Robert Bayless

Chemist Robert G. Bayless was born on February 18, 1930 in West Mansfield, Ohio to Olivia Mae Hill and Harvey Sherman Bayless. He graduated from West Mansfield High School in 1948 before earning his B.S. degree in chemistry from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio in 1956. He went on to earn his M.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1962.

Before graduating college, Bayless worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Green County, Ohio. After receiving an honorable discharge from the United States Army during the Korean War in 1953, Bayless was hired by Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he conducted hydrothermal research and studied crystal growth technology. After two years with Antioch College, he was hired as a chemist with the U.S. Industrial Chemical Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he invented a molecular weight distribution evaluation system and investigated polyethylene and polypropylene morphology. Then, in 1963, he became a research chemist with the NCR Corporation in Dayton, Ohio. As a research chemist, Bayless authored over a dozen patents in the field of microencapsulation, and he helped to develop carbonless copy paper and time released aspirin while working in NCR’s Capsular Products Division. After six years with NCR, Bayless became the chairman and CEO of Capsulated Systems Inc. in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1973. During his seventeen years with the company, Bayless developed a microencapsulation system for mariculture feeds and developed a microencapsulated toner. He also invented a microencapsulated adhesive locking system for threaded fasteners. In 1990, he went on to found Bayless Enterprises, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia, where he worked to further develop his microencapsulation research. That same year, he founded ENCAP Technologies, LLC, in Atlanta, Georgia, and he served as the company’s chairman and CTO in 2001 before his retirement in 2017.

Bayless received an honorary degree in Switzerland in 1997.

Bayless and his wife, Edna May Bayless, reside in Canton, Georgia. They have three children: Marvin LeRoy Bayless, Edward Dean Bayless, and Alaine Jercel Bayless. They also have five grandchildren.

Robert G. Bayless was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 13, 2025.