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sound files : digital, mp3 file. |
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transcript : (114 leaves) ; 29 cm |
| Content |
text txt |
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spoken word spw |
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Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral history transcript ; 0885.
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| Note |
Interview conducted by David J. Caruso and Matthew N. Eisler at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York and The State University of New York at Stony Brook, on 27 April and 14 September 2012. (With Subsequent Corrections and Additions) |
| Summary |
Esther Takeuchi grew up in Akron, Ohio, the youngest of three children. After escaping Soviet Latvia, her father became an electrical engineer for Goodyear Aerospace and her mother a home health worker who also had an economics degree. From an early age, Takeuchi enjoyed science and math. She majored in history and chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was often the lone woman in her classes. Takeuchi completed her PhD in Harold Shechter's lab at the Ohio State University. She also met her future husband, an inorganic chemist, in a German class at Ohio State. Preferring to "make things rather than measure them," Takeuchi chose industry over academia, taking a job at Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), working on catalysis. She did postdoctoral work at the University of North Carolina, and, when her husband took a job at SUNY Buffalo, she did another postdoc at Buffalo. Still interested in a career in industry, Takeuchi accepted a position as senior chemist at Greatbatch, Inc., a developer of implantable medical devices. She rediscovered the use of silver vanadium oxide (SVO) in oil-drilling batteries and adapted the chemistry for an implantable cardiac defibrillator. During her twenty-three years at Greatbatch, Takeuchi rose up in management positions, culminating in Chief Scientist at the Center for Excellence. From there she went to SUNY Buffalo, becoming Greatbatch Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Chemistry. While there, she was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Takeuchi's interest in battery development extended into energy storage, so she moved to SUNY Stony Brook, where she is the Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering in a joint appointment with Brookhaven National Laboratory, to work on large projects with large groups. Takeuchi has won numerous awards and holds numerous patents. She has published articles and given presentations at Electrochemical Society meetings. Her experience in both industry and academia has given her an unusually broad perspective into the practice of chemistry. |
| Cite As |
Esther Takeuchi interview conducted by David J. Caruso and Matthew N. Eisler at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York and The State University of New York at Stony Brook, on 27 April and 14 September 2012. (Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation, Oral History Transcript 0885). |
| Note |
Sound files Science History Institute. |
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Transcript Science History Institute. |
| Access Restrictions |
No restrictions on access. Reproduction and use with permission. |
| Biography |
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on 8 September 1953. Education: BA, Chemistry and History, University of Pennsylvania (1975); PhD, Organic Chemistry, The Ohio State University (1981). Employment: 1975-1976, University of Pennsylvania; 1981-1982, Union Carbide Corporation; 1982-1983, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; 1983-1984, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; 1984-2007, Wilson Greatbatch, Inc.; 2007-2012, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; 2012-present, State University of New York at Stony Brook; 2012-present, Brookhaven National Laboratory. |
| Indexes |
Transcript has been indexed. |
| Note |
Part or all of this item has been digitized by Science History Institute. |
| Subject(s) |
Takeuchi, E. (Esther), interviewee.
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Brookhaven National Laboratory.
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State University of New York at Buffalo -- Faculty.
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State University of New York at Stony Brook -- Faculty.
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Chemists -- United States -- Biography.
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Chemists -- United States -- Interviews.
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Women in science -- United States -- Biography.
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Women in science -- United States -- Interviews.
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Women chemists -- United States -- Biography.
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Women chemists -- United States -- Interviews.
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Electrochemistry -- Research -- United States.
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Catalysis -- Research -- United States.
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| Genre |
Oral histories. lcgft
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| Alternate Author |
Caruso, David J. (David Joseph), 1978-
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Eisler, Matthew N., 1970- interviewer.
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Chemical Heritage Foundation.
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| Alternate Title |
Esther Takeuchi oral history interview |
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Takeuchi oral history interview |
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