C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

Noyes Laboratory:
One Hundred Years of Chemistry

A Century of Accomplishment
The Bare Facts
Nobel Prize Winners
ACS Presidents
Priestley Medal Winner

Fine Chemicals

The Illinois State Water Survey

Chemists and Chemistry at Noyes:
Roger Adams: "The Chief"
Ludwig F. Audrieth and Synthetic Sweeteners
John C. Bailar Jr. and Coordination Chemistry
St. Elmo Brady: Pioneer
George L. Clark and High-Intensity X-Ray Tubes
Willis H. Flygare and Microwave Spectrometry
Reynold C. Fuson: Teaching Chemistry
Herbert S. Gutowsky and NMR Spectroscopy
B. Smith Hopkins and the Chemistry of Rare Earths
Henry Fraser Johnstone and the Study of Air Pollution
Herbert A. Laitinen and Analytical Chemistry
Carl "Speed" Marvel: Advances in Polymer Chemistry
William A. Noyes: The Department Comes of Age
Arthur W. Palmer: The Early Years
Samuel W. Parr and Applied Chemistry
Charles C. Price III and Antimalarials
Worth H. Rodebush and Physical Chemistry
William C. Rose and Amino Acids
George F. Smith and the Aerosol Can
Harold R. Snyder and Antimalarials
Marion Sparks and Chemical Information

Landmark Designation

George Clark received his Ph.D. in 1918 from the University of Chicago, where he studied with William D. Harkins. Clark held several academic positions, most notably as an assistant professor of Applied Chemical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1927 he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in its analytical chemistry division, where his students knew him as "G. L."

Clark was the leading exponent of the application of X-ray analyses to a wide variety of materials, including metals and minerals, natural and synthetic fibers, natural and synthetic rubber, clays, carbon black, storage battery plates, corks, and waxes. He was a pathfinder in recognizing the connection between instrumentation and analysis, and he frequently introduced newly developed instrumental methods into the research community.

Clark was an expert in the application of X-rays in science, industry, and medicine. He used X-rays in stress analysis, determining whether particular metals (such as those used in propellers) were defective. In 1945 he developed an X-ray tube that could withstand the heat generated by up to 50,000 volts of electricity. Clark’s new tube meant that X-ray pictures could be taken in seconds rather than minutes, giving growth to the medical uses of X-rays.

Clark successfully characterized the macromolecules found in the rubber plant, determining their molecular weight, an issue that had intrigued botanists for years. He also discovered that rubber crystallizes when it is stretched, opening up a new field of X-ray studies.

In 1952 the first consolidated X-ray facility in the United States was dedicated at the University of Illinois. A plaque acknowledged Clark’s twenty-five years of applied X-ray research. In 2000 the X-ray facility was rededicated as the G. L. Clark X-ray Laboratory.

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