Robert W. Gore

Robert W. Gore (April 15, 1937 – September 17, 2020) was an American engineer and scientist, inventor and businessman. Gore led his family's company, W. L. Gore & Associates, which was founded by his father Bill Gore, in developing applications of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) ranging from computer cables to medical equipment to the outer layer of space suits. His most significant breakthrough was likely the invention of Gore-Tex, a waterproof and breathable fabric popularly known for its use in sporting and outdoor gear. His family relocated to near Newark, Delaware in 1950, to be near his father's work at the DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware. The Gore family stayed with friends for several months while Bob's father built their house. Bob attended school in Newark beginning in eighth grade.

Gore graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware in 1959. With his wife and son, he moved to University Village in September 1959 to attend graduate school. He wanted to insulate electrical wires using PTFE, but attempts to coat wire with powdered PTFE did not produce a consistent coating. In April 1957, while Bob was still a sophomore at Delaware, Bill showed him around his home lab and explained the problem he was having.

Bob suggested surrounding the wire with a different form of PTFE, a white tape that was already of uniform thickness. His father expected that the PTFE tape would not stick to the wire, but he tried the idea, and it worked. Wires were laid between layers of PTFE tape and sent through a grooved calender roll, then heated to melt the tape into a coherent coating. The result was a PTFE-insulated ribbon cable containing multiple copper conductors, later called "Multi-Tet Cable". Multi-tet cable was eventually used in the IBM System/360 and other computers and in communications and process control equipment. During the Apollo 11 space mission, astronauts used a Gore cable to connect their ship to a seismograph placed on the surface of the Moon.

Bob Gore was elected to the board of directors of W. L. Gore & Associates in June 1961, while still a student at the University of Minnesota. Gore joined W. L. Gore & Associates as a research associate.

Waterproof fabric

More popularly, Gore-Tex is known for its use as a waterproof, breathable fabric, used in outdoor clothing and sport footwear. To the human eye, it looks and feels like a smooth fabric. Structurally, the membrane of the fabric contains about nine-billion microscopic pores per square inch. The holes are large enough to allow body heat and water vapour to escape, but small enough to deflect water drops. As a result, moisture from rain or snow cannot penetrate the fabric, while perspiration can escape as it evaporates.

The first report of using Gore-Tex to make waterproof, breathable garments appeared in a market report, April 13, 1972. The first commercial sales of Gore-Tex were made in 1976 when Early Winters, Ltd., began making and selling Gore-Tex tents. The next year Early sold Gore-Tex rainwear.

Executive role

Gore became president and CEO of the company in 1976, replacing his father. The company retained its base in Newark, Delaware, but expanded worldwide. Ongoing work has developed Gore's initial ideas and resulted in four main areas of focus for the company: divisions for fabrics, medical, industrial, and electronic products.

In 2000, Gore stepped down as president, becoming chairman, a position he held until 2016.

Personal life Gore married his second wife Sarah Louise "Sally" (née Ives) Coons in late 1977, which ended and he later married third wife Jane (née Arnold in 2012, who survived him in 2020. in Earleville, Maryland.

He was survived by three sons Scott, Tom, and Brian Gore, one daughter, Sharon Rubin, six stepchildren, 28 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

He has four siblings, including Susan Gore, who founded Wyoming Liberty Group in 2008.

Philanthropy A major focus of philanthropy for Gore was his alma maters, the University of Delaware and the University of Minnesota. He served on the board of trustees as an emeritus member from 1992 to 2010 and as vice chairman from 1999 to 2007. $18.5 million from the Gore family in the 1990s for the construction of Gore Hall $1 million in 2001 to establish a First-Year Graduate Student Fellowship Initiative in Chemical Engineering & Materials Science at the University of Minnesota $1 million in 2005 to fund the Genevieve W. Gore Recital Hall in the Roselle Center for the Arts $1 million in 2011 to establish the Robert W. Gore Fellowship in the College of Engineering $10 million in 2013 for a 194,000-square-foot interdisciplinary science and engineering lab, to be known as "Bob and Jane Gore Research Laboratories".

Awards Gore was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995 for his technical achievements. In 2005, he received the Perkin Medal, awarded for "contributions to the improvement of the quality of life and the world competitiveness of the U.S. economy". In recognition of his work in developing Gore-Tex, Gore was inducted into the American National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.

Patents Gore held nine patents for his work with fluoropolymers.