Samuel Colville Lind (June 15, 1879 – February 12, 1965) was a radiation

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

, referred to as "the father of modern

radiation chemistry Radiation chemistry is a subdivision of nuclear chemistry which is the study of the chemical effects of radiation on matter; this is very different from radiochemistry as no radioactivity needs to be present in the material which is being chemically ...

". He gained his B.A in 1899 at

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

, Lexington, Virginia. After a short spell at MIT he moved to study Chemistry at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

in Germany, carrying out research into the kinetics of chemical reactions, where he was awarded a Ph.D in 1905. He then returned to work at 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 ...

until 1913, studying the chemical reactions induced by ionizing radiation. From 1913 to 1925 he worked at the

US Bureau of Mines For most of the 20th century, the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral r ...

, concerned with extraction of radium from carnotite ore. He subsequently studied the chemical effects of radiation, including on diamonds, and was appointed Chief Chemist of the bureau in 1923. He continued the radiation studies at the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture (1925–26) and the University of Minnesota (1926–1947) as head of its School of Chemistry. He spent his last few working years as acting director of the chemistry division at

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research an ...

studying the radiation chemistry of gases. He was inducted a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1927 and elected a member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1930. He served as president of the American Electrochemical Society in 1927 and the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

in 1940. Among his awards was the

Ira Remsen Award Ira Remsen (February 10, 1846 – March 4, 1927) was an American chemist who discovered the artificial sweetener saccharin along with Constantin Fahlberg. He was the second president of Johns Hopkins University. Early life Ira Remsen was bor ...

in 1947, and the Priestley Medal in 1952.

Private life

He married Marie Holladay of Omaha, Nebraska in 1915.

References

1879 births 1965 deaths People from McMinnville, Tennessee Washington and Lee University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Leipzig University alumni American chemists Fellows of the American Physical Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Michigan faculty Presidents of the Electrochemical Society {{chemist-stub