Herschel H. Cudd
Encyclopedia
Hershel Herbert Cudd was the director of the Georgia Institute of Technology
's Engineering Experiment Station (now known as the Georgia Tech Research Institute
) from 1952 to 1954, succeeding Gerald Rosselot
in that position. He would later become the president of Amoco Chemical Company and serve on the board of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Cudd was initially a part-time instructor of chemistry and a state liquor board chemist. Cudd quickly attained jobs as a research chemist at E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc
, the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, and then the West Point Manufacturing Company, focusing on inorganic chemistry, the development of synthetic materials, and the head of a textile engineering plant.
From there, he was the director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, where he created a solution to a long-standing debate about the role of research engineers in a tenure system and significantly increased the number of researchers. He would then lead or hold a leadership role in several oil companies, including American Viscose Corporation, AviSun Corporation, Sun Oil Company, and finally Amoco Chemical Corporation
; Cudd would be president of the latter from 1963 to 1974. From 1976 until his retirement in 1983, Cudd served on the Board of Directors for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
in 1933 with a degree in chemistry. He then studied physical chemistry
at the University of Texas and received a Master of Arts
in 1936 and a Doctor of Philosophy
in 1941.
From 1934 to 1937 and from 1939 to 1940, Cudd was a part-time instructor of chemistry at the University of Texas. From 1937 to 1939 and 1940 to 1941, he was a Texas Liquor Control Board chemist.
From 1941–1942, he was a research chemist at the Rayon Technical Division of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc
. At du Pont, Cudd worked on pilot-plant development of experimental polymers such as synthetic fibers and plastics. In 1942, he took a job as Supervisor of Inorganic Research for the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation in East Point, Georgia
, now known as The Mosaic Company
. While there, he oversaw work on silica gel
, phosphates, magnesium
and powder metallurgy
.
In 1946, he became a research chemist for the West Point Manufacturing Company in Shawmut, Alabama (now known as WestPoint Home
); in 1949, he became director of West Point Manufacturing's new Lantuck Division in West Point, Georgia
. While there he studied the use of synthetic resins in textile engineering, which led to West Point Manufacturing's fabric, "Lantuck". Cudd was in charge of production and sales of the fabric until he came to Georgia Tech.
's Chemical Sciences division. After Gerald Rosselot
left to work for Bendix Corporation
, Cudd assumed the acting directorship on November 24, 1952, and was appointed as the station's director on July 1, 1953; he would hold this position until November 30, 1953. Despite his post only lasting approximately a year, Cudd made far-reaching changes to the station.
One of the first issues Cudd addressed was station financing; a related dispute between previous director Rosselot and Georgia Tech vice president Cherry Emerson
had resulted in Rosselot's departure. Thus a deal was brokered that explicitly stated that the station's contract organization (now the Georgia Tech Research Corporation
) would receive 10/46 of overhead, Georgia Tech would receive 13/46, and 23/46 would go directly to the station to cover administrative costs.
Under Rosselot, research had been increasingly concentrated on a few researchers; Cudd reversed this trend such that the 1952–53 Annual Report of Engineering Experiment Station (EES) stated that 66 faculty in 15 schools performed research at the station that year.
Cudd also created a new promotion system for researchers that is still in use to this day. Many EES researchers held the rank of professor
despite lacking a doctorate (or a comparable qualification for promotion as determined by the Georgia Board of Regents
), something that irritated members of the teaching faculty. The new system, approved in the spring 1953, used the Board of Regents' qualifications for promotion and mirrored the academic tenure track. As part of the new system, research engineers were defined as "adjunct members" of the General Faculty but were excluded from the Faculty Senate, which makes academic decisions.
In 1954, a faculty committee appointed to do a comprehensive study of Georgia Tech, "The Aims and Objectives of the Georgia Institute of Technology", noted that of EES's budget of $2 million for 1953–1954, about 83 percent was sponsored by governmental agencies, and about two thirds of that was classified. The committee members felt that percentage to be undesirable, and also noted the lack of collaboration between the EES and academic departments.
. In 1960, Cudd became the head of the polypropylene
manufacturer AviSun Corporation, which was jointly owned by the American Viscose Corporation and Sun Oil Company.
From 1963 to 1974, Cudd was the President of Amoco Chemical Corporation
(also known as Standard Oil of Indiana), a subsidiary of Standard Oil
; during this time, he was also director of Standard Oil. In 1968, Amoco acquired Cudd's previous company, AviSun Corporation. From 1976 to 1983, Cudd served on the Board of Directors for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. He was Senior Vice President of the Board when he retired in 1982.
He died on March 9, 1992 at age 79 in Juno Beach, Florida
.
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
's Engineering Experiment Station (now known as the Georgia Tech Research Institute
Georgia Tech Research Institute
The Georgia Tech Research Institute is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
) from 1952 to 1954, succeeding Gerald Rosselot
Gerald Rosselot
Gerald A. Rosselot was a physicist and engineering executive at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Bendix Corporation . He was an IEEE Fellow.-Early life:As a child, Rosselot traveled to France and England and was somewhat proficient in French...
in that position. He would later become the president of Amoco Chemical Company and serve on the board of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Cudd was initially a part-time instructor of chemistry and a state liquor board chemist. Cudd quickly attained jobs as a research chemist at E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, and then the West Point Manufacturing Company, focusing on inorganic chemistry, the development of synthetic materials, and the head of a textile engineering plant.
From there, he was the director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, where he created a solution to a long-standing debate about the role of research engineers in a tenure system and significantly increased the number of researchers. He would then lead or hold a leadership role in several oil companies, including American Viscose Corporation, AviSun Corporation, Sun Oil Company, and finally Amoco Chemical Corporation
Amoco
Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....
; Cudd would be president of the latter from 1963 to 1974. From 1976 until his retirement in 1983, Cudd served on the Board of Directors for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Education and early career
Cudd graduated from Texas A&I UniversityTexas A&M University–Kingsville
Texas A&M University–Kingsville is a U.S. national university with a multicultural student body that is 62 percent Hispanic and includes students from 35 states and 43 foreign countries...
in 1933 with a degree in chemistry. He then studied physical chemistry
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
at the University of Texas and received a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1936 and a Doctor of Philosophy
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 1941.
From 1934 to 1937 and from 1939 to 1940, Cudd was a part-time instructor of chemistry at the University of Texas. From 1937 to 1939 and 1940 to 1941, he was a Texas Liquor Control Board chemist.
From 1941–1942, he was a research chemist at the Rayon Technical Division of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
. At du Pont, Cudd worked on pilot-plant development of experimental polymers such as synthetic fibers and plastics. In 1942, he took a job as Supervisor of Inorganic Research for the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation in East Point, Georgia
East Point, Georgia
The city of East Point is southwest of the neighborhoods of Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,712...
, now known as The Mosaic Company
The Mosaic Company
The Mosaic Company is a Fortune 500 company based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Mosaic offers two key crop nutrients—phosphate and potash—plus specialty products K-Mag®, MicroEssentials® and Pegasus™...
. While there, he oversaw work on silica gel
Silica gel
Silica gel is a granular, vitreous, porous form of silica made synthetically from sodium silicate. Despite its name, silica gel is a solid. It is a naturally occurring mineral that is purified and processed into either granular or beaded form...
, phosphates, magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
and powder metallurgy
Powder metallurgy
Powder metallurgy is the process of blending fine powdered materials, pressing them into a desired shape , and then heating the compressed material in a controlled atmosphere to bond the material . The powder metallurgy process generally consists of four basic steps: powder manufacture, powder...
.
In 1946, he became a research chemist for the West Point Manufacturing Company in Shawmut, Alabama (now known as WestPoint Home
WestPoint Home
WestPoint Home is a conglomerate corporation that dates back over 200 years through the companies that have merged together. Beginning with J.P. Stevens & Co., Inc...
); in 1949, he became director of West Point Manufacturing's new Lantuck Division in West Point, Georgia
West Point, Georgia
West Point is a town in Troup County, with a small tail of the south end of town in Harris County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, this town had a total population of just 3,382 people...
. While there he studied the use of synthetic resins in textile engineering, which led to West Point Manufacturing's fabric, "Lantuck". Cudd was in charge of production and sales of the fabric until he came to Georgia Tech.
Georgia Tech
In March 1950, Cudd was appointed head of the Engineering Experiment StationGeorgia Tech Research Institute
The Georgia Tech Research Institute is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
's Chemical Sciences division. After Gerald Rosselot
Gerald Rosselot
Gerald A. Rosselot was a physicist and engineering executive at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Bendix Corporation . He was an IEEE Fellow.-Early life:As a child, Rosselot traveled to France and England and was somewhat proficient in French...
left to work for Bendix Corporation
Bendix Corporation
The Bendix Corporation was an American manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems, aeronautical hydraulics, avionics, aircraft and automobile fuel control systems, radios, televisions and computers, and which licensed its name for...
, Cudd assumed the acting directorship on November 24, 1952, and was appointed as the station's director on July 1, 1953; he would hold this position until November 30, 1953. Despite his post only lasting approximately a year, Cudd made far-reaching changes to the station.
| Academic | Research |
|---|---|
| Professor | Senior research scientist or engineer |
| Assistant professor | Research scientist or engineer |
| Associate professor | Junior research scientist or engineer |
| Instructor | Research assistant |
One of the first issues Cudd addressed was station financing; a related dispute between previous director Rosselot and Georgia Tech vice president Cherry Emerson
Cherry Logan Emerson (engineer)
Cherry Logan Emerson, Sr. was an American engineer and academic administrator.-Education:Emerson graduated from Georgia Tech with two bachelor's degrees: one in mechanical engineering and one in electrical engineering...
had resulted in Rosselot's departure. Thus a deal was brokered that explicitly stated that the station's contract organization (now the Georgia Tech Research Corporation
Georgia Tech Research Corporation
The Georgia Tech Research Corporation is an organization that supports research and technological development at Georgia Tech. It was founded in 1937 as the Industrial Development Council to be a contract organization for the Engineering Experiment Station...
) would receive 10/46 of overhead, Georgia Tech would receive 13/46, and 23/46 would go directly to the station to cover administrative costs.
Under Rosselot, research had been increasingly concentrated on a few researchers; Cudd reversed this trend such that the 1952–53 Annual Report of Engineering Experiment Station (EES) stated that 66 faculty in 15 schools performed research at the station that year.
Cudd also created a new promotion system for researchers that is still in use to this day. Many EES researchers held the rank of professor
Professors in the United States
In the U.S., "Professors" commonly occupy any of several positions in academia, typically the ranks of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Full Professor....
despite lacking a doctorate (or a comparable qualification for promotion as determined by the Georgia Board of Regents
Georgia Board of Regents
The Georgia Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia as part of the state government of Georgia in the United States. The University System of Georgia is composed of all state public institutions of higher education.-History:...
), something that irritated members of the teaching faculty. The new system, approved in the spring 1953, used the Board of Regents' qualifications for promotion and mirrored the academic tenure track. As part of the new system, research engineers were defined as "adjunct members" of the General Faculty but were excluded from the Faculty Senate, which makes academic decisions.
In 1954, a faculty committee appointed to do a comprehensive study of Georgia Tech, "The Aims and Objectives of the Georgia Institute of Technology", noted that of EES's budget of $2 million for 1953–1954, about 83 percent was sponsored by governmental agencies, and about two thirds of that was classified. The committee members felt that percentage to be undesirable, and also noted the lack of collaboration between the EES and academic departments.
Oil and cigarettes
On November 30, 1953, Cudd resigned as director to of the EES to become Vice President and Manager of Research and Development of the American Viscose Corporation, which has since been acquired by FMC CorporationFMC Corp.
FMC Corporation is a chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. FMC employs over 4,800 people world wide, and had gross revenues of US$3.115 billion in 2008.-The Bean Spray Pump Company:...
. In 1960, Cudd became the head of the polypropylene
Polypropylene
Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...
manufacturer AviSun Corporation, which was jointly owned by the American Viscose Corporation and Sun Oil Company.
From 1963 to 1974, Cudd was the President of Amoco Chemical Corporation
Amoco
Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....
(also known as Standard Oil of Indiana), a subsidiary of Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
; during this time, he was also director of Standard Oil. In 1968, Amoco acquired Cudd's previous company, AviSun Corporation. From 1976 to 1983, Cudd served on the Board of Directors for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. He was Senior Vice President of the Board when he retired in 1982.
He died on March 9, 1992 at age 79 in Juno Beach, Florida
Juno Beach, Florida
Juno Beach is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,262 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 3,391. Juno Beach is home to the headquarters of Florida Power & Light...
.