Smith, Cyril Stanley

Smith, Cyril Stanley
born Oct. 4, 1903, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Eng.
died Aug. 25, 1992, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.

British-born U.S. metallurgist.

He worked as a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the American Brass Co. before joining the Manhattan Project, where he determined the properties and technology of plutonium and uranium, the essential materials of the atomic bomb. He later taught at the University of Chicago (1946–61) and MIT (1961–69). He published many books on the history of metallurgy, including A History of Metallography (1960).

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▪ American metallurgist
born Oct. 4, 1903, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Eng.
died Aug. 25, 1992, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.

      American metallurgist who in 1943–44 determined the properties and technology of plutonium and uranium, the essential materials in the atomic bombs that were first exploded in 1945.

      Obtaining his education in England and the United States, Smith became a research associate (1926–27) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge and then spent 15 years with the American Brass Company at Waterbury, Conn., where he organized a research laboratory and carried out numerous projects. He became interested in the history of metallurgy after his marriage to a historian in 1931. He accumulated a library of original source books and, in collaboration with other scholars, made English translations of classic works on metallurgy. His book, A History of Metallography: The Development of Ideas on the Structure of Metals Before 1890 (1960), was based on this work.

      In 1942 Smith took a research post in Washington, D.C., with the War Metallurgy Committee of the National Defense Research Committee. The next year he moved to Los Alamos, N.M., to work on the Manhattan Project for developing the atomic bomb and took charge of the exploration of the properties of uranium and plutonium. Smith and his associates also did important work with tungsten carbide and boron.

      In 1946 Smith went to the University of Chicago, becoming head (1946–56) of the Institute for the Study of Metals there. In 1961 he left Chicago for MIT, where he was appointed professor of metallurgy and of the history of technology and science, becoming professor emeritus in 1969. Smith received numerous professional honours, including the Platinum Medal of the Institute of Metals, London (1970).

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  • Smith, Cyril Stanley — (4 oct. 1903, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Inglaterra–25 ago. 1992, Cambridge, Mass., EE.UU.). Metalurgista estadounidense nacido en Gran Bretaña. Trabajó como investigador en el MIT y en la empresa American Brass Co., antes de ingresar al proyecto… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Cyril Stanley Smith — For other persons with the name Cyril Smith, see Cyril Smith (disambiguation). Cyril Stanley Smith Born October 4, 1903 Birmingham, England Died August 25, 1992 Nationality England Education …   Wikipedia

  • Stanley — Stanley, Wendell Meredith Stanley, sir Henry Morton * * * (as used in expressions) Baldwin (de Bewdley), Stanley, 1 conde Becker, Gary S(tanley) Derby, Edward (George Geoffrey Smith) Stanley, 14 conde de Donen, Stanley Eddington, Sir Arthur… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • smith — /smith/, n. 1. a worker in metal. 2. a blacksmith. v.t. 3. to forge on an anvil; form by heating and pounding: to smith armor. [bef. 900; (n.) ME, OE; c. G Schmied, ON smithr, Goth smitha; (v.) ME smithen, OE smithian; c. ON smitha, Goth… …   Universalium

  • Smith — /smith/, n. 1. Adam, 1723 90, Scottish economist. 2. Alfred E(manuel), 1873 1944, U.S. political leader. 3. Bessie, 1894? 1937, U.S. singer. 4. Charles Henry ( Bill Arp ), 1826 1903, U.S. humorist. 5 …   Universalium

  • Smith — Smith, Adam Smith, George Smith, Hamilton O. Smith, Ian Douglas Smith, John Smith, Joseph Smith, Theobald Smith, William * * * (as used in expressions) Abigail Smi …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Stanley — /stan lee/, n. 1. Arthur Penrhyn /pen rin/, (Dean Stanley) 1815 81, English clergyman and author. 2. Edward George Geoffrey Smith, 14th Earl of Derby, 1799 1869, British statesman: prime minister 1852, 1858 59, 1866 68. 3. Francis Edgar, 1849… …   Universalium

  • Cyril — /sir euhl/, n. 1. Saint ( Apostle of the Slavs ), A.D. 827 869, Greek missionary to the Moravians. 2. a male given name. * * * (as used in expressions) Burt Sir Cyril Lodowic Cyril and Methodius Saints Cyril of Alexandria Saint Cyril of Jerusalem …   Universalium

  • Cyril — (as used in expressions) Burt, Sir Cyril (Lodowic) Darlington, Cyril Dean James, C(yril) L(ionel) R(obert) Parkinson, C(yril) Northcote Smith, Cyril Stanley Tourneur, Cyril …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Smith (Familienname) — Smith [smɪθ] (englisch smith „Schmied“) ist ein englischsprachiger Familienname. Zur Herkunft siehe Schmidt. Smith ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Bekannte Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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