| Robert W. Cairns | |
| Birth Date: | 23 December 1909 |
| Birth Place: | Oberlin, Ohio, United States |
| Death Place: | Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
| Nationality: | American |
| Alma Mater: | Oberlin College Johns Hopkins University |
| Fields: | Chemistry |
| Work Institution: | Hercules |
| Known For: | Solventless Rocket Propellants |
Robert W. Cairns (1909-1985) was an American chemist who worked at Hercules and at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He contributed to World War II technological advances in explosives.
Cairns was born in Oberlin, Ohio.[1] He was the son of William Cairns, an Oberlin College mathematics professor.[2] He received an AB from Oberlin College in 1930 and a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1932. He attended the six-week advanced management program at Harvard Business School.[3]
He was appointed director of research in 1955 at Hercules Research Center, was electedto the board of directors in 1960 and in 1967, he became vice-president. In 1968, he was appointed president of the American Chemical Society and then in 1972 named executive director.[3] After retiring from Hercules in 1971, he became deputy assistant secretary for science and technology at the U.S. Department of Commerce.[1]
Cairns led innovation in propellants for military rockets and in the photographic recording of explosive reactions. He then directed the role of Hercules as the major supplier to the U.S. military of these propellants.[3]
He died of pneumonia in 1985 at the age of 75.[1]