Dr. Walther Gustav Grot died peacefully on March 11, 2026, at the age of 96. He is survived by his wife, Carla Grot of Chadds Ford, PA; his three children: Christina Grot (Michael Wertheimer) of Columbia, MD, Stephen Grot (Wendy) of Tyrone, PA, and Annette Grot (Geoffrey Burr) of Cupertino, CA; six grandchildren: Marissa, Daniel, Emily, Allison, Winifred, and Wilhelm; and three great-grandchildren: Madison, Leon, and Julia.
Walther was born on June 26, 1929 in Berlin Germany. Although Walther was not a particularly dedicated high school student, he developed an early intense interest in chemistry after receiving a Kosmos Chemistry kit as a Christmas present. This became the nexus of a very successful career in chemistry. He completed his PhD degree in chemistry at the early age of 26, after which he married Carla Reiss in 1957. Walther was recruited by the DuPont company to come to America in 1956. There, he first worked in Charleston, West Virginia long enough to develop a liking for country music, but soon transferred to DuPont’s research headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware in 1961.
Walther’s work on his beloved chemistry culminated in developing a new fluoropolymer membrane that revolutionized the industrial process for making Chlorine & caustic soda. With this he effectively neutralized a massive source of mercury pollution, shifting the entire global industry toward a cleaner, membrane-based process. For this achievement, he received numerous awards, including the Castner Medal in 1986, and the Vittorio de Nora Award in 1998. Dr. Walther Grot was an Emeritus member of the Electrochemical Society. While he retired from DuPont in 1994, he remained active in chemistry, running his own company and assisting both his spouse’s and his son’s companies with chemistry questions. Even on his last day he was discussing science with his granddaughter Allison.
He was a devoted husband and father, and was always a person any family member could rely on for help and support. His hobbies included traveling to his condo in the Turks and Caicos, swimming and windsurfing even into his eighties.