Was a leading scientist and inventor, one of the most important figures in the field of Czech 20th century science. He chiefly specialised in the field of macromolecular organic chemistry, which he was a founder of at home and abroad. His most important invention is the gel contact lens, he is also famous for his discovery of the artificial polyamide fibre called silon.
He was born on 27/10/ 1913 in Prostějov. During his life he was a university professor at the University of Chemical Technology in Prague, he worked as the director of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry at the Czechoslovak Academy of Science (CSAS) and in 1990 he was elected chairman of the Czechoslovak Academy of Science. He retained this position until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993. He died on 18/08/1998 at nearly 85 years of age.
Otto Wichterle was a member of a number of foreign academies of science, he received many awards and honorary doctorates from several universities. He is the author or co-author of approximately 150 patents and over 200 publications. You can read more about this scient
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