 He was associated with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, and he started a research corporation (Advanced Materials Corporation) in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh with offices on an upper floor of a building on North Bellefield Avenue, midway between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.He was accustomed to taking the stairs to his office, sometimes two at a time, while his younger colleagues struggled to keep up with him.As chairman of the University of Pittsburgh Chemistry Department, he championed the construction of a new, high-rise chemistry building (Johnstone, Newcomer and Valentour, Architects) that was dedicated in November, 1974, and the move of the department from its former location in Alumni Hall.