Overberger was born in
Barnesboro, Pennsylvania on October 12, 1920. In 1941, he was awarded a B.Sc. at the
Pennsylvania State University where he was a member of
Sigma Pi fraternity,
Phi Eta Sigma honor society, and
Phi Lambda Upsilon honor society. He received his Ph.D. at the
University of Illinois in 1944, where he continued to work as a research assistant for two years. From 1946 to 1947, he had a DuPont Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then became assistant professor of chemistry at the
Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. In 1951, he became professor and associate director of the Polymer Research Institute. Between 1955 and 1963, he was chairman of the chemistry department, and from 1964 to 1967 dean of science and director of the Polymer Research Institute. He was
president of the American Chemical Society in 1967. == Awards and honors ==