In Memorium

Allan S. Hay

(1929-2017)

Allan S. Hay passed away peacefully on August 14, 2017. He was born on July 23, 1929 in Edmonton Alberta, Canada the son of Stuart L. Hay and Verna Emila (Hodgins) Hay. He received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Alberta (1950, 1952), and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1955. Later that year, he moved to Niskayuna, New York and joined the staff of the GE Research Laboratory as a research chemist. In 1964, GE announced Dr. Hay’s invention of “polymerization by oxidative coupling,” a basically new chemical technique for synthesizing polymers which led to the development of GE’s PPO® and Noryl® thermoplastic resins, one of the five major engineering plastics. PPO and its blends now have worldwide sales of over $1.5 billion. In 1968 he was promoted to Chemical Laboratory manager, and in 1980 he was appointed Research and Development Manager, Chemical Laboratories at the GE R&D center in Niskayuna, where he directed the work of 220 scientists. At this time he oversaw the development and commercialization of ULTEM®, a high temperature polyimide resin.

He retired from GE in 1987 and started his second career as a professor of polymer chemistry at McGill University in Montreal, where he directed the research and supervised the training of several dozen masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral students. He held the GE/NSERC Chair of Polymer Chemistry (1987-95), and Tomlinson Chair in Chemistry (1997-2014). He retired from McGill in 2014 and moved back to Niskayuna.  Dr. Hay has published over 300 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and was an inventor on over 100 U.S. patents. He received numerous awards over his career, including the prestigious Society of Plastics Engineers International Award and Gold Medal, and was a delegate to the First Bilateral Symposium between the U.S. and The Peoples Republic of China in 1979, the first group of western scientists to visit mainland China. He was a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society of London, and the American Institute of Chemists. He was also a long-standing member of ACS, POLY, and PMSE for over 65 years.

He was predeceased by his wife of 48 years, Janet Hay, in 2004, and is survived by his children, Randall (Theresa) Hay of Dayton, OH; Bruce (Nanette) Hay of Niskayuna, NY; Lauren (William Battaglin) Hay of Golden, CO; and Susan (Michael Becker) Hay of Portland, OR; sisters, Margaret Cameron and Denise (Walter) Schmidt of Edmonton; three nieces and nephews, and 10 grandchildren.

Dr. Hay had a clear passion for science and mentoring younger colleagues. He also loved spending time at his second home in Glenburnie on Lake George, where he enjoyed reading, gardening, hiking, and outdoor activities with family and grandchildren.