Robert Banks was born on November 24, 1921 in Piedmont. He was a fellow research chemist of J. Paul Hogan. They began working together in 1946, and in 1951 invented "crystalline polypropylene" and "high-density polyethylene" (HDPE). These plastics were initially known by the name Malex. He joined the Phillips Petroleum company in 1946 and worked there until he retired in 1985.

In 1987, he, along with J. Paul Hogan, won the Perkin Medal Award.

He died in Missouri on January 3, 1989.

External link

Robert Banks biography (http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/165.html)