Carl Ferdinand Eyring (August 30, 1889 – January 3, 1951) was an American acoustical physicist. He was the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU) for 26 years and was also the vice president of the

Acoustical Society of America The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary org ...

from 1950 until his death in 1951.

Biography

Eyring was born in Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to Henry Eyring and Deseret Fawcett. Eyring was also a leader in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). He served as the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the New England Mission from 1937 to 1939. During this time, Eyring exerted efforts to keep Latter-day Saint students at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

, and other Boston-area institutions of higher learning active in the church. Eyring was the uncle of the noted chemist Henry Eyring, who was father of Henry B. Eyring, of the LDS Church's

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

. Carl Eyring was married to Fern Chipman, a daughter of Stephen L. Chipman. She was the sister of Lorena Chipman, who was the wife of

Harvey Fletcher Harvey Fletcher (September 11, 1884 – July 23, 1981) was an American physicist. Known as the "father of stereophonic sound", he is credited with the invention of the 2-A audiometer and an early electronic hearing aid. He was an investigator in ...

. From 1924 until 1951, excepting his time as mission president, Eyring served as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at BYU. During some of this time he also served as a member of the General Board of the Deseret Sunday School Union. In 1930, Eyring proposed an equation for reverberation time known as the

Eyring equation The Eyring equation (occasionally also known as Eyring–Polanyi equation) is an equation used in chemical kinetics to describe changes in the rate of a chemical reaction against temperature. It was developed almost simultaneously in 1935 by Henr ...

. Beginning in 1945, Eyring personally supervised the planning and construction of a new science building at BYU. When the cement was laid for the building, Eyring sprayed it with a special hose to help it cure better. It is said that this cement never cracked. In 1954 the building was renamed the Carl F. Eyring Science Center in his honor. Eyring died of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

on January 3, 1951. Loren C. Dunn was among those who studied under Eyring.

References

External links

Carl F. Eyring lecture notes, UA 7
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Faculty biographical records, containing files on Carl F. Eyring, UA 909
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyring, Carl F. 1889 births 1951 deaths Brigham Young University faculty Mexican emigrants to the United States Mexican leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in the United States 20th-century Mormon missionaries People from Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua Deaths from cancer in Utah Sunday School (LDS Church) people Latter Day Saints from Utah