Charles Phelps Smyth
Encyclopedia
Charles Phelps "Charlie" Smyth (February 10, 1895 – March 18, 1990) was an American
chemist
. He was educated at Princeton University
and Harvard University
. From 1920 to 1963 he was a faculty member in the Princeton Department of Chemistry
, and from 1963 to 1970 he was a consultant to the Office of Naval Research
. He was awarded the Nichols Medal by the New York Section of the American Chemical Society
in 1954.
During World War I
he worked in the National Bureau of Standards and the Chemical Warfare Service, and during World War II
he worked on the Manhattan Project
and Operation Alsos
. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1947 for the last.
, to Ruth Anne Phelps and Charles Henry Smyth, Jr., a professor of geology
at Hamilton College. Woodrow Wilson
, then President of Princeton University
, convinced Charles Henry Smyth, Jr., to join the faculty at Princeton, and in 1905 the family moved to Princeton, New Jersey
.
Charles Phelps Smyth and his younger brother, Henry DeWolf Smyth
, attended the same primary and secondary
schools. The younger Smyth also received undergraduate and master's degrees from Princeton, but in physics
, and became a Princeton faculty member like Charles Phelps Smyth and their father. Both brothers served in the Chemical Warfare Service in World War I and on the Manhattan Project.
In 1955 he married Emily Ellen Vezin. His 1990 New York Times obituary
mentions his wife but does not mention children.
, and the Lawrenceville School
. He then entered Princeton as an undergraduate, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior
. He received a Bachelor of Arts
degree summa cum laude in 1916 and remained at Princeton to obtain a Master of Arts
degree in 1917.
During World War I, he served in the National Bureau of Standards, where he worked on electroplating
, and the Chemical Warfare Service, where he worked on poison gas. After the war, in 1921, he received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard. Theodore William Richards
advised him in his dissertation on thallium
amalgam
.
chemistry laboratory
class there while finishing his Harvard dissertation. He was made an assistant professor in 1923, an associate professor in 1927, a full professor in 1938, and the David B. Jones
Professor of Chemistry in 1958. He retired from Princeton in 1963. From 1963 to 1978 he was involved with the Office of Naval Research
(ONR) as a consultant and, in 1969 and 1970, served as the ONR's liaison scientist in London
.
Smyth's research was in chemical physics
, specifically on dielectric
properties of matter
. An early discovery on dipole moment
proved correct August Kekulé's conjecture on the structure of benzene
. His collaborators at Princeton included Karl Taylor Compton
. Smyth mentored over 50 doctoral students, included William O. Baker
. He published two books and over 300 research articles. He was an associate editor of the Journal of Chemical Physics
during 1933–36 and 1952–54.
The New York Section of the American Chemical Society
awarded Smyth the William H. Nichols
Medal in 1954. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society
in 1932 and the National Academy of Sciences
in 1955. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society
and a member of the American Chemical Society
and the Royal Society of Chemistry
.
. He resigned in 1937. From 1943 to 1945 he worked on deuterium
in the Manhattan Project, mostly from Princeton. He also served as a consultant to the War Department
.
In 1945, close to the end of the war in Europe
, Smyth joined the covert Operation Alsos
. The 50-year-old chemist flew to Europe to help determine the state of the German nuclear weapon
s program and capture equipment and personnel. At an abandoned factory in Celle
he discovered a centrifuge
used for uranium enrichment, inspiring a frantic effort to find Paul Harteck
. Smyth also hunted Paul Herold, Eberhardt Elbel, and a Professor Osenberg. Smyth was awarded the Medal of Freedom for his work with Alsos.
, where he died on March 18, 1990.
After his death, Emily endowed a chair in the Chemistry Department in his name. When she died in 2009, she endowed an additional two assistant professorships. The sitting and to date only Charles Phelps Smyth Professor of Chemistry is Herschel Rabitz.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
. He was educated at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. From 1920 to 1963 he was a faculty member in the Princeton Department of Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, and from 1963 to 1970 he was a consultant to the Office of Naval Research
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S...
. He was awarded the Nichols Medal by the New York Section of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
in 1954.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he worked in the National Bureau of Standards and the Chemical Warfare Service, and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he worked on the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
and Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos was an effort at the end of World War II by the Allies , branched off from the Manhattan Project, to investigate the German nuclear energy project, seize German nuclear resources, materials and personnel to further American research and to prevent their capture by the Soviets, and...
. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1947 for the last.
Personal life
Smyth was born February 10, 1895, in Clinton, New YorkClinton, Oneida County, New York
Clinton is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. It was named for George Clinton, a royal governor of the colony of New York....
, to Ruth Anne Phelps and Charles Henry Smyth, Jr., a professor of geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
at Hamilton College. Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, then President of Princeton University
President of Princeton University
Princeton University is led by a President selected by the Board of Trustees. Until the accession of Woodrow Wilson, a political scientist, in 1902, they were all clergymen, as well as professors. President Tilghman is a biologist; her two predecessors were economists.-Presidents:# Reverend...
, convinced Charles Henry Smyth, Jr., to join the faculty at Princeton, and in 1905 the family moved to Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
.
Charles Phelps Smyth and his younger brother, Henry DeWolf Smyth
Henry DeWolf Smyth
Henry DeWolf "Harry" Smyth was an American physicist, diplomat, and bureaucrat who played a number of key roles in the early development of nuclear energy. Educated at Princeton University and the University of Cambridge, he was a faculty member in Princeton's Department of Physics from 1924 to...
, attended the same primary and secondary
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
schools. The younger Smyth also received undergraduate and master's degrees from Princeton, but in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and became a Princeton faculty member like Charles Phelps Smyth and their father. Both brothers served in the Chemical Warfare Service in World War I and on the Manhattan Project.
In 1955 he married Emily Ellen Vezin. His 1990 New York Times obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
mentions his wife but does not mention children.
Education
In Princeton, Charles Phelps Smyth attended Miss Fine's School, which later became the Princeton Day SchoolPrinceton Day School
Princeton Day School is a private coeducational day school located in Princeton Township, New Jersey, serving students in grades pre kindergarten - 12. The largest division is the Upper School , with an enrollment of approximately 400...
, and the Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
. He then entered Princeton as an undergraduate, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
. He received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree summa cum laude in 1916 and remained at Princeton to obtain a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in 1917.
During World War I, he served in the National Bureau of Standards, where he worked on electroplating
Electroplating
Electroplating is a plating process in which metal ions in a solution are moved by an electric field to coat an electrode. The process uses electrical current to reduce cations of a desired material from a solution and coat a conductive object with a thin layer of the material, such as a metal...
, and the Chemical Warfare Service, where he worked on poison gas. After the war, in 1921, he received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard. Theodore William Richards
Theodore William Richards
Theodore William Richards was the first American scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, earning the award "in recognition of his exact determinations of the atomic weights of a large number of the chemical elements."- Biography :Theodore Richards was born in Germantown, Philadelphia,...
advised him in his dissertation on thallium
Thallium
Thallium is a chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81. This soft gray poor metal resembles tin but discolors when exposed to air. The two chemists William Crookes and Claude-Auguste Lamy discovered thallium independently in 1861 by the newly developed method of flame spectroscopy...
amalgam
Amalgam (chemistry)
An amalgam is a substance formed by the reaction of mercury with another metal. Almost all metals can form amalgams with mercury, notable exceptions being iron and platinum. Silver-mercury amalgams are important in dentistry, and gold-mercury amalgam is used in the extraction of gold from ore.The...
.
Academic career
Smyth was appointed an instructor at Princeton in 1920; he taught a freshmanFreshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
chemistry laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
class there while finishing his Harvard dissertation. He was made an assistant professor in 1923, an associate professor in 1927, a full professor in 1938, and the David B. Jones
David B. Jones
David B. Jones was president and chairman of the board of directors of the Mineral Point Zinc Company and considered a founder of the Zinc industry in America...
Professor of Chemistry in 1958. He retired from Princeton in 1963. From 1963 to 1978 he was involved with the Office of Naval Research
Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S...
(ONR) as a consultant and, in 1969 and 1970, served as the ONR's liaison scientist in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Smyth's research was in chemical physics
Chemical physics
Chemical physics is a subdiscipline of chemistry and physics that investigates physicochemical phenomena using techniques from atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics; it is the branch of physics that studies chemical processes from the point of view of physics...
, specifically on dielectric
Dielectric
A dielectric is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field. When a dielectric is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the material, as in a conductor, but only slightly shift from their average equilibrium positions causing dielectric...
properties of matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
. An early discovery on dipole moment
Dipole moment
Dipole moment can be defined as the product of magnitude of charge & distance of separation between the charges.Dipole moment may refer to:*Electric dipole moment, the measure of the electrical polarity of a system of charges...
proved correct August Kekulé's conjecture on the structure of benzene
Benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....
. His collaborators at Princeton included Karl Taylor Compton
Karl Taylor Compton
Karl Taylor Compton was a prominent American physicist and president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1930 to 1948.- The early years :...
. Smyth mentored over 50 doctoral students, included William O. Baker
William O. Baker
William Oliver Baker was a former President of Bell Labs who had advised five Presidents on scientific matters. He received his degree from Washington College and went on to get a doctorate from Princeton University, studying under Charles Phelps Smyth...
. He published two books and over 300 research articles. He was an associate editor of the Journal of Chemical Physics
Journal of Chemical Physics
The Journal of Chemical Physics is a scientific journal that publishes research papers on all areas of chemical physics. Two volumes, each of 24 issues, are published per year. It is published by the American Institute of Physics. The editors have been:...
during 1933–36 and 1952–54.
The New York Section of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
awarded Smyth the William H. Nichols
William H. Nichols
William Henry Nichols was a famous chemist and businessman who was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S. The specialty materials business of Honeywell traces its roots back a small sulfuric acid company he started in 1870. Nichols was one of the original founders of the...
Medal in 1954. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
in 1932 and the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences commonly refers to the academy in the United States of America.National Academy of Sciences may also refer to :* National Academy of Sciences of Argentina* Armenian National Academy of Sciences...
in 1955. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
and a member of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
and the Royal Society of Chemistry
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences." It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new...
.
World War II
Smyth joined the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1937 and was commissioned as a lieutenant commanderLieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
. He resigned in 1937. From 1943 to 1945 he worked on deuterium
Deuterium
Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ...
in the Manhattan Project, mostly from Princeton. He also served as a consultant to the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
.
In 1945, close to the end of the war in Europe
End of World War II in Europe
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
, Smyth joined the covert Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos was an effort at the end of World War II by the Allies , branched off from the Manhattan Project, to investigate the German nuclear energy project, seize German nuclear resources, materials and personnel to further American research and to prevent their capture by the Soviets, and...
. The 50-year-old chemist flew to Europe to help determine the state of the German nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s program and capture equipment and personnel. At an abandoned factory in Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
he discovered a centrifuge
Centrifuge
A centrifuge is a piece of equipment, generally driven by an electric motor , that puts an object in rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis...
used for uranium enrichment, inspiring a frantic effort to find Paul Harteck
Paul Harteck
Paul Karl Maria Harteck was a German physical chemist. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation Epsilon.-Education:Harteck studied chemistry at the University of Vienna and the Humboldt University of Berlin...
. Smyth also hunted Paul Herold, Eberhardt Elbel, and a Professor Osenberg. Smyth was awarded the Medal of Freedom for his work with Alsos.
Later years and legacy
Smyth remained active in chemistry later in life, publishing a review paper as late as 1982. In 1987 he and his wife Emily moved to Bozeman, MontanaBozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
, where he died on March 18, 1990.
After his death, Emily endowed a chair in the Chemistry Department in his name. When she died in 2009, she endowed an additional two assistant professorships. The sitting and to date only Charles Phelps Smyth Professor of Chemistry is Herschel Rabitz.
External links
- Charles Phelps Smith papers at the Princeton University Library