BY ALFRED E. BROWN

RAYMOND F. BOYER, world renowned polymer physicist, died on February 23, 1993, at the age of eighty-three.

Dr. Boyer was born on February 6, 1910, in Denver, Colorado, but was raised in Canton, Ohio. He attended Case Institute of Technology, where he received his B.S., M.S., and honorary D.Sc. degrees. Dr. Boyer joined the Dow Chemical Company in 1935, and in 1952 he became director of research in the newly formed Plastics Department. He then became assistant director of corporate research in 1969. He remained in that position until his retirement from Dow in 1975.

A pioneer in polymer physics and engineering, Dr. Boyer authored or coauthored more than 160 publications. He was also the inventor or coinventor of twenty-two U.S. patents. Particularly noteworthy were his contributions to styrene polymers and their utilization in styrene plastics. His pioneering work correlating thermal expansion and second-order transition temperature in polymers led to improved understanding of molecular motion in high polymers. He is widely known for his work in the development of stabilizers for polystyrene and the definition of mechanical properties of polymers. His work with plasticizers was instrumental in the development of Saran. His studies of solution viscosity led to better understanding of polymer interactions. He also pioneered in the light and heat stability of plastics and studies of the usefulness of plastics in