Ambelang, Dr. Joseph C. Endowed Scholarship Fund
The Dr. Joseph C. Ambelang Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in 2008 by Eileen Ambelang in memory of her husband, who passed away April 2, 2005. The purpose of the scholarship is to assist deserving students who are receiving a degree in chemistry from the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.
Born in Bellevue, Ohio, in 1914, Dr. Joseph Carlyle Ambelang moved to Akron in 1914. He received a B.S. in chemistry from The University of Akron and a Ph.D. from Yale University. He returned to Akron four years later to work for Firestone as a research chemist. He was there for 14 years, during which time he worked on the processing of synthetic rubber and chemicals to protect them from aging and weathering. From this research, 17 patents were granted. The next 28 years were in rubber technology at Goodyear Tire Development and included compounding for aging and ozone resistance, testing for tire performance, design for experiments, and statistical analysis of test data.
During his career, Joseph wrote 19 technical papers, many of which were presented at rubber chemistry meetings, and one in Kiev, Ukraine. His writings include three encyclopedia articles and translations from German and French. He was a member of the American Chemical Society for more than 65 years and of the Rubber Division for more than 55 years, where he served as treasurer and director of administration. As a member of ASTM, he took part in the development of standardized performance tests for tires. The scholarship will be awarded by The University of Akron’s Department of Chemistry, in conjunction with the Office of Student Financial Aid.