INVENTORS HALL OF FAME
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Volwiler |
Ernest H. Volwiler was born in Hamilton, Ohio on August 22, 1893. He received his elementary education in the Ohio public school system. Later, he received an A.B. degree from Miami University in 1914 and from the University of Illinois an M.A. in 1916 and a Ph.D. in 1918, the year he joined Abbott Laboratories. There, he became director of research in 1930, was promoted to vice president in 1933, to executive vice president in 1946, to president in 1950, the Chairman of the Board in 1958. He later became Chairman of the Board of Abbott Laboratories International in 1959.
Dr. Volwiler is noted for a number of patented drugs. He, along with Dr. Donalee Tabern, discovered Pentothal in 1936. They were seeking a substance which could be injected directly into the blood stream to produce unconsciousness. For three years, the two men screened over 200 compounds, eventually arriving at a sulfur-bearing analogue of Nembutal. Induction was smooth, pleasant, free of muscle twitching, and notably lacking in delirium or frightening psychic effects. It could be used for minor procedures requiring anesthesia, or for more prolonged procedures, being administered before ether. The uses of Pentothal are legend. Few agents in medicine have played such an outstanding role in improving the well-being of generations of patients.
Dr. Volwiler was awarded the Modern Pioneers Award in 1940; the Chemical Industry Award in 1954, and the Sesquicentennial Medal, Miami University, 1959, among many others. He was the author of some 28 publications and three books dealing with drugs and new compounds.
Donalee L. Tabern was born in Bowling Green, Ohio on January 27, 1900 and died December 31, 1974. Between 1921 and 1924, he obtained three degrees from the University of Michigan, including his Ph.D. in chemistry. He joined Abbott Laboratories in 1926 after two years as an instructor at Cornell University.
Dr. Tabern worked with Vomwiler at Abbott where he was associated with many of the company's scientific advances. His early work was centered on sleep-producing drugs, resulting in two of the company's classic products, Nembutal and Pentothal. In 1944, he proposed research on isotopes for clinical uses and was responsible for Abbott's pioneering in radio pharmaceuticals. Other fields in which he was involved were vasopressor, curare-like compounds, anti-malarials, diuretics, antiseptics, and X-ray diagnostic agents. During World War II, he was engaged in work on problems associated with military medicine.
In 1946, he headed a special research department to develop the use of radioactive materials in biology and medicine. As a result of his efforts, Abbott in 1948 became the first pharmaceutical company to supply radio pharmaceuticals to medical and research institutions.
Dr. Tabern held a number of patents, published numerous technical papers, and held positions in such scientific societies as the American Chemical Society, Chicago Chemists Club, Chicago Technical Societies Council, and the National Society of Nuclear Medicine.
He received an Abbott Scientific Award in 1948, and in 1956 was given a Senior Abbott Research Award in special recognition of his outstanding work in radioactive drugs.
The above information was supplied by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., Room 1D01-Crystal Plaza 3, 2021 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202. Videotapes and printed materials are currently available. For more information, visit the Foundation's web site at http://www.invent.org
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