During his 38-year career at Wacker-Chemie, Dr. Jira had the opportunity to conduct research and publish his findings in various scientific journals and book chapters.
MUNCHEN, GERMANY, November 06, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Reinhard Jira, PhD, with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Jira celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
A retired chemist who was born in Cham, Germany, in 1929, Dr. Jira led a wonderful career in the field, beginning in 1955 as an employee of the Consortium fur Elektrochemische Industrie, the research organization of Wacker-Chemie GmbH, now known as Wacker-Chemie AG. At the time, the organization was producing basic chemicals based on acetylene. Besides polymers, such as polyvinylchloride and polyvinylacetate acetaldehyde, these derivatives are the ingredients that go into many pharmaceuticals, pesticides, odorants, foods, dyes, auxiliary products for textiles, solvents, and polymers.
After World War II the chemical industry changed their feed-stock for lower organics from coal (acetylene) to petrochemicals as ethylene is much cheaper than acetylene. In the chemical industry people searched for a process for producing the important intermediate acetaldehyde from ethylene. After Jira's colleague W. Hafner found a reaction with a heterogeneous catalyst, Dr. Jira succeeded in developing a homogeneous catalyst, which was fit for an industrial production. This process was licensed worldwide.
By 1960, Dr. Jira had lent a hand in the start-up of the first commercial acetaldehyde plant for his company, which was located in Cologne. He led experiments with crude ethylene and elaboration of purification of raw acetaldehyde by distillation. A year later, he participated in the start-up of the second acetaldehyde plant in Cologne. From September 1963 to February 1964, Dr. Jira conducted experiments with crude ethylene in the first acetaldehyde plant in Cologne. The experiments were successful, but the process had not been commercialized.
By July 1964, Dr. Jira was involved in the start-up of the acetaldehyde plant of Mitsubishi Chemical Company at Mizushima/Japan, and in September 1969, he was transferred to the head-office of Wacker-Chemie as research coordinator for the company. A decade later, Dr. Jira was promoted to serve as research manager and chemical manager of the Factory Burghausen of Wacker-Chemie. Finally, in 1990, he was appointed to serve as director of the department until he officially retired from the organization in January 1993.
During his 38-year career at Wacker-Chemie, Dr. Jira had the opportunity to conduct research and publish his findings in various scientific journals and book chapters. He also held lectures and submitted numerous patent applications in his field of expertise. Recognized in 1968 with a Prix du Cinquantenaire Award, which was granted by the Societe de Chemie Industrielle, Dr. Jira has also since been named to the 11th and 12th editions of Who's Who in Science and Engineering.
Dr. Jira completed a Diploma in Chemistry at Technical University in1952, followed by a PhD in 1955, in which his doctoral theses was titled "Complex Compounds of Cyclopentadiene with Manganese, Cobalt, and Nickel." Remaining active as a member of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker and the American Chemical Society, Dr. Jira has been married since 1956 to Waltraut Riebl, with whom he has two sons: Christof is a surgeon at a local hospital in Wasserburg, Bavaria, Germany, and Benedikt is a cellist at the Munich Chamber Orchestra. He and his wife also have five grandchildren.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Reinhard Jira, PhD, has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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