SYNOPSISMembranes in the form of hollow fibers ate increasingly being used for processes such as desalination, hemodialysis, and recovery of various gases. Turner Alfrey played a crucial role in the birth of this new technology: (1) He selected and taught the necessary fundamentals of polymer science to the researchers trying to make this new idea work. (2) He actively encouraged the researchers and their financial supporters by his clear understanding of the soundness and the potential of this new engineering tool. (3) He even demonstated how to tailor the properties of a polymer to the task at hand by his own elegant laboratory experiments.Turner Alfrey's contributions to hollow-fiber membrane technology [ 1,2] began several yearsbefore there was even the idea of a hollow-fiber project. In the middle fifties Ray Boundy urged G. W. (Bill) Stanton to pursue research on textile fibers. Bill collected a research team of chemists, engineers, and even a few people with textile experience, but in those days he could find only one with formal training in polymer science. One of Bill's best moves in his notable research career was to invite Turner out to California to give a series of lectures on polymers, diffusion processes, and the mechanical properties of fibers. Turner quickly taught the young chemists and engineers what they needed to know about macromolecular science to get their job done. His lectures were open to all researchers on the site and were eagerly attended by several who were not working on the textile project.At that time there was a flurry of excitement in the textile research business over hollow fibers for improved warmth and lightness. People talked of caribou hair, which was supposed to be hollow, which gave it magical properties in those respects. Later, when a serious decision was needed to guide research priorities, Turner showed theoretically that these "high-bulk" properties could be obtained more simply by other shapes; his predictions were borne out well in practice. However, at that time Jean
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