Harry R. Allcock is Evan Pugh Professor of chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 at Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...

.

Harry Allcock obtained his B.S.

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 in 1953 and his Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 in 1956, both at the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

. He is notable for his work on the "inorganic rubbers" with a phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

-nitrogen

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...

 backbone (polyphosphazene

Polyphosphazene

Polyphosphazenes are a class of inorganic polymers with the repeat unit . The substituents R,R' are usually alkoxy, amino, , or halogens ....

s). With James E. Mark and Robert West, Allcock co-authored the book "Inorganic Polymers" (Oxford University Press, 2005). He also wrote "Introduction to Materials Chemistry" (John Wiley & Sons, 2008), Chemistry and Applications of Polyphosphazenes (Wiley-Interscience, 2002), and coauthored "Contemporary Polymer Chemistry" (Prentice Hall, 2003) with Fred Lampe and James Mark.

Awards and honors

• American Chemical Society National Award in Polymer Chemistry (1984)
• Guggenheim Fellow (1986/1987)
• American Institute of Chemists Chemical Pioneer Award (1989)
• American Chemical Society National Award in Materials Chemistry (1992)
• A.C.S. Herman Mark Award in Polymer Chemistry (1994)
• Penn State Graduate Commencement Speaker (1997 & 2005)
• Honorary degree from Loughborough University, U.K. (2006)
• American Chemical Society National Award in Applied Polymer Science (2007)