Ray Crist

Ray Henry Crist (* 8. March 1900 in mechanism castle; † 23. July 2005 in Carlisle) was an US-American chemist.

childhood

Ray Crist 1905

Crist buildup in a small locality in the Cumberland County (Pennsylvania) on forty acres large paternal farm. It helped its father with the daily work in the agriculture, and by this regular occupation with animals and plants promptly its interest in the natural sciences developed.

With four years parents sent it on the Little Grantham School, a simple village school with only one area, in which its aunt informed. After seven years it changed together with its older brother Guy to the larger Messiah Bible School in Grantham. 1915 it joined besides the Shepherdstown United Brethren Church (today United Methodist).

at the university

he made his graduation one year later, on which now the 16-Jährige went to the Dickinson college into Carlisle. Also in the church career it progressed, since one selected it 1918 to the curator. Although it oscillated now between its homeland and the university with the Dillsburger course, it took itself further several times in the week time to run and services and the Bible study there attend two miles after Shepherdstown . After it had kind locked 1920 its chemistry study with the Bachelor OF , the director knows it on a freed place in the scientific department of the Williamsport Dickinson Seminary, the today's Lycoming college. Owing to a recommendation expressed by it Crist received this job.

Compared with that village, in which he had spent his childhood, Williamsport was a true metropolis. But Crist makes friends itself rapidly with the new conditions, informed the students in chemistry, biology and physics and found in the Mulberry Street Methodist Church religious assistance. Its appointment for scientific experimenting could be however not sufficiently satisfied in Williamsport.

On the search for better possibilities it became fündig to the Columbia University in New York town center. Rapidly ascended Crist there to the scientific coworker and examined together with professor J. Livingston R. Morgan, as salts under different conditions decompose photochemically. The special attention applied thereby for the Kaliumperoxodisulfat (K ₂ S ₂ O ₈), whatever was the basis for its later doctor work. Its first own research work 1924 argued with photochemical reactions of alkali halides in Acetophenonen . It appeared in the journal OF the American Chemical Society. After its graduation 1926 to the Doctor OF Philosophy it was allowed to inform as a professor at chemical Institut of the university. One year before it had led its friend Dorothy Lenhart before the trusting altar.

One made Crist possible 1928 to go for one year to Berlin in order to resume its research. Here he co-operated with max Bodenstein, the founder of chemical kinetics, in the institute for emperor William for physical chemistry and electrochemistry .

Back to the Columbia University it held above all lectures on photochemistry. Equal its first lecture Harold Urey attended , likewise a professor, who discovers 1931 the deuterium and three years later for it with the Chemienobelpreis should be honored. In the numbers of its students was in the first term besides George forest, which was distinguished 1967 with the Nobelpreis for physiology or medicine.

The focus of its research was apart from photochemistry on kinetic reactions of gases. The moreover one he was an assigned to editor journal of the OF Chemical Physics and wrote a general text book over experimenting in the chemistry laboratory.

the Manhattan project and the atomic research

with Urey co-operated Crist into the 30ern with different projects. The Nobelpreisträger was inaugurated already briefly after discovery of the nuclear fission into the plans, which should lead to the development of an US-American atom bomb. Therefore it arranged Crist in the summer 1940 to determine the steam pressure and Tripelpunkt of uranium hexafluoride (_UF 6). This connection was used later, in order to separate the fissile isotope uranium -235 from Uran-238 by means of gaseous diffusion processes.

At the beginning of the Manhattan project 1941, under which the development of the atom bomb was firmiert, ascended Urey to the director of the Columbia University Projektabteilung, while Crist became its assistant. It led thereby the department, of which on the large-scale separation deuterium from hydrogen worked. One wanted to use the heavy hydrogen, in order to control the speed of neutrons and to keep thus a nuclear nuclear chain reaction upright over longer time. Later Crist led the research at the separation from uranium isotopes, whereby a porous nickel alloy was manufactured as diffusion barrier. After one had reached 1945 the most important development targets, he transferred the director post at Ureys place and led the universitäre atomic research up to its end in the following year.

During this time also Albert Einstein ranked among Crists friend circle.

work in the private sector

toward end of the war was clear that the number by the US-American government supported of the projects to the Columbia University is drastically reduced. Crist could have remained as a professor, but displeased the chemist accustomed to the land life the life in the large city. In particular he wanted to zumuten New York to his three small sons, the twins Henry and DeLanson as well as adopted Robert, not longer. The offer to step new Forschungsinstitut at the University OF Chicago and together with Urey to work Fermi and other former coworkers of the Manhattan project he noticed likewise not and entered instead of its into the private sector: it pulled 1946 with its family after Charleston in west Virginia, in order to earn its bread as a director of research with the union carbide Chemical corporation, one of the most important contractors of the government in the Second World War.

Its most important project in this position was an attempt for the hydrogenation of coal, in order to be able to use these instead of natural gas as raw material for carbide business with aliphatic connections. Under its line one developed a plant, which could supply three hundred tons per day of it and in the use was twelve years long. The discovery of large oil fields in Saudi Arabia lowered however the oil prices, which arranged carbide to the completion of its project.

Therefore Crist changed 1959 to Tarrytown (New York) and became a director for new carbide of the Research of institutes, basic research for all other departments carried out, among other things at the hydrocarbon Olefin.

return to the university

after it this place 1963 voluntarily delivered, was not it however yet ready to completely stop with the work. Its wife had died one year before at a cardiac infarct. It returned to the Dickinson college and received there a Gastprofessur.

Concerned of the brisk development of the science and its increasing influence on society, industry and above all environment he regarded it as his obligation to mediate to the recent generation of knowledge of the correct and controlled use of the technology. Its interest applied thereby for the spirit-scientific students for whom natural sciences were only Nebenfächer. Their naturkundliche training considered Crist insufficient. It supervised therefore student projects within the field of environmental chemistry and gave the Erstsemestern Chemieunterricht. Besides it furnished a course about science history. Some its training ideas took up the C&EN 1964 in an article.

Obligation in accordance with transferred it the university 1971 into the retirement. But Crist thought long not yet of stopping and decreased/went back to its all first effect place in Grantham, from which meanwhile the spirit-scientific Messiah had become college. For the symbolic payment of a dollar per year he worked 33 years long forty hours the week. At the beginning of informed it the students and helped to develop the university program in environmental sciences. Later it terminated its training activity, continued to work however with the students on research projects. In the latter few years researched it mainly alone in its laboratory in small the Science center on the Campus.

While this time has Crist the role, the cadmium with the increase of the blood pressure of rats plays, lead, which displaces copper and zinc from the enzymes in a rat brain, which formation of nitrogen oxides from nitrate of ammonia fertilizer in the soil, which contributes to the destruction of ozone in the upper atmosphere, which examines rate of proton transport by the cell membranes of red blood corpuscles and the copper admission of algae.

The study of the algae developed to a sequential program, which examined the chemical mechanisms, those behind so-called Biosorbenten - among other things Algae, Torfmoos and plant roots - stand, if ions take up this metal. These surface-chemical investigations led Crist and its colleagues 1981 to the result that with the metal admission of algae protons are delivered at the same time and the pH value is lowered. Protons, which with the numerous sour functional groups in living planting - and animal fabrics are connected, can according to Crist easily by metal ions be exchanged. One before regarded the metal admission as a simple adsorption process.

Thus it made a special contribution to environmental protection. The algae can help, water and soil of poisonous to release contaminating metals. Under the term Bioremidiation this ability of organic material to eliminate pollutants summarized.

For the scientific documents, which resulted in the study, Crist received 150 reproduction inquiries. The work led altogether to 27 publications during its last twenty five Lehrjahre - those are about half of all publications in its entire career. Since 1990 the results in eleven international newspapers, under it the renowned journal OF the Pennsylvania Academy OF Science, were published. They became besides to numerous conferences in in (Chicago, California, Atlanta and Florida) and foreign country (Montana, Sweden, Japan and France) presents.

the Altersrekordler

Ray Crist at the high age

toward end 20. Century directed Crist its attention on the polymer lignin, which gives its firmness to cell walls of ligneous plants. It stays with the production of paper as by-product in the groundwood . He saw therein a possible medium for an inexpensive Bioremidiation. As Crist mixed lignin with dimethylformamide and to the developed product warmth added, in order to remove the solvent left, he developed lignin-based plastic chips. This porous and dry material is able to take up metals such as lead and cadmium. In November 2001 Crist and the Messiah college requested a provisional patent on the appropriate process. Beginning of 2002 its realizations appeared for the absorption of metal ions by lignin in Environmental Science & Technology.

In the September of the same yearly the nonprofit organization Experience Works honoured it as an oldest active worker of the USA. Although its sight decreased due to retinalen degeneration in the last years strongly, so that it saw only weak on the left eye, and it needed , stepped a cardiac pacemaker as well as a hearing aid it only to 14. April 2004 104-jährig into the retirement. In particular by the energetic support of its colleagues, under it J. Robert Martin, was possible this long working life. Altogether he can look back on over 50 academic papers.

In the year 2005 its memoirs Listening ton of Nature appeared: My Century in Science, which he wrote with the help of his son Robert. It died after an impact accumulation to 23. July 2005 in Carlisle.

Also its three sons made career within the scientific range: Robert L. Crist became a professor for English literature at the university of Athens, Henry S. Crist pathologist at the Hershey Medical center and DeLanson R. Crist chemistry professor to the Georgetown University.

literature

• Ray H. Crist with Robert Crist: Listening ton of Nature: My Century in Science. Seaburn Books 2005, ISBN 1592320805

Web on the left of

• articles in the C&EN WASHINGTON
• ring-back signal of the Dickinson college

This article was taken up to the list of the articles worth reading.