University of Utah honors renowned chemist Henry Eyring for his love of God, love of people, love of chemistry
The statue is located in the atrium of the Henry Eyring Chemistry Building, named for the chemist himself.
During the unveiling, Eyring's son, President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke, highlighting not just who his father was as a chemist but as a person.
Eyring was a faithful member of the Church for his whole life and his son shared that he was someone who loved God, loved people and loved chemistry.
'He saw himself as a person whose main purpose was to help people, that that's what God would want him to do,' President Eyring said.
The statue was provided by Khosrow Semnani, a philanthropist who said he saw this statue as a way for him to do something for Eyring who had a major impact on him and was a guiding light in his life.
'He was a very kind man in many ways,' Semnani added. 'He never stopped promoting kindness.'
The statue shows Eyring sitting on a stool, holding a model of a molecule and smiling as if he was teaching a class.
'That smile is the smile he always had when he taught about chemistry and he was trying to lift people,' President Eyring said.
It was sculpted by Mark Degraffenried and was created through the Metal Arts Foundry.
Other speakers at the event included Peter Armentrout, interim chair of the university's chemistry department, and university President Taylor Randall. Also present at the event were former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Elder Dale G. Renlund of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Eyring was a trailblazing theoretical chemist who wrote over 600 scientific papers and 10 volumes. His research on chemical kinetics helped build a foundation for the modern day understandings of chemical reactions.
'Dr. Eyring's contributions to theoretical chemistry have fundamentally shaped our understanding of chemical kinetics, and I know that for a fact, because I do chemical kinetics and I use some of his principles all the time,' Armentrout said.
His works included seminal research on the theory of liquids, optical rotation, rate processes in biology and medicine, aging and cancer, anaethesiology and other areas.
He developed the absolute rate theory, known as the Eyring equation. Eyring also was presented with National Medal of Science in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson and received the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1980.
He served as dean of the U. Graduate School and a professor of Chemistry and Metallurgy at the University of Utah from 1946 until his death in 1981, at age 80.
During his life he was also nominated for a Nobel Prize multiple times.
Randall pointed out that the university is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year and said that Eyring's time at the school is a great inflection point of the university's history.
'Beyond these scientific achievements, he was also known for his passion for education, his infectious enthusiasm for discovery of all sorts, and his unique ability to bridge the realms of science and profound philosophical thought,' Armentrout said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scientific American
29 minutes ago
- Scientific American
How RNA Unseated DNA as the Most Important Molecule in Your Body
In 1957, just four years after Francis Crick and other scientists solved the riddle of DNA's structure—the now famous double helix—Crick laid out what he called the 'central dogma' of molecular biology, which his colleague James Watson later said implied that biological information flows inexorably from DNA to RNA to proteins. Although Watson was oversimplifying, the message was that the purpose of the double helix in our chromosomes is to hold, in encoded form, blueprints for the proteins that build and maintain our bodies. DNA's chemical cousin, RNA, was the messenger that carries DNA instructions from the double helix in the cell's nucleus to the protein-making machinery, called the ribosome, scattered around the cell. Molecular biology's mission, it seemed, was to decipher those genetic instructions. But in recent years researchers have discovered a dizzying array of 'noncoding' RNA (ncRNA) molecules that do something other than ferry DNA instructions for proteins. They perform a surprisingly wide range of biochemical functions. It now seems that our genome may be at least as much a repository of plans for vital, noncoding RNA as it is for proteins. This shift in thinking has been 'revolutionary,' says Thomas Cech, who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sidney Altman for discovering RNA molecules, called ribozymes, that can catalyze biochemical reactions. 'DNA is old stuff, 20th-century stuff,' Cech says. 'It's a one-trick pony. All it does is store biological information, which it does exquisitely well. But it's inert—it can't do anything without its children, RNA and proteins.' RNA is created when an enzyme called RNA polymerase reads a DNA sequence and builds a corresponding RNA molecule—a process known as transcription. The discovery, over the past three decades, of thousands of previously unknown noncoding RNAs 'has been mind-blowing,' says Maite Huarte, a molecular biologist at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. Noncoding RNA plays many roles, often involving the regulation of other genes—for example, determining whether protein-coding genes get transcribed to messenger RNA (mRNA) and how (or if) that molecule is edited and then translated into a protein. In this case, RNA seems to control how cells use their DNA. These functions turn the popular central dogma, which was a one-way street from DNA to mRNA to proteins, into an open system with information flowing in all directions among DNA, proteins, cells and organism. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Equally fascinating, Huarte says, is that ncRNAs don't belong to just one family of molecules. 'RNA is highly versatile, and nature exploits this versatility,' she says. Scientists have known since the 1950s that ribosomes contain ribosomal RNA and use transfer RNA to collect amino acids that are stitched together in proteins. But for a long time those seemed like anomalies. Then, in the 1980s, Cech and Altman discovered a new type of ncRNA: ribozymes that cleave and edit themselves and other RNAs. And in the 1990s researchers began to find human ncRNAs that had regulatory functions. A gene called XIST, involved in the 'silencing' of one of the two X chromosomes in the cells of chromosomal females, encoded not a protein but a long noncoding RNA that appears to wrap around the chromosome and prevent its transcription. 'Textbooks 25 years ago confidently stated that RNA consisted of [three types]. Now there are hundreds, likely many thousands, of other types.' —Thomas Cech University of Colorado Boulder Meanwhile molecular biologists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun found short noncoding RNA molecules that interact with mRNA to silence a corresponding gene. This extra layer of gene regulation—controlling whether an mRNA is used to make a protein—seems to be an essential feature in the growth of complex organisms. Scientists have linked genetic mutations that hinder gene regulation by ncRNAs to a wide range of diseases, including cancers. 'We're getting closer to some really exciting biomedical applications,' Huarte says. 'From new diagnostic tools to innovative, targeted therapies, the potential of ncRNAs is huge.' Cech says it was a 'big surprise' RNA could perform such diverse roles. That surprise was apparent in 2012 when scientists working on an international project called ENCODE reported that as much as 80 percent of our DNA has biochemical function in some cells at some point, and much of that DNA is transcribed into RNA, challenging the long-held belief that most of our genome is 'junk' accumulated over the course of evolution. This is not a consensus view. Some researchers argue that, on the contrary, most of the RNA transcribed from DNA but not translated into protein is 'noise,' made because the transcription machinery is rather indiscriminate. Such noise will indeed be the end result for some transcription. It now appears that known noncoding genes outnumber genes encoding proteins by a factor of about three, according to some estimates. It's often hard, however, to figure out just what the RNA is doing. Some of these molecules might get transcribed only in particular types of cells or at a particular stage in embryonic development, so it would be easy to miss their moment of action. 'They are incredibly cell-type specific,' says molecular biologist Susan Carpenter of the University of California, Santa Cruz. But because of that, she says, 'the more we look, the more we find.' Ambiguities notwithstanding, the rise of RNA has transformed molecular biology. 'Textbooks 25 years ago confidently stated that RNA consisted of messenger RNA, transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA,' Cech says. 'Now there are hundreds, likely many thousands, of other types.' The 21st century, he says, 'is the age of noncoding RNA.' We have much more to learn. We don't know how much functional ncRNA there is, let alone what the many varieties do. And 'when we answer one question, it raises 10 new ones,' Carpenter says. As scientists discover more about the many types and roles of RNA, medical researchers may discover potential therapeutic applications, yet the more profound implications are about how life works. For complex organisms to be viable, it's simply not enough to have a 'genetic blueprint' that gets read. They need to be able to change, on the fly, how their genes get used. RNA seems to offer incredibly responsive and versatile ways of doing that.
Forbes
21 hours ago
- Forbes
Growing Almost Anything From Almost Anything
One of the most interesting applications of AI is the ability to use it to analyze and design materials in the 'real world.' And that's an understatement. It's one thing to create digital playgrounds or do deep research on some intangible concept. It's quite another thing to improve the design of molecular compounds, i.e. drugs or other chemical compositions. It's probably no coincidence that one of the most heralded innovations with AI is the Alphafold project which won a Nobel prize for science. The idea of inventing proteins through automated research led to enormous changes in how we approach both pharmaceutical research and clinical science in general. Notwithstanding all of the amazing progress we have done to date, we're not done yet. There's much more to come, and those involved in this kind of science are paying attention to what's happening as we game all of this out. Growing Things 2.0 In a recent TED Talk, David Kong shows us how some of this cutting-edge design works. He mentions a project where it's possible to 'nucleate' and edit DNA. When I looked this up, the idea of 'nucleating' just means forming something into a nucleus or cluster. He then refers to how scientists 'design and build genetic circuits,' which, he suggests, are large pieces of DNA. I was about to look this up, too, but then realized that Kong describes it himself: 'We put (DNA) inside cells, on cells who behave like circuits from electronics or computer science, (and) we learn all about cell-free systems, which can help us understand the origins of life on Earth, or they can be used in applied ways, and freeze dried, and used as sensors to detect pathogens and pollutants in fabrics and textiles.' He also mentions the ability to build completely synthetic genomes from bacteria or yeast, which speaks to a kind of modern alchemy that explores previously uncharted waters. And in a way, that's what all of this is about – alchemy. Kong goes over what's happening in a MIT Harvard global synthetic biology class. Students, he said, program a robot to dispense brightly colored E. coli bacteria in the shape of a design that they created. Psychedelic Results 'After growing on black agar plates for 24 hours, a living artwork flowed under UV light,' he said. The student base, he pointed out, is diverse. 'We have students that are computer scientists, mechanical engineers, urban planners, management students, artists, designers, almost any type of creative or technical background … in the course,' he said. 'And the course has really grown tremendously in recent years, more than doubling our number of accepted students to almost 1300 from MIT Harvard and all around the world. And some of our students are even high school students or even retirees that join us each and every year.' Working Wonders As more of this alchemy, Kong cited projects built to break down temperature-sensitive materials, or deploy nanosensors to surveil environments. One student, he related, used a bioreactor to study indigenous microorganisms. Research Anywhere And then there's the versatility and portability of these project goals. In older times, scientists needed a dedicated lab, because of equipment and mechanical tools. Now, it's different. '(This research) could be (done) anywhere in the world,' he said. 'It could be across the street, in their dorm rooms, Ghana, London in the U.K., wherever our students happen to be.' In fact, Kong adds another quasi-superlative to one that was already in his lexicon: instead of just 'how to grow almost anything from almost anything else,' the phrase becomes 'how to grow almost anything from almost anything else, almost anywhere.' Let's take that a step further, though, because in subsequent narration of other lab work, Kong describes how another student figured out that processes could also be untethered from hands-on access to source material. 'He started to realize that you could take … lab modules like biological production, where organisms are being engineered to produce molecules like lycopene and beta carotene, and they could be programmed totally remotely,' he said. There's a lot more in the video. But this is a good start to understanding the 'modern magic' that goes into learning systems on the cutting edge of today's AI world, and what one of our speakers called the 'secret sauce' enterprise parties can apply to push the envelope with innovation.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
This simple walking change could help reduce your knee pain — here's what the science says
Knee pain can make staying active a real challenge, whether that means running, walking, or even just climbing the stairs. While medication can help, researchers have been exploring natural ways to reduce pain and joint stress. A new study from the University of Utah suggests there may be a simple solution: adjusting the way you walk The research team found that people with knee osteoarthritis experienced pain relief comparable to medication by making a personalized adjustment to their foot angle while walking, either slightly turning the toes inward or outward, based on their individual gait analysis. Even better, participants were able to maintain the new walking style for over a year, which helped to reduce stress on their knees and slow down cartilage wear. Lead researcher Brennen Stemper, a professor of mechanical engineering, explained, 'Our findings show that a subtle change in gait can produce meaningful improvements for people living with knee osteoarthritis. It is not about walking differently all day, every day, but learning how to take pressure off the knee joint when it matters most.' Your gait is the way you walk, including how your foot strikes the ground and how your body moves with each step. Some people's feet roll inward (overpronation), others outward (supination), and many fall somewhere in between. Adjusting your gait is essentially training your body to land in a way that takes pressure off vulnerable areas. If you've looked at our guide to the best running shoes, you may have noticed a section on stability shoes, which are designed for overpronators to help reduce knee stress by guiding the gait. So, should you start marching around the house with your toes pointing out? Not quite. In the study, any changes to walking style were personalized to each participant's gait, so you should not try adjusting your walk on your own. The safest first step is to get a professional gait analysis from a medical specialist or physiotherapist, who can assess your movement and advise whether subtle adjustments could help. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
