Percy Lavon Julian synthesized physostigmine for the treatment of glaucoma and cortisone for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

His synthetic cortisone reduced the price from hundreds of dollars per drop for natural cortisone to a few cents per gram.

During World War II, he invented Aero-foam a fire extinguisher for gasoline and oil blazes.

Dr. Julian was director of research at the Gliddon Company for 17 years, during which time he developed processes to isolate Soya bean protein, which was used to coat and size paper, to create cold water paints and to size textiles.

His later work involved synthesizing the female hormone progesterone, which was used to prevent miscarriages. He also developed a process to synthesize the male hormone testosterone. Julian's process involved extracting sterols from Soya bean oil.