On May 1, seven chemists will be among the 20 new inductees to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio. The chemists are the following:

Harry W. Coover, 86, an Eastman Kodak chemist who recognized the powerful adhesive properties of cyanoacrylates. These superglues opened the door to a wide range of industrial, consumer, and medical applications. Coover is also responsible for advances in the fields of graft polymerization, organophosphorus chemistry, and olefin polymerization.

Edith Flanigen, 74, who began working on the technology of molecular sieves in 1956. During her 42-year career at Union Carbide and UOP, Flanigen invented or coinvented more than 200 novel synthetic materials and made substantial contributions to the product development of zeolite Y, an aluminosilicate sieve used to make oil refining more efficient, cleaner, and safer. Her work with molecular sieves also led to innovative applications in water purification and environmental cleanup.

At the University of Toronto, Frederick G. Banting (1891–1941), who worked with Charles H. Best (1899–1978) and James B. Collip (1892–1965), determined that insulin was key to treating diabetes. After discovering that the absence of insulin is the main factor in diabetes, these researchers found that injections of insulin might keep diabetics alive and developed techniques for extracting, isolating, and administering the hormone.

Lloyd A. Hall (1894–1971), former technical director of Griffith’s Laboratories, Chicago, was a pioneer in the field of food chemistry. He created many of the food preservative chemicals that are now used to keep food fresh without losing its flavor.

New Orleans engineer Norbert Rillieux (1806–94) revolutionized the sugar industry by inventing a refining process that is still in use.

The Hall of Fame will also present its Lifetime Achievement Award to philanthropist and inventor Arnold O. Beckman. He was inducted into the hall of fame in 1987 for his invention of a pH meter and the quartz spectrophotometer.