Emma Parmee grew up in Keynsham, England, the youngest of four children. Her father was a banker, her mother a housewife. She had always liked math and science, but she also liked languages. She attended all-girls…

In his oral history Lawrence Evans begins by describing his parents and early life in New Mexico and Oklahoma. He describes the important influence that his father, a pharmacist by training, had in shaping an interest…

Arthur L. Babson grew up in Essex Fells, New Jersey. Babson began college and the Army Special Training Reserve Program at Rutgers University but was expelled for missing a single class. He then worked in a laboratory…

Nadrian C. Seeman grew up an only child in Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His father owned a fur store, and his mother had been a teacher. He was inspired by his high school biology teacher to focus on…

David Pyott was raised in India and Scotland. An early love of languages led him to work and study in mainland Europe, while pursuing a BA in German language and literature at the University of Edinburgh. Later, he…

Harold M. McNair grew up in Miami, Arizona, one of two sons. His parents worked in the local copper mines; they were not highly educated, but they valued education and encouraged Harold. He did well in school but also…

Emmett D. Crawford was born in Meridian, Mississippi, but grew up in Laurinburg, North Carolina. His father, a minister and director of admissions at St. Andrews Presbyterian College, and his mother, a teacher, divorced…

Henri Termeer begins his interview by discussing his parents’ histories, the influence of family, and his entrance into the business world. He describes how, as a boy, he began to develop leadership skills as early as…

Peter B. Lederman, an only child, was born in Weimar, Germany. His father was an accountant who spent a week in a concentration camp but was recalled in order to help the state collect taxes. When Peter was seven the…

Uma Chowdhry grew up in Bombay (later Mumbai), India, one of three children. She attended British missionary schools, which taught in English, and became interested in science in high school. Having obtained a…

Foil A. Miller begins the interview by describing the origins of the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy [Pittcon]. Miller was involved early on with Pittcon and its two founding…

Ronald Macfarlane was born in Buffalo, New York, the oldest of three children. An excellent teacher in high school sparked his interest in chemistry, and Macfarlane attended the University of Buffalo, majoring in…

John R. Ferraro was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Richard T. Crane Technical High School, then worked at General Motors for three years before entering Illinois Institute of Technology, majoring in…

Thomas E. Everhart’s oral history begins with a discussion of his work with the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Everhart talks about Gordon E. Moore’s contributions to the electronics world. He describes his time as…

Marvin Margoshes grew up in New York City, New York, one of three children. His parents had left the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his father from Galicia and his mother from Hungary, and had met as members of a Zionist…

This oral history is one in a series that looks at the history of the Toxic Substances Control Act from the perspectives of the individuals involved in its creation, implementation, and execution.

Victor J. Kimm…

James R. Von Ehr, II, grew up in Grand Rapids and New Buffalo, Michigan, one of three children. His parents did not attend college but emphasized that education was important. Von Ehr's interest in electronics was…

This oral history is one in a series that looks at the history of the Toxic Substances Control Act from the perspectives of the individuals involved in its creation, implementation, and execution.

Glenn E. Schweitzer…

Kazuo Inamori was born in 1932 in Kagoshima, Japan, which lies on the southern tip of Kyushu Island—the southernmost of Japan's four largest islands. He was one of seven children. During elementary school, he was a very…

Nancy B. Jackson was born in Wisconsin, and her family moved a few times during her childhood. Jackson spent much of her teenage years in St. Louis, Missouri. Both of her parents were United Church of Christ ministers.…

Herman Fialkov was born in 1922 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Herman attended City College of New York, studying engineering. He left college to take a job with Emerson Radio Corporation attending night school at…

Isy Haas was born in Istanbul, Turkey. He and his parents were Jewish and Polish citizens, not automatically Turkish. They spoke French and German until World War II, when they ceased speaking German. Haas attended a…

James V. Aidala began working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a college intern in the Office of Pesticide Programs; he returned as a policy analyst in the new Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances…

Charles M. Auer joined the EPA’s Office of Toxic Substances, before the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was passed, as an entry level chemist doing screening-level risk assessments. He was the first chair of the…

Charles F. Lettow grew up as a “Sputnik kid,” choosing to study chemical engineering as an undergraduate. He held one job in the chemical industry before serving in the U.S. Army; after his military service he moved…