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Show 128 at a special dinner held in his honor with a long list of guests in Salt Lake City on February l0, l949. To make the presentation, Joseph N. Barker, President of the Research Corporation, flew from New York City. On this occasion Dr. Barker said of Eyring: Tonight we honor a man who has made great contributions to our store of fundamental scientific knowledge. He has pushed hard and successfully into the previously unknown and like Jason, has brought home the Golden Fleece. In the ci- tation which I shall presently read, some of these accomplishments will be mentioned, but here I want to say that no single page could possibly encompass the richness and the utility of his work. Modest. unassuming, deeply religious, he has dedicated his life to scientific exploration. Pushing probing tenacles of thought outward into the vastnesses of the unknown, he has launched attacks upon important areas which have yielded to his brilliant research methods. He has greatly extended our knowledge of basic and fundamental science and these areas have had important practical uses in our technology. Great as have been his achievements in research and it is for these we honor him tonight, there is another phase of his contributions to society I want to emphasize. Wher- ever he has been, a torch of stimulating, creative achievement has been lit. Many men have worked with and under him and each has been fired with an enthusiasm for creative thinking coupled with painstaking research to extend our knowledge. He is a true catalyst of men's minds. In his presence, ideas just naturally flow and methods of proving or disproving them are originated. Henry Eyring is multiplied many times over in his influence upon scientific progress by the brilliance of his students and co-workers. He will try to pass the credit to them for which we honor him, but in truth they live on and carry forward the torch he lit in their minds. May he have many more years of service to this University, to this State, and to our Country and to the whole world of science. Later in the year, Eyring received another major award, the second Eugene Cook Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology. The award was presented to him in New York City at the annual meeting of the society held on November 5, l949. His good friend and former colleague, Pro- fessor Hugh S. Taylor, spoke about Eyring on the occasion and detailed |
