Byron A. Hunter photograph collection, 1940-1980

Byron Hunter was born 15 October 1910 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended the University of Utah where he received his B.S. in Chemistry in 1933 and M.S. in Chemistry in 1938. In 1941 Iowa State College awarded him a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Shortly thereafter he went to work for the United States Rubber Company (renamed Uniroyal Chemical in 1967) as a research chemist. The company promoted him to Senior Research Associate in 1945. He remained in that position until his retirement from the company in 1975. During his tenure at Uniroyal, Byron was awarded over 60 patents. He was the primary discover of Polygard®, a chemical agent that increases the durability and longevity of rubbers and plastics. Another aspect of his research was in the field of Celogen® Blowing Agents. These agents are used to improve the yield and quality of many rubber and plastic products. In 1975 Byron became a research associate at Brigham Young University. His main research dealt with perfecting techniques of creating more durable concrete for roadways. He received nine patents during his work at BYU. Byron retired from BYU in 1997 and currently resides in Palo Alto, California. In 1938, he married fellow chemist Margaret Clark Olson and they raised a family of six daughters and two sons. Byron and Margaret were active members in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Margaret died in November 1999 and was preceded by three children.