Some Early Meanderings in Unsteady-State Catalysis

Research work on unsteady-state reaction systems began at Union Carbide in the early 1970s.  During this period we discovered the catalytic oxidative coupling of methane to form ethylene and other species.  A number of other reactions were also studied.  This paper will cover how we did the experimentation, what some of the findings were, and how I began to formulate the principle of optimal dumbness as a valuable research tool.