Lloyd M. Cooke

Lloyd Miller Cooke (1916 – 2001) was an American industrial chemist and researcher. He was an early African American chemist specialized in cellulose and carbohydrate chemistry, and worked in a leadership role for many years at Union Carbide Corporation (now Union Carbide) chemical company.

Early life and education Lloyd Miller Cooke was born on June 7, 1916, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Black parents Anne (née Miller), and noted architect, William Wilson Cooke. His sister was Anne Cooke Reid, a noted stage director and academic.

Cooke graduated with a B.S. degree in 1937, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison; and a Ph.D. in 1941 in organic chemistry, from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Career Cooke began his career working in starch research at the Corn Products Refining Company (now Ingredion), an ingredient manufacturer in Illinois.

From 1970 until 1978, Cooke was the director of urban affairs at Union Carbide. Cooke's role at the National Science Board was succeeded by physicist Roland W. Schmitt.

He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences;

Cooke died on October 3, 2001, in Oberlin, Ohio.