Richard S. Stein *48
Dick died June 21, 2021, in Amherst, Mass., at age 95.
Born in Far Rockaway, N.Y., Dick earned a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton.
His career spanned more than 40 years at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he was Goessmann Professor of Chemistry. With more than 400 publications and many books, Dick received three honorary doctorates and served in the first delegation in chemistry to the People’s Republic of China.
He was a co-founder of the UMass Computing Center and was one of a handful of individuals to be a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame, and the Materials Research Society conferred on him its highest honor, the Von Hippel Award.
By founding the Polymer Science Research Institute and helping establish the Polymer Science and Engineering Program and the Silvio O. Conte National Center for Polymer Research at UMass, Dick helped create the field of polymer science.
Predeceased by his wife, Judith, and daughter Linda, Dick is survived by his children, Anne, Carol, and Lisa; and six grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.
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