Kurt C. Frisch Family

Kurt C. Frisch was born January 15, 1918 in Vienna, Austria. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Vienna and continued his education there until Hitler invaded Austria in 1937, when he was expelled from the University for having a Jewish background. He was part of the underground resistance, until the Nazis learned the names of participants in the movement. He then escaped through Germany and reinitiated his studies at the University of Brussels in Belgium from 1938-39. When it became clear that Hitler was going to take over the mainland of Europe, Kurt came to America and earned his Master’s degree (1941) and Ph.D. (1944) from Columbia University. His first industrial job was at General Electric in Pittsfield, MA. He met his future wife, Sally, at a church social. Kurt and Sally had three children: Leslie, Kurt Jr. and Robert. Both Kurt Jr. and Robert studied at Calvin College. In 1956, Kurt and family moved to the Detroit area where Kurt started a new job at Wyandotte Chemical (later BASF–Wyandotte). He rose through the ranks to become Director of Polymer Research and Development. He published his first book on polyurethanes in 1962, which was the first book on the chemistry and technology of polyurethanes ever published. He went on to write, edit and publish an additional 41 books, all on polyurethane chemistry and interpenetrating polymer networks. In 1965, he joined the chemical engineering faculty at the University of Detroit and established and directed the Polymer Institute there, which became the world’s foremost research institute in polyurethane technology. Scientists from all over the world came to do their master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral research under Kurt. Dr. Frisch had over 70 U.S. patents and nearly 300 publications and was recognized as the world’s expert in polyurethane chemistry and technology. During his career he received countless awards and had several prestigious leadership roles in the industry. Dr. Frisch died October 20, 2000 at the age of 83 after a three-year struggle with cancer. On his deathbed he was finishing up his forty-second book.

Several years before his death, Professor Frisch established the Frisch Foundation to support students pursuing a career in polymer chemistry. Through the guidance of Dr. Frisch’s son, Kurt Jr., the Frisch Foundation is pleased to establish a chemistry scholarship at Calvin College for a deserving chemistry student. Kurt Jr. did his undergraduate chemistry courses at Calvin, and went on to receive his Ph.D. in Polymer Science with an emphasis in polymer synthesis (chemistry) and greatly appreciated both the scholarship and good Christian example of the professors at Calvin College.