The chairman emeritus of the Board at W.L. Gore & Associates, the Newark, Delaware-based Global material science company, died Sept. 17. Robert W. “Bob” Gore was 83 and served the Gore brand for 57 years, including  five as president and 30 as chairman. His commitment to research and development led to his 1969 discovery of a versatile new polymer form, expanded polyetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) that provided a myriad of new product applications including GORE-TEX Fabrics. Continued advancement in the technology and application of ePTFE enabled Gore to deliver solutions to a wide array of industries. During his long career, Gore was awarded nine patents for his work with fluoropolymers. A born entrepreneur who began his career at DuPont after World War II, he was a philanthropist later in life. A trustee for the University of Delaware, he and his mother donated funds for the construction of a classroom building on the campus in 1998 that would be named Gore Hall, and with his wife, Jane, contributed to the university’s development of science and engineering research laboratories. Besides his widow and a large family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he is survived by four siblings. Memorial plans have yet to be announced.