Henry Eyring
In 1980, Henry Eyring received the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, one of the most prestigious honors in the sciences — a fitting capstone to a career spent working at the intersection of chemistry and physics.
Eyring was born on February 20, 1901, in Colonia Juárez, and went on to become a United States citizen who worked primarily in English. His education took him through Eastern Arizona College and the University of Arizona before he completed further study at the University of California, Berkeley. He went on to work as a chemist and university teacher, building a career that drew substantial recognition from the scientific community over several decades.
That recognition came in many forms. Eyring received the William H. Nichols Medal, the Bingham Medal, the Willard Gibbs Award, the Linus Pauling Award, the Priestley Medal, the Remsen Award, the Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics, the National Medal of Science, the Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry, and the Elliott Cresson Medal. The University of Paris-XI also awarded him an honorary doctorate. Few chemists of his era accumulated a comparable list of awards spanning so many different scientific societies and institutions.
Eyring died on December 26, 1981, in Salt Lake City. Among the honors that marked his standing in the field, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, which he received the year before his death, reflected the broad international regard in which his contributions as a chemist were held.
Quotes by Henry Eyring
Some people conclude that the injustices existing in the world prove there is no God. On the contrary, I conclude that God, being both just and merciful, will and can rectify all inequities in a life after death.
I perceive myself as rather uninhibited, with a certain mathematical facility and more interest in the broad aspect of a problem than the delicate nuances. I am more interested in discovering what is over the next rise than in assiduously cultivating the beautiful garden close at hand.
I believe that what is really important is that God can speak to us. If we have the humility to approach him in prayer with the right attitude, he can speak to our intelligence directly.
For one who feels compelled, as I do, to accept the existence of the Master Architect, it is important to examine his handiwork for the light it throws on him and on his program for his children. For me, there has been no serious difficulty in reconciling the principles of true science with the principles of true religion.
Death is not the end; it is but one more step in a great forward march made possible by the redemption wrought by the Savior. This is the spirit of true science - constant and eternal seeking.
Apparent contradictions between religion and science often have been the basis of bitter controversy. Such differences are to be expected as long as human understanding remains provisional and fragmentary.
The gospel may not make a sow's ear into a silk purse, but it will make everybody better if they live it. I've tried it. It stands the test.
The more I try to unravel the mysteries of the world in which we live, the more I come to the conception of a single overruling power - God.
I would write a scientific paper with the devil, if it was on high temperatures. The fellow's probably an authority.