The LSU Chemistry Legacy Series

October 03, 2025

Alumni Professor Emeritus William H. Daly: A Legacy of Chemistry, Service, and Scholarship

When Alumni Professor Emeritus William Daly looks back on his life’s work, his story begins not in a laboratory but on a small farm in Lodi, Ohio. Growing up surrounded by the daily chores of farm life taught him the value of hard work and the ability to solve problems with his own hands. “If you live on a farm, you learn to do everything,” he said. 

That resourcefulness, strengthened by the resilience he learned after his father’s passing when he was just seven, became the foundation of a career that spanned the globe and led him to Louisiana State University, where he left an indelible mark on the Department of Chemistry.

 

Roots in Ohio and Early Ambitions

Daly’s beginnings read like a classic small-town story. His youth was filled with sports, school, and a high school sweetheart that blossomed into a lifelong partnership. He and his wife, Janet, graduated as valedictorian and salutatorian of their high school class and were married in 1960. 

Daly found that chemistry came easily to him in high school, and a Union Carbide Scholarship opened the doors to Baldwin Wallace College, where he majored in chemistry and minored in mathematics. 

Although he began in chemical engineering, it was his time in the laboratory that refined his interest in chemistry. A summer internship with Diamond Shamrock introduced him to polymers, ultimately leading him to pursue graduate studies at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, then one of the world’s leading centers for polymer chemistry.

Brooklyn Poly and a World of Science

Graduate school at Brooklyn Polytech felt like stepping into a whole new country for Daly. Immersed in polymer chemistry, he studied under Charles Overberger and alongside pioneers like Herman Mark, while meeting colleagues from around the world. 

Daly and his wife embraced the cultural vibrancy of New York, balancing academic rigor with trips to theaters alongside their international peers. Daly advanced his research while Janet began her career as a K–12 English teacher.

After earning his Ph.D. in 1964, Daly pursued postdoctoral research at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. Two years later, as he and his wife welcomed their first child, an unexpected letter from Professor Hulen Williams at LSU invited him to join the faculty in the chemistry department. 

Without ever having visited Louisiana, Daly accepted, beginning a nearly 50-year career at LSU that would shape the university, the field of polymer chemistry, and the lives of generations of students.

Dr. Daly in 1969

Professor Daly operating a newly acquired gel permeation chromatograph (1969, The Daily Reveille).

Building a Legacy at LSU

After two years in Germany, Daly, Janet, and their infant daughter, Andree, returned to the U.S. by ship, paused in Ohio to visit family, and then made the long drive south to Baton Rouge. 

Their first glimpse of Louisiana came along Scenic Highway, lined not with postcard views but with refineries and chemical plants. Daly chuckled as he recalled his first impression, “This is supposed to be the scenic route?” 

Soon after, he and Janet attended a party hosted by Department Chair Jim Traynham. Driving at night through Magnolia Woods, they found themselves under a canopy of oak trees heavy with Spanish moss. “It looked like monsters hanging over the road,” Daly remembered, describing it as both eerie and enchanting. These early moments, equally surprising, strange, and memorable, marked the beginning of Daly’s Louisiana adventure.

Within two weeks of being appointed as an assistant professor, Daly was handed his first teaching assignment on a plain index card: organic chemistry for chemical engineers. Not long after, Dean Arthur Chopin directed him to launch research on cellulose, a field entirely new to him. Daly dove in with good humor and determination, embracing the challenge and quickly establishing himself as a versatile researcher and dedicated mentor.

Over his decades at LSU, Daly advanced steadily through the academic ranks. He was promoted to associate professor in 1971, professor in 1978, and named Alumni Professor of Chemistry in 1999. He mentored 40 Ph.D. students and eight master’s students, published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, secured eight patents, and delivered over 280 invited seminars worldwide. 

His leadership extended beyond the classroom and the lab. He served as department chair from 1981 to 1986, and again as interim chair from 2001 to 2002. Daly also played a pivotal role in the construction of Choppin Hall in the 1970s and spearheaded the development of the Chemistry and Materials Building, which opened in 2012.

He represented the College in the LSU Faculty Senate for several years, serving as its President (2005-2007) and Past President (2008-2018). These challenging positions required Daly to participate on the FS executive committee, so he became intimately familiar with the inner workings of the entire University community for a decade.

National and International Leadership

Guided by the advice of his Ph.D. mentor, Professor Charles Overberger, Daly embraced a lifelong commitment to professional service. Within the American Chemical Society (ACS), he held leadership roles, including treasurer, chair, and a councilor of the Division of Polymer Chemistry for nine years, earning two Distinguished Service Awards and recognition as a POLY Fellow.

“From the very beginning, I was taught that service to the profession is essential,” Daly explained. “If you want science to thrive, you have to give back and help make things work properly.” Accordantly, he served as Editor for the Americas of Polymers for Advanced Technologies from 1996 to 2019 and helped organize several conferences associated with that journal in Israel and Poland.

His influence extended beyond the United States. For 20 years, Daly served as an ACS councilor to the Pacific Polymer Federation (PPF), an organization dedicated to fostering collaboration among scientists around the Pacific Rim. The founding polymer societies in Australia, Japan, Korea, and the USA were eventually joined by 17 other societies in strengthening international ties and advancing the global exchange of ideas in polymer science. 

Widely recognized as a national leader in polymer chemistry, Daly received numerous honors over his career. He is a Fellow of the ACS, recipient of the Charles E. Coates Memorial Award from the Baton Rouge section of ACS, and winner of the College of Basic Sciences Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. In recognition of his lasting impact, he was inducted into the LSU College of Science Hall of Distinction in 2016.

Janet and Bill Daly

Professor Daly with his wife Janet Daly.

Giving Back: A Scholarship for Future Chemists

For Daly, one college scholarship changed everything. The Union Carbide award he received as a young student not only made higher education possible but also set him on the path to a career in chemistry that spanned the globe. 

“The Union Carbide scholarship got me started on a career that took me around the world,” Daly reflected. “It made my career possible. Endowing a scholarship is my way of paying back the opportunity that was given to me.”

In that same spirit of gratitude and service, Daly and his late wife, Janet, established the William and Janet Daly Scholarship, awarded to a chemistry major. The gift reflects Daly’s deep commitment to education, as well as the partnership he and Janet shared throughout their lives. From their high school days in Ohio to their years in New York, Germany, and Baton Rouge, Janet was always by his side, building a life centered on love, education, and service.

Reflections on a Career Well Lived

Even after retiring from LSU in 2008, Daly remained an active presence in the department and on campus. Looking back, Daly counts students and colleagues as his greatest source of pride. 

The true reward of his career, he said, was seeing students grow, flourish, and build successful careers of their own. Their achievements brought him joy and reassurance, affirming the value of the work he had devoted his life to.

His advice for those pursuing academia is both simple and profound, “You have to love it. You have to love your subject, you have to love the work. It’s a tough job, but I’ve had a wonderful career, and was happy most of the time.”

Now, a new adventure awaits in Atlanta, Georgia, where he looks forward to spending time with his two daughters and three grandchildren, while also continuing to share another of his passions, a love for fine wine. With the help of his son-in-law, Daly ensured that every bottle in his wine cellar was carefully packed and shipped to his new residence, proving that even in retirement, chemistry and precision still follow him. 

And so, in honor of his remarkable journey and lasting legacy, we raise a glass to Alumni Professor Emeritus William H. Daly.