Kathryn Bullock

(Norma) Kathryn Rice (later Bullock) is one of twins, born September 24, 1945, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to Robert Bruce Rice and Norma Elaine Fanshier. Her twin sister Judith Rice (later Henderson) became a scholar of sixteenth-century literature. Their father, Robert B. Rice, was a geophysicist. During summers Kathryn worked as a part-time secretary at Marathon Oil Company, where her father was employed. He encouraged her to pursue a scientific career. At Northwestern, she worked with Donald E. Smith, using alternating current polarography to study electrochemical reactions. ==Career==

In 1972, Bullock rejoined the Electrochemical Research Department of the Gates Company. John Devitt's group at Gates was working on development of a valve-regulated lead-acid battery (VRLA). Prior to the development of VRLAs, "flooded" rechargeable lead-acid batteries were used. They were filled with 30-40% sulfuric acid. At 85-90% of their charge capacity, chemical reactions within the battery became less effective, and water in the system was converted into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Flooded batteries could not be sealed, and had to be monitored to ensure effectiveness and prevent problems. In contrast, VRLAs were designed to ensure that oxygen would recombine rather than being lost. VRLAs contain acid inside a silica gel or absorb it into a porous glass separator. Gases that do not recombine are vented through a one-way pressure-release valve. In 1980, Bullock became manager of Globe-Union's Chemical Research Department, which later became part of Johnson Controls, Inc. At Johnson, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, she and William Tiedemann developed JCI's Battery Technology Center. They did early research in areas including thermal management, grid corrosion, grid design, and load leveling, developing many different types of batteries including electric vehicle batteries. Bullock filed a number of patents on methods for improving battery design, production and performance. With AT&T Bell Labs's Power Systems Business Unit, she received the Deming Prize of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers in 1994. She served on a number of policy-related committees and projects. Bullock was an active member of the Electrochemical Society, which she joined in 1972. She helped to organize the Rocky Mountain (1973) and Southern Wisconsin (1982) Sections. She held a variety of appointments on offices and committees, most importantly as vice-president of the society in 1992 and as president from 1995 to 1996. ==Awards and honors==

Bullock has received a number of awards and honors including the following: • Gaston Planté Medalist from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1996) • Deming Prize of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers, as part of the AT&T Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies Power Systems unit (1994) • Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (1988) • American Institute of Chemists (1987) • ECS Battery Division Research Award (1980) • Electrochemical Society Summer fellow (1969) • National Institutes of Health Fellow (1972) • Phi Beta Kappa Society (1966) ==References==