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Lloyd Miller Cooke (1916 – 2001) was an American industrial chemist and researcher. He was an early African American chemist specialized in cellulose and carbohydrate chemistry, and worked in a leadership role for many years at Union Carbide Corporation (now Union Carbide) chemical company.

Early life and education

Lloyd Miller Cooke was born on June 7, 1916, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Black parents Anne (née Miller), and noted architect, William Wilson Cooke. His sister was Anne Cooke Reid, a noted stage director and academic. His maternal grandfather was Thomas Ezekiel Miller, a state legislator in South Carolina and founder of the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina (now South Carolina State University).

Cooke graduated with a B.S. degree in 1937, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison; and a Ph.D. in 1941 in organic chemistry, from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Career

Cooke began his career working in starch research at the Corn Products Refining Company (now Ingredion), an ingredient manufacturer in Illinois. In 1946, he joined the Visking Corporation in Chicago, where he worked on researching carbohydrate chemistry. He was promoted in 1954 to assistant manager of the technical department, and worked in a broader research capacity. The Visking Corporation was merged into the Union Carbide Corporation in 1957, and he was promoted to assistant director of their Chicago office. In 1965, Cooke was promoted to manager of marketing research, followed by a promotion in 1967 to manager of planning.

In 1969, Cooke contributed to the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Environmental Improvement publication, Cleaning Our Environment: The Chemical Basis of Action (1969), written for legislators and environmentalists. Cooke was awarded the William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement in 1971, given by Scientific Research Society of America from Dr. Richard T. Arnold, for his work on Cleaning Our Environment (1969).

From 1970 until 1978, Cooke was the director of urban affairs at Union Carbide.

President Gerald Ford named Cooke as one of the seven chosen scientists to head the National Science Board in 1976, a role held until 1982. Cooke's role at the National Science Board was succeeded by physicist Roland W. Schmitt.

He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences; and served as the president of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME, Inc.).

Cooke died on October 3, 2001, in Oberlin, Ohio.

Publications

• Subcommittee on Environmental Improvement (1969). Cleaning Our Environment: The Chemical Basis of Action. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society.

References

1. ^ Spangenburg, Ray; Moser, Diane; Long, Douglas (May 14, 2014). African Americans in Science, Math, and Invention. Infobase. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-1-4381-0774-5 – via Google Books.
2. ^ Wilson, Dreck Spurlock, ed. (March 2004). "William Wilson Cooke". African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945. Taylor & Francis. p. 151. ISBN 9781135956295. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
3. Crinder, Gene (April 4, 1996). "Obstacles didn't stop founder, grandson says". The Times and Democrat. p. 1. Retrieved January 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Lloyd M. Cooke". Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
5. "People". Chemical & Engineering News Archive. 49 (4): 54–57. January 25, 1971. doi:10.1021/cen-v049n004.p054. ISSN 0009-2347.
6. "Ford Names Seven to Science Board". The Atlanta Journal. September 14, 1976. p. 14. Retrieved January 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Nomination of Four Members of the National Science Board". The American Presidency Project, UCSB. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
8. ""Robots Could Replace One Million Workers By 1990"". The Lincolnian. March 26, 1982. p. 5. Retrieved January 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Cooke's Goal: More Minority Engineers". The Atlanta Voice. April 25, 1981. p. 14. Retrieved January 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Dr. Cooke Elected President of NACME, Inc". The Atlanta Voice. February 7, 1981. p. 12. Retrieved January 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Review of Cleaning Our Environment: The Chemical Basis for Action". The Military Engineer (Book review). 61 (404): 461–461. 1969. ISSN 0026-3982.
12. Hickey, William V. (May 1970). "Cleaning Our Environment. The Chemical Basis For Action". American Public Health Nations Health (Book review). 60 (5): 953. PMC 1348923.

• 1916 births
• 2001 deaths
• African-American chemists
• American chemists
• American organic chemists
• Chemists from Illinois
• McGill University alumni
• People from LaSalle, Illinois
• United States National Science Foundation officials
• University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni