Phillips received his undergraduate degree at Iowa State University.
[1] During World War II he developed battlefield methods to evaluate hemoglobin levels using specific gravity saving many lives.
He evaluated the course of the disease and developed the protocol for rehydration used today which has saved millions of lives.
[3] In his retirement, he collaborated with the University of Washington and the Chinese Government doing research in kidney failure again using hydration as a solution in remote areas of China where dialysis was not available.
[2] Philipps died on September 20, 1976, at the Clark Air Base in the Philippines.