Elmer Samuel Imes (October 12, 1883 – September 11, 1941) was an internationally renowned American physicist who made important contributions in quantum, demonstrating for the first time that
Quantum Theory could be applied to the rotational energy states of molecules, as well as the vibration and electronic levels, Imes' work provided an early verification of
Quantum Theory,
and his spectroscopy instrumentation inventions, which include one of the earliest applications of high resolution
infrared spectroscopy
Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy or vibrational spectroscopy) is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or function ...
led to development of the field of study of
molecular structure through
infrared spectroscopy
Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy or vibrational spectroscopy) is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or function ...
;
he was also the second
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
to earn a
Ph.D. in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...
and the first in the 20th century. He was among the first known African-American
scientists to make important contributions to
modern physics, others' prior work unrecorded or uncredited. While working in industry, he gained four
patents
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
for instruments to be used for measuring magnetic and electric properties. As an academic, he developed and chaired the department of physics at
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Afric ...
, serving from 1930 to 1941.
Born in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...
, he was the child of college-educated parents. His father's family were people of color who had been free since before the American Revolution. His mother's family, former slaves, had moved to Oberlin, Ohio, after the American Civil War. Both his parents graduated from
Oberlin College.
Early life and education
Elmer S. Imes was born in 1883 in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...
to Elizabeth (née Wallace) and Benjamin A. Imes, both of whom were college educated and had met at
Oberlin College in Ohio. They married there in 1880.
His father earned a divinity degree at Oberlin Theological Seminary in 1880. Benjamin was descended from
free people of color
In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...
, who had been established in south-central Pennsylvania by the time of the Revolution. His mother Elizabeth was born into slavery; her family had moved to Oberlin when she was a child, after the American Civil War and emancipation. Imes had two younger brothers: Albert Lovejoy Imes and William Lloyd Imes. The latter became a minister and was later pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church in New York City; he held degrees from Fisk, Union Theological Seminary, and Columbia University.
Imes and his brothers attended grammar school in Oberlin, Ohio. Their parents became missionaries with the
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, ...
and moved to the South to serve
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
and their children. Imes completed his high school education at the Agricultural and Mechanical High School in
Normal, Alabama
Normal, Alabama is the home of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU), the largest HBCU in Alabama. The university is situated in Huntsville, Alabama's northern city limits in Madison County.
Normal was established in 1890, when ...
. He graduated in 1903 from
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Afric ...
, a
historically black college, with a bachelor's degree in science.
["Biography: Elmer Samuel Imes"](_blank)
Answers.com. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
Upon graduating from Fisk, Imes taught
mathematics and physics at Georgia Normal and Agricultural Institute (now
Albany State University
Albany State University is a public historically black university in Albany, Georgia. In 2017, Darton State College and Albany State University consolidated to become one university under the University System of Georgia (USG). Albany State U ...
), a
historically black college in
Albany, Georgia
Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia m ...
, and the Emerson Institute. The latter had been founded in
Mobile, Alabama by the
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, ...
. Imes returned to Fisk in 1913 as an instructor of
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
and
mathematics. During his tenure there, Imes also earned a master's degree in science from Fisk University.
He went to the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
for additional study in physics, earning a Ph.D. in physics in 1918. He studied under Harrison McAllister Randall. His work as a graduate student to measure the rotational-vibrational
spectra of
diatomic molecules gained recognition from the scientific community.
Imes was the second African American to receive a
Ph.D. in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...
since
Edward Bouchet did so from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in 1876; Imes was the first African American in the 20th century to gain this degree.
On May 3, 1919, after moving to New York to work in industry, Imes married
Nella Larsen, a nurse who became a writer. An American of Danish and Afro-Caribbean descent, she is considered part of the
Harlem Renaissance, having published short stories and two novels in the late 1920s. The couple had moved from
Jersey City, New Jersey, to
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...
, where they became part of the professional and cultural society that included artists and intellectuals such as
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...
and
W.E.B. Du Bois, members of the black elite.
[This Month in Physics History - "November 1919: Elmer Imes Publishes Work on Infrared Spectroscopy"](_blank)
''APS News'' (American Physics Society), November 2008 (Volume 17, Number 10). Retrieved on 2010-06-22
Due to strains in their marriage and his infidelity, they divorced in 1933. Imes had returned to Fisk University in 1929 for an academic career, developing and leading its physics department.
Internationally renowned physicist
Imes’ research and doctoral thesis led to his publication of ''Measurements on the Near-Infrared Absorption of Some Diatomic Gases'' in November 1919 in the ''
Astrophysical Journal
''The Astrophysical Journal'', often abbreviated ''ApJ'' (pronounced "ap jay") in references and speech, is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of astrophysics and astronomy, established in 1895 by American astronomers George Ellery Hale and Jam ...
.''
[Elmer S. Imes, "Measurements on the Near-Infrared Absorption of Some Diatomic Gases"](_blank)
''Astrophysical Journal'', November 1919, vol. 50, p.251ff This work was followed by a paper co-authored and presented in November 1919 jointly with
Harrison M. Randall
Harrison McAllister Randall (December 17, 1870 – November 10, 1969) was an American physicist whose leadership from 1915 to 1941 brought the University of Michigan to international prominence in experimental and theoretical physics.
Biography
R ...
, "The Fine Structure of the Near Infra-Red Absorption Bands of HCI, HBr, and HF" at the
American Physical Society; it was published in the ''
Physical Review
''Physical Review'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1893 by Edward Nichols. It publishes original research as well as scientific and literature reviews on all aspects of physics. It is published by the American Physical Soc ...
'' in February 1920.
[H.M. Randall and E.S. Imes, "The Fine Structure of the Near Infra-Red Absorption Bands of HCI, HBr, and HF"](_blank)
''Phys. Rev.'' 15, pp. 152-155, Feb. 1920; in ''Science Abstracts'', Institution of Electrical Engineers., 1920, pp.342-343 This work demonstrated for the first time that
Quantum Theory could be applied to the rotational energy states of molecules, as well as the vibration and electronic levels. Imes' work provided an early verification of
Quantum Theory.
[Dr. Scott Williams, "Physicists of the African Diaspora: Elmer Samuel Imes"](_blank)
hosted at University of Buffalo, Retrieved on 2010-06-10. It became known in Europe as well as in the United States.
[Ronald E. Mickens, "Bouchet and Imes: First Black Physicists"](_blank)
''The African American Presence in Physics'', Ronald E. Mickens, editor. Atlanta, Georgia: 1999, pp. 24-27
Imes' work was one of the earliest applications of high resolution
infrared spectroscopy
Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy or vibrational spectroscopy) is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or function ...
and provided the first detailed spectra of molecules. This led to development of the field of study of
molecular structure through
infrared spectroscopy
Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy or vibrational spectroscopy) is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or function ...
.
Professional life
In the early 1920s, Imes found difficulty in securing employment in academia. Not many black colleges had physics programs and white colleges did not hire him. During this time, he moved to New York City, a social hub for black intellectuals.
As a result, he became a physics consultant and researcher after completing his doctorate; he worked in physics at the Federal Engineers Development Corporation in 1918
and with the Burrows Magnetic Equipment Corporation in 1922. In 1927, Imes went to work as a
research
Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
at E.A. Everett Signal Supplies.
During the decade that Imes worked in the scientific and materials industry, his research resulted in four
patents
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
for instruments that were used for measuring magnetic and electric properties.
In 1930, Imes returned to
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Afric ...
, where he served as Chair of the Physics Department. Imes is credited with the academic development of the physics programs at Fisk. Many of his students went on to obtain doctoral degrees from highly ranked schools such as the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. While at Fisk, Imes developed a course in Cultural Physics, to teach students about the history of science. In 1931, Imes was named one of the thirteen most
gifted
Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, wit ...
Black Americans.
In 1939, Imes returned to New York, where he conducted research as a scholar in magnetic materials at the Physics Department at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
. He died in 1941.
Memberships & honors
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic ach ...
;
The American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
; The
American Society for Testing Materials
ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...
; and The
American Institute of Electrical Engineers
The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States-based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Institut ...
.
*2006, the ''Elmer S. Imes Scholarship'' was established in his name by the
National Society of Black Physicists.
Death
Imes died of throat cancer on September 11, 1941. His colleague Swann wrote in an obituary for the journal ''Science'' that, "his research laboratory was a mecca for those who sought an atmosphere of calm and contentment. Peacefully smoking a pipe, Imes could always be relied upon to bring to any discussion an atmosphere of philosophic soundness and levelheaded practicalness. Gifted, moreover with a poetic disposition, he was widely read in literature, and a discriminating and ardent appreciator of music."
Notable publications
Imes, Elmer S. "Measurements on the Near Infra-Red Absorption of Some Diatomic Gases." ''Astrophysical Journal'', vol. 50, 1919, 251 - 276. doi
10.1086/142504
Patents
Method Of Testing Magnetizable Objects. US 1686815 A, Oct. 9, 1928.
Apparatus For Testing Magnetizable Objects. US 1800676 A, April 14, 1931.
Electrical Resistance Composition. US 1818184 A, Aug. 11, 1931.
Method Of And Apparatus For Testing Magnetizable Objects. US 1807411 A, May 26, 1931.
[Imes, Elmer S. Method of and apparatus for testing magnetizable objects, United States Patent and Trademark Office, US 1807411 A, May 26, 1931. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/]
References
Further reading
*
*Gary D. Krentz, "Physics at Michigan: from Classical Physics to Nuclear Research: 1888 - 1938", ''LSA Magazine'' (University of Michigan) 12 (Fall 1988), pp. 10–16.
*Julia B. Morgan, "Son of a Slave," ''Johns Hopkins Magazine'', June 1981, pp. 20–26.
*''The Negro in Science,'' Julius Taylor, editor. Baltimore, MD: Morgan State College Press, 1955.
*Willie Pearson, Jr., ''Black Scientists, White Society, and Colorless Science: A Study of Universalism in American Science'', Millwood, NY: Associated Faculty Press, 1985
External links
*
Portraits of Elmer Imes and photo of Imes in the laboratory, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, Emilio Segrè Visual Archives- photo copyright held by the
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Afric ...
Special Collections and Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imes, Elmer
1883 births
1941 deaths
People from Memphis, Tennessee
People from Oberlin, Ohio
Fisk University alumni
20th-century American physicists
Fisk University faculty
University of Michigan alumni
Albany State University alumni
Members of the National Society of Black Physicists