Henry Eyring

Dean, University of Utah Graduate School

February 20, 1901 – December 26, 1981

Theoretical Chemist

Awarded Bingham Medal 1949
Vice President 1949

Dr. Henry Eyring was no stranger to hard work or labor. Growing up on a farm, he helped the family with caring for the land and the animals. He then put himself through college and helped support his family at the same time as a timberman for a copper mine, which in turn gave him the opportunity through a US Bureau of Mines fellowship, to proceed to graduate school. After completing school with a BS in mining engineering in 1923 and a Masters in metallurgy in 1924 at the University of Arizona, Eyring took a position as a professor of chemistry there. Afterwards, he attended UC Berkeley and received his PhD in chemistry in 1927. This led him to the University of Wisconsin, where he was a professor of chemistry for a year before accepting a position as a research fellow at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin and working there for a year. When he returned to the United States in 1930, he was a professor of chemistry at his alma mater of UC Berkeley for a year. He was then hired by Princeton University between the years of 1931-1946, where he eventually became a full professor of chemistry before moving to Utah to take over as the Dean of the University of Utah Graduate School.

Eyring can be viewed as either a theoretical chemist or a chemical physicist. His main research focused on chemical kinetics. Eyring, along with Michael Polanyi, attempted to integrate quantum mechanics into the descriptions of chemical reactions. Through approximation they used calculations of potential energy surfaces to explain why some reactions occurred and others did not. His research in this topic continued, calculating different potential energy surfaces and applying this approach to a variety of different problems such as surface catalysis. This research led to his development of the eponymous Eyring Transition State theory.

Eyring was raised in a very devout Mormon family and continued to follow his faith throughout his life. His eventual move to Utah (1946) and his settling in Utah as the Dean of the University of Utah’s Graduate School was primarily due to his strong ties to his religion. Eyring believed that scripture need not be interpreted literally and that it was up to the members of the church themselves to decide what they believed to be true. The Mormon church followed this belief up until the president of the Council of Twelve Apostles at the time began expressing the view that scripture should be interpreted literally. Though the views of the church changed, Eyring’s views did not. However, he was never rude or outspoken about this change in viewpoint; in fact he was quite well known for his kindness towards others and his ability to express clearly and respectfully his ideas and theories in conversations and presentations.

Sources

Hirschfelder, Joseph O. Henry Eyring 1901-1981. Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. Go to link.

Interview of Gerald Pearson by Lillian Hoddeson on 23 August 1976. Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA. Go to link (accessed June 28, 2018).

Kauzmann, Walter. Henry Eyring 1901-1981. Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences; National Academies Press: Washington D.C., 1996; pp 47-57. Go to link.

Photo Credit

Eyring Henry A2, AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives.