Ernest George Merritt (April 28, 1865 – June 5, 1948)
[Academi]
''see also'' American Institute of Physic
Biography
. was Dean of the Graduate School,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
; Chair of the
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 r ...
Department.
Early life and career
Merritt was born at
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
. After a year at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
he transferred to Cornell University where he took a degree in
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...
. After graduation, he stayed at the university to complete a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in physics. In 1889, he was offered a position at Cornell as an instructor, promoted to assistant professor in 1892. In 1893, studied with
Max Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (, ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical p ...
at
Berlin University
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
. He and Planck remained friends and correspondent through to the latter's death. Cornell made him a full professor in 1903 and head of the Physics department in 1919, succeeding his mentor,
Edward L. Nichols, as chair. Merritt remained as head of the Cornell Physics Department until retirement in 1935. Merritt and Nichols were co-founders of the journal ''
Physical Review'' in 1893. The ''Physical Review'' was printed and published from Cornell University until the administration of the journal was assumed by the
American Physical Society. In 1898, Merritt joined with Professor A. G. Webster,
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
, and others to create the American Physical Society. Merritt served as its first secretary, and eventually as its president (1914–1916). Merritt also served as secretary of the Physical Sciences Section,
American Association for the Advancement of Science. He eventually chaired that section, as well.
Expertise
As a
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
, Merritt is best remembered for the experiments conducted with Edward L. Nichols on the
luminescent
Luminescence is spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat; or "cold light".
It is thus a form of cold-body radiation. It can be caused by chemical reactions, electrical energy, subatomic motions or stress on a crystal ...
properties of materials. In their work together over the years Merritt and Nichols were seen almost as a single individual. Merritt also worked in
acoustics, electromagnetic oscillations,
radio propagation
Radio propagation is the behavior of radio waves as they travel, or are propagated, from one point to another in vacuum, or into various parts of the atmosphere.
As a form of electromagnetic radiation, like light waves, radio waves are affect ...
, gaseous discharges, and
cathode ray
Cathode rays or electron beam (e-beam) are streams of electrons observed in discharge tubes. If an evacuated glass tube is equipped with two electrodes and a voltage is applied, glass behind the positive electrode is observed to glow, due to el ...
experiments. In the latter, he worked extensively with
Harris J. Ryan. With Ryan, he also mentored three generations of Cornell students as members of the Cornell Faculty and the Irving Literary Society. Professor Merritt was also a member of the New York Alpha chapter,
Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pen ...
, serving on its corporate board for a half century, and the
Irving Literary Society.
Ernest Merritt, E. L. Nichols and the Physical Review
Founding of the Physical Review Cornell University, Ithaca New York
Notes and references
External links
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, George Ernest
1865 births
1948 deaths
American physicists
Cornell University alumni
Cornell University faculty
Presidents of the American Physical Society