Robert W. Cairns

Robert W. Cairns (1909-1985) was an American chemist who worked at Hercules and at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He contributed to World War II technological advances in explosives.

Biography Cairns was born in Oberlin, Ohio. He was the son of William Cairns, an Oberlin College mathematics professor. He received an AB from Oberlin College in 1930 and a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1932. He attended the six-week advanced management program at Harvard Business School.

He was appointed director of research in 1955 at Hercules Research Center, was elected to the board of directors in 1960 and in 1967, he became vice-president. In 1968, he was appointed president of the American Chemical Society and then in 1972 named executive director. Industrial Research Institute Medal (1974) Chairman of American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry (1961-1962) President of University of Delaware Research Foundation President of Industrial Research Institute