Zay Jeffries (April 22, 1888 – May 21, 1965) was an American
mining engineer
Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...
,
metallurgist
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
,
consulting 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 ...
and recipient of the 1946
John Fritz Medal
The John Fritz Medal has been awarded annually since 1902 by the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) for "outstanding scientific or industrial achievements". The medal was created for the 80th birthday of John Fritz, who lived betw ...
.
[W.D. Nix.]
Zay Jeffries
" National Academy of Sciences. 2013
Biography
Jeffries was born in
Willow Lake, South Dakota
Willow Lake is a city in Clark County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 255 at the 2020 census.
The city took its name from Willow Lake, a natural lake near the town site.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, ...
as one of the nine children of Johnston Jeffries and Florence (Sutton) Jeffries. He obtained his BSc in mining engineering at the
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (South Dakota Mines, SD Mines, or SDSM&T) is a public university in Rapid City, South Dakota. It is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and was founded in 1885. South Dakota Mines offers ba ...
in 1910. Three years later, he also obtained his MSc in metallurgical engineering from the same school, and in 1918
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
awarded him his Doctor of Science degree.
After his graduation in 1910 he started as an
assayer for the Custer mining company in South Dakota, and later that year he accepted an appointment as an instructor at
Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. In 1916 he was promoted to appointed assistant.
In 1914 he also started as a consulting engineer in the Cleveland-area.
Later he consulted for metallurgy laboratories, and at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
; he participated in the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
.
Jeffries was elected a member of the
National Academy of Sciences in 1939. In 1946 he was awarded the
John Fritz Medal
The John Fritz Medal has been awarded annually since 1902 by the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) for "outstanding scientific or industrial achievements". The medal was created for the 80th birthday of John Fritz, who lived betw ...
.
In 1950, Jeffries became the
Leonard Case Professor on Educational Policy at Case Western.
Jeffries was also a vice president of
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
: as such, he and other officers were prosecuted in 1948 for violating federal law; that same year, he also received the
Medal for Merit
The Medal for Merit was, during the period it was awarded, the highest civilian decoration of the United States. It was awarded by the President of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct i ...
. In his later years, Jeffries retired to
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he died of cancer in May 1965, survived by his wife and daughter.
Pardon
![Pardon of Zay Jeffries](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Pardon_of_Zay_Jeffries.png)
On October 10, 2019, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
issued a full
pardon to Jeffries for a conviction for engaging in
anti-competitive practices
Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws differ among state and federal laws to ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usuall ...
in violation of the
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author.
T ...
, for which Jeffries had been convicted in 1948, and assessed a $2,500 fine () with no jail time.
Selected publications
* Jeffries, Zay, and Robert Samuel Archer. ''The science of metals.'' McGraw-Hill, 1924.
* Edwards, Junius David, Francis Cowles Frary, and Zay Jeffries. ''The aluminum industry. Vol. 1.'' McGraw-Hill book company, inc., 1930.
* Edwards, Junius David, Francis Cowles Frary, and Zay Jeffries. ''The Aluminum Industry: Aluminum products and their fabrication. Vol. 2.'' McGraw-Hill book company, Incorporated, 1930.
;Articles, a selection
* Jeffries, Zay. "Effect of temperature, deformation, and grain size on the mechanical properties of metals." ''Trans. AIME'' 60 (1919): 474–576.
* Jeffries, Zay, and R. S. Archer. "The slip interference theory of the hardening of metals." ''Chem. and Met. Eng'' 24.24 (1921): 1057.
* Jeffries, Zay. "The trend in the science of metals."''Transactions of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers,'' 70 (1924): 303–327.
See also
*
References
External links
Zay Jeffries, General Electric Company. April 22, 1888 - May 21, 1965 National Academy of Sciences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffries, Zay
1888 births
1965 deaths
American metallurgists
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology alumni
Harvard University alumni
Case Western Reserve University faculty
People from Clark County, South Dakota
John Fritz Medal recipients
Recipients of American presidential pardons
People who have received posthumous pardons
Fellows of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society