Tracy Hall
Howard Tracy Hall (born October 20, 1919 in Ogden , Utah , † July 25, 2008 in Provo, Utah ) was an American chemist from an ancient Mormon family .
He was one of the first to produce synthetic diamonds .
Hall grew up in Marriott, Utah. After earning his master's degree in 1943 (after which he served two years in the Navy during World War II) and his Ph. D. in physical chemistry with Henry Eyring at the University of Utah in 1948 , he went to the General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady . There he joined the "Project Superpressure" directed by Anthony Nerad. With the team working unsuccessfully, Hall went his own way.
In 1953 the first synthetic diamonds were produced by ASEA in Sweden using the high pressure process , but this was kept secret there. From December 16, 1954, Tracy Hall was able to produce reproducible diamonds with a press developed in-house, with which the developers also went public. His research was not supported by General Electric at the time and he only received $ 10 in government bonds in recognition of his development, although it opened up a large market for industrial diamonds, in which De Beers and Russian scientists were active shortly afterwards. On February 15, 1955, Hall's synthesis of diamonds made the front page of the New York Times . In the same year he left General Electric and became a professor (and director of research) at Brigham Young University in Utah, where he continued his research on artificial diamonds and high-pressure chemistry, developing a new tetrahedral press because patents use it banned from its development at General Electric. In addition, this as well as the newly developed by him had been classified as secret by the US government. In 1966 he founded the artificial diamond company Megadiamond with two fellow professors (Bill Pope, Duane Horton) , which was later sold to Smith International. At that time, however, competing companies were already entering the market.
He held 19 patents and received the Chemical Pioneer Award and the 1972 ACS Award for Creative Invention from the American Chemical Society .
He had been married since 1941 and had seven children. Hall was bishop of Latter-day Saints Church of Jesus Christ in Provo.
Web links
- Obituary (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ William Eversole at Union Carbide succeeded in doing this with CVD in 1952.
- ^ Maura McCarthy H. Tracy Hall, Diamond Pioneer , Smithsonian, Aug. 4, 2008.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hall, Tracy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hall, Howard Tracy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American chemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 20, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ogden |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 25, 2008 |
| Place of death | Provo, Utah |