attending a meeting of the
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The following obituary subsequently ran in the “Milestones” section of the November 29, 1948, issue of Time magazine:
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detergents, heat wave roasting of Fullers earth, the Greger fuel cell and Royster stoves and deodorizers.
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In 1921, Cottrell left the Bureau of Mines to chair the Chemistry and Chemical Technology Division of the
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on the migration of ions through a diaphragm in an electrolytic cell. A month after his arrival in
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Cottrell's belief in public service and his love of the environment prompted him to join the
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Cottrell: Samaritan of Science: The Biography of Scientist and Inventor F. G. Cottrell
540:. From 1922 to 1930, he was director of the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory at the
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Cottrell’s longtime interest in nitrogen fixation prompted a collaboration with
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Frederick Gardner Cottrell, 1877—1948: A Biographical Memoir by Vannevar Bush
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declined his offer, Cottrell worked with then-Secretary of the Smithsonian
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429:, undertaking a theoretical study of the effect of the counterflow of an
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749:– Apparatus for separating suspended particles from gaseous bodies, 1912
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unending energy. When he proposed, Cottrell declared his love, with the
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Shortly after returning to Berkeley, Cottrell began consulting for the
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From Paris, Cottrell traveled to Berlin where he began his studies at
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333:, and graduated in 3 years. After graduation, he taught chemistry at
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American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
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production for use in balloons and dirigibles began in 1917 at the
725:– Art of separating suspended particles from gaseous bodies , 1908
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held at his alma mater, the University of California at Berkeley.
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In an obituary he wrote at the time of Cottrell's death in 1948,
314:, a foundation that has funded scientific research since 1912.
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500:. Using an electrical method similar to one envisioned by
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Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
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In 1917 Cottrell was initiated into the Sigma chapter of
971:. Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement. 2017.
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909:, Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1949
27:
American physical chemist, inventor and philanthropist
757:– Method of discharge of electricity into gases, 1913
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at its explosives- and acids-producing facility near
306:, one of the first inventions designed to eliminate
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1001:, Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences,
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853:Advancement, Research Corporation for Science.
828:Advancement, Research Corporation for Science.
803:Advancement, Research Corporation for Science.
287:(January 10, 1877 – November 16, 1948) was an
635:entire $ 3,500,000 grossed by his invention.
480:at the University of California at Berkeley.
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859:Research Corporation for Science Advancement
834:Research Corporation for Science Advancement
809:Research Corporation for Science Advancement
463:International Auxiliary Language Association
312:Research Corporation for Science Advancement
302:. He is best known for his invention of the
457:, and backed another constructed language,
907:Report of the National Academy of Sciences
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946:, Tucson, Arizona: Research Corporation,
918:, Tucson, Arizona: Research Corporation,
678:American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal
80:Learn how and when to remove this message
672:American Society of Mechanical Engineers
43:This article includes a list of general
1080:United States Bureau of Mines personnel
1060:UC Berkeley College of Chemistry alumni
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382:Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
886:Alpha Chi Sigma Educational Foundation
437:, Cottrell wrote to his future wife,
352:where he visited the “Cavendish labs…
7:
1070:Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
322:He was born on January 10, 1877, in
1045:Scientists from Oakland, California
344:in July 1900 on the German steamer
331:University of California, Berkeley
255:University of California, Berkeley
49:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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888:. Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity, Inc
34:
1050:20th-century American inventors
697:National Inventors Hall of Fame
227:
882:"Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame"
542:U.S. Department of Agriculture
445:in 1902. Ostwald received the
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741:– Purification of gases, 1912
109:
981:Chemical Heritage Foundation
977:"Frederick Gardner Cottrell"
684:National Academy of Sciences
654:Society of Chemical Industry
626:National Academy of Sciences
412:Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff
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969:"About Frederick Cottrell"
855:"About Frederick Cottrell"
830:"About Frederick Cottrell"
805:"About Frederick Cottrell"
773:Electrostatic precipitator
566:nuclear magnetic resonance
546:Tennessee Valley Authority
310:—and for establishing the
304:electrostatic precipitator
285:Frederick Gardner Cottrell
96:Frederick Gardner Cottrell
1065:Leipzig University alumni
670:1937 Holley Medal of the
538:National Research Council
515:Charles Doolittle Walcott
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940:Cornell, Thomas (2004),
914:Cameron, Frank (1993) ,
447:Nobel Prize in Chemistry
992:Bush, Vannevar (1952),
780:for Science Advancement
664:1924 Gold Medal of the
611:University of Wisconsin
574:Van de Graaff generator
511:Smithsonian Institution
421:Cottrell then moved to
64:more precise citations.
425:where he studied with
397:Exposition Universelle
372:” in London; and “the
754:U.S. patent 1,067,974
746:U.S. patent 1,035,422
738:U.S. patent 1,016,476
395:where he visited the
18:Frederick G. Cottrell
778:Research Corporation
570:Robert Van de Graaff
531:U.S. Bureau of Mines
522:U.S. Bureau of Mines
408:University of Berlin
260:University of Berlin
208:Berkeley, California
124:U.S. Bureau of Mines
122:3rd Director of the
730:U.S. patent 945,917
722:U.S. patent 895,729
710:U.S. patent 866,843
660:Willard Gibbs Medal
581:American University
362:House of Parliament
335:Oakland High School
324:Oakland, California
607:Farrington Daniels
592:stimulating one.”
554:Ernest O. Lawrence
494:Pinole, California
423:Leipzig University
378:Sheldonian Theatre
358:Kensington Gardens
265:Leipzig University
1055:American chemists
987:on July 12, 2016.
768:Cottrell equation
713:– Manufacture of
643:Honors and awards
366:Westminster Abbey
348:and made land in
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220:Jessie Mae Fulton
201:November 16, 1948
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391:Then he went to
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184:January 10, 1877
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692:Hall of Fame
650:Perkin Medal
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154:Succeeded by
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70:January 2018
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1040:1948 deaths
1035:1877 births
892:January 21,
562:Isidor Rabi
431:electrolyte
416:Nobel Prize
142:Preceded by
62:introducing
1029:Categories
1007:1026640536
953:0963350471
925:0963350420
864:2024-01-12
839:2024-01-12
814:2024-01-12
790:References
247:Alma mater
191:California
180:1877-01-10
108:Cottrell,
45:references
934:849847487
558:cyclotron
455:Esperanto
449:in 1909.
354:Hyde Park
318:Biography
136:1920–1920
132:In office
112:1910–1920
962:56988198
762:See also
525:work on
380:and the
368:and the
346:Waesland
296:inventor
289:American
238:Children
703:Patents
652:of the
609:of the
471:proviso
435:Leipzig
350:England
232:
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187:Oakland
58:improve
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717:, 1907
568:) and
527:helium
484:Career
386:Oxford
342:Europe
215:Spouse
210:, U.S.
193:, U.S.
47:, but
999:(PDF)
695:1992
688:1982
682:1939
676:1938
658:1920
648:1919
615:Haber
572:(the
556:(the
443:Ph.D.
410:with
393:Paris
384:” in
226:(
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1003:OCLC
958:OCLC
948:ISBN
930:OCLC
920:ISBN
894:2018
298:and
198:Died
174:Born
576:).
560:),
459:Ido
269:PhD
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