Alumnus Donald Alstadt was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame

Donald Alstadt (A&S ’43), a University of Pittsburgh alumnus, has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Alstadt died in 2007 after a more than half-a-century-long career as a chemist, during which he invented a system of adhesives that’s widely used in cars, planes and more.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization, partnered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, that recognizes inventors and invention to advance American ingenuity. This year’s 15 inductees include inventors who laid the foundation for Wi-Fi, invented the zip tie and pioneered CRISPR gene editing, among others.

Born in Erie, Alstadt attended Pitt and graduated in three years with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and physics. He then went on to Lord Corp., a company focused on solutions to quiet the noise of automobiles. There Alstadt led the development of Chemlok, a system of adhesives designed to bind rubber to different types of metal.

Chemlok solved an important problem in the industry after being patented in 1959, and it became widely used in the automotive, aerospace, agriculture, defense and energy industries. Today, almost every car in the world uses a related adhesive. Alstadt went on to become the chair and CEO of Lord Corp. in 1972 and retired in 2000.

This year’s honorees will be honored at a celebration in Washington, D.C., on May 7.

Photography courtesy of the National Inventors Hall of Fame