Ray Crist
Encyclopedia
Ray Crist was an American
chemist
. According to a feature that appeared in the Chemistry, Crist was born on a farm near Grantham, Pennsylvania. When he retired from teaching at the age of in 2004, he is widely believed to have been America's oldest worker at the time.
Crist was a graduate of the former Messiah School (1916), now known as Messiah College
, Dickinson College
(B.A., 1920) and Columbia University
(Ph.D., 1925). Crist joined the faculty at Columbia University where he was a teacher and researcher from 1925 to 1941. He joined the Manhattan Project in 1941 and was among the leading scientists who developed the critical initial step of the separation of uranium
isotope
s. He was director of the Manhattan Project, Columbia University Group, 1945-6, after which he joined the Union Carbide Corporation in Charleston, West Virginia
, first as Manager of the Coal Hydrogenation Plant, and then as Director of Research of the Olefins Division.
Between 1959 and 1963, he was Director of the Union Carbide Research Institute at Tarrytown, New York
. Crist turned to volunteer teaching in 1963, following the death of his beloved wife, Dorothy Lenhart Crist, formerly of New Cumberland. As a voluntary educator, Crist pursued his mission of introducing today's students, especially non-science majors, to the impact of science and technology on culture and the environment.
From 1963-1970, he taught at Dickinson College. There, he taught mostly upper level chemistry courses. However, his favorite course was on the history of science
; it was a course for non-majors where he "helped students to understand some of the basic laws of the natural world around them." In 1970, Crist was forced to resign due to the since repealed mandatory retirement age of 70.
From 1971 until his retirement in 2004, he continued his academic career at Messiah College
. He taught mostly environmental chemistry
and was a major force behind the development of the Environmental Sciences program. During the final two decades of his work at Messiah, up to the age of 104, he worked on experiments involving adsorption
of toxic
metals by plant material and the use of living plants for purifying the environment (phytoremediation
). The results of these experiments appeared in twenty-seven journal articles and were reported at ten international conferences. Messiah professor of the history of science Edward B. Davis believes that he may have been the oldest publishing research scientist in history.
His academic achievements and his overcoming the challenges of aging were recognized by numerous events and awards such as America's Outstanding Older Worker (2002), the PBS
series The Living Century
in the episode "A Teacher and Student for Life", and the editorial "Phytoremediation's Centenarian" (International Journal of Phytoremediation, 2002), as well as extensive additional press and television coverage both in the United States and abroad. His memoir - Listening to Nature: My Century in Science (Seaburn Publications) - appeared in 2005. Crist died in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
on July 23, 2005, at the age of 105.
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...
. According to a feature that appeared in the Chemistry, Crist was born on a farm near Grantham, Pennsylvania. When he retired from teaching at the age of in 2004, he is widely believed to have been America's oldest worker at the time.
Crist was a graduate of the former Messiah School (1916), now known as Messiah College
Messiah College
Messiah College is a private Christian college of the liberal arts and applied arts and sciences located in Grantham, Pennsylvania, near the capital city of Harrisburg...
, Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
(B.A., 1920) and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(Ph.D., 1925). Crist joined the faculty at Columbia University where he was a teacher and researcher from 1925 to 1941. He joined the Manhattan Project in 1941 and was among the leading scientists who developed the critical initial step of the separation of uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
isotope
Isotope
Isotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
s. He was director of the Manhattan Project, Columbia University Group, 1945-6, after which he joined the Union Carbide Corporation in Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
, first as Manager of the Coal Hydrogenation Plant, and then as Director of Research of the Olefins Division.
Between 1959 and 1963, he was Director of the Union Carbide Research Institute at Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...
. Crist turned to volunteer teaching in 1963, following the death of his beloved wife, Dorothy Lenhart Crist, formerly of New Cumberland. As a voluntary educator, Crist pursued his mission of introducing today's students, especially non-science majors, to the impact of science and technology on culture and the environment.
From 1963-1970, he taught at Dickinson College. There, he taught mostly upper level chemistry courses. However, his favorite course was on the history of science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
; it was a course for non-majors where he "helped students to understand some of the basic laws of the natural world around them." In 1970, Crist was forced to resign due to the since repealed mandatory retirement age of 70.
From 1971 until his retirement in 2004, he continued his academic career at Messiah College
Messiah College
Messiah College is a private Christian college of the liberal arts and applied arts and sciences located in Grantham, Pennsylvania, near the capital city of Harrisburg...
. He taught mostly environmental chemistry
Environmental chemistry
Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source...
and was a major force behind the development of the Environmental Sciences program. During the final two decades of his work at Messiah, up to the age of 104, he worked on experiments involving adsorption
Adsorption
Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, biomolecules or molecules of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids to a surface. This process creates a film of the adsorbate on the surface of the adsorbent. It differs from absorption, in which a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid...
of toxic
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...
metals by plant material and the use of living plants for purifying the environment (phytoremediation
Phytoremediation
Phytoremediation Phytoremediation Phytoremediation (from the Ancient Greek , and Latin (restoring balance or remediation) describes the treatment of environmental problems (bioremediation) through the use of plants that mitigate the environmental problem without the need to excavate the...
). The results of these experiments appeared in twenty-seven journal articles and were reported at ten international conferences. Messiah professor of the history of science Edward B. Davis believes that he may have been the oldest publishing research scientist in history.
His academic achievements and his overcoming the challenges of aging were recognized by numerous events and awards such as America's Outstanding Older Worker (2002), the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series The Living Century
The Living Century
The Living Century is an American biography television series that premiered on PBS on December 3, 2000. Each episode of the half-hour series documents the life of someone who is over 100 years old.-Episodes:...
in the episode "A Teacher and Student for Life", and the editorial "Phytoremediation's Centenarian" (International Journal of Phytoremediation, 2002), as well as extensive additional press and television coverage both in the United States and abroad. His memoir - Listening to Nature: My Century in Science (Seaburn Publications) - appeared in 2005. Crist died in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
on July 23, 2005, at the age of 105.