William J. Sparks

{{Short description|American chemist (1905–1976)}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = William J. Sparks

| image =File:Wjsparks_Butyl_Developer.jpg

| birth_date = February 26, 1905

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death-date and age|October 23, 1976|February 26, 1905}}

| death_place =

| nationality =

| field = Polymer science

| work_institution = Exxon

| alma_mater =

| doctoral_advisor =

| known_for = co-inventor Butyl rubber

| prizes = {{no wrap|Perkin Medal {{small|(1964)}}
Charles Goodyear Medal (1966)}}

}}

William Joseph Sparks (February 26, 1905 – October 23, 1976) was a chemist at Exxon. As an inventor, his most important contribution was the development of butyl rubber.{{Cite book|url=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=578&page=275|doi = 10.17226/578|title = Memorial Tributes|year = 1979|isbn = 978-0-309-02889-9}}R. M. Thomas, I. E. Lightbown, W. J. Sparks, P. K. Frolich, and E. V. Murphree (1941) Butyl Rubber. A New Hydrocarbon Product. Rubber Chemistry and Technology: March 1941, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 177-195.

Sparks served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1966 and chairman of the National Research Council's Division of Chemistry and Technology from July 1953 to June 1955.{{Cite web |url=http://www.chem.indiana.edu/about/documents/alumnipdf/59mar.pdf |title=Department of Chemistry: Indiana University Bloomington |access-date=2009-06-19 |archive-date=2017-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422184908/http://www.chem.indiana.edu/about/documents/alumnipdf/59mar.pdf |url-status=dead }} Sparks was the holder of 145 patents.{{Cite book|url=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=578&page=276|doi = 10.17226/578|title = Memorial Tributes|year = 1979|isbn = 978-0-309-02889-9}} Sparks was posthumously inducted to the American Inventor Hall of Fame in the Spring of 2016.{{Cite web |url=http://www.chemistry.illinois.edu/news/news2015/2015sparks.html |title=William Sparks 2016 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee |access-date=2017-01-23 |archive-date=2017-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202022556/http://www.chemistry.illinois.edu/news/news2015/2015sparks.html |url-status=dead }}

Sparks was a firm believer in the benefits that innovation could provide to society. However, he was concerned that the education of the upcoming scientific generation did not include the awakening of the social consciousness.{{Cite book|url=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=578&page=277|doi = 10.17226/578|title = Memorial Tributes|year = 1979|isbn = 978-0-309-02889-9}} He stated that "the scientific profession has become much larger than medicine, law or the clergy. Yet, many young scientists are not taught by their professors to feel an obligation to society in their work." Sparks believed that good science should benefit the world in which we live, contending that "Science without purpose is an art without responsibility."