Melvin 6. Mellon-1952
Fisher Award Winner
outstanding contributions to the science of analytical chemistry, Melvin Guy Mellon has been selected to receive the 1952 Fisher Award. We believe that this was a wise selection-that Dr. Mellon richly deserves this high honor. We feel particularly proud to have had Dr. Mellon on the Advisory Board of ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY during eight critical years of the publication’s history. He was a member of the original board which your editor activated when he was appointed to his present post in 1943. Dr. Mellon served until 1951, when he n-as automatically retired under the rotation plan adopted in 1949. \$‘e note in our records that he attended every board meeting, many times at great personal sacrifice. Dr. Mellon took an active part in early discussions of just what should be the role of ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY. Many hours were spent in working out the prob\L CHEXISTRY as lems incident to setting up ANALYTIC a publication separate from Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. On this and many other occasions, his advice and counsel were invaluable. Although a recognized specialist, 3Iellon retained the broad view and exhibited the knowledge of the entire field necessary for the important decisions on fundamental policy. He has developed an enviable reputation as a teacher, author, and speaker. During more than 30 years of association with Purdue Cniversity, his contributions to the teaching of analytical chemistry have been great. One of his unusual endeavors was the filming of a 16-mm. movie as a visual aid in teaching laboratory technique. An academic colleague has described him as “an untiring investigator and a leader, who, through his influence upon his graduate students, has inspired others to scientific achievements in analytical chemistry.” Dr. Mellon’s principal undergraduate teaching assignment at Purdue has been the course in elementary quantitative chemical analysis. I n 1937 he published “Methods of Quantitative Chemical Analysis,’’ in which he presented the material from the functional viewpoint of unit operations of separations and measurement applied in multicomponent analyses. A new edition with P. J. Elving as coauthor is soon to be published. Dr. Mellon has directed research which has brought colorimetry to its present stage of development. In 1933 he secured for his laboratory the first instrument produced on the model of the General Electric photoFOR
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electric spectrophotometer designed by Hardy at MIT. The latest model of the Hardy instrument, as well as the original production instrument, is operating in his laboratory. His pioneering work with the spectrophotometer is generally recognized. He served as editor of “Analytical Absorption Spectroscopy,” the comprehensive test and reference book, prepared in collaboration with eight other specialists, published in 1950. Dr. Mellon deserves much credit for seeing the need for placing colorimetric analysis on a quantitative phgsical measurement basis. Purdue University recognized his sound thinking and good judgment early in his career, and in 1928 appointed him chairman of the Chemistry Building Planning Committee. He visited many academic, industrial, and governmental laboratories in connection with this planning. As construction on the final wing moves to completion, Dr. Mellon can look n-ith pride on a job well done. In addition to important papers on colorimetry and spectroscopy, Mellon has frequently contributed valuable papers in other fields of analytical chemistry. He has been especially interested in the use of the library, preparation of bibliographies, and systematizing chemical nomenclature. -4s an outgrowth of his course at Purdue, he prepared “Chemical Publications,” which has been widely adopted as a standard text. More recently he initiated a course designated as Chemical Writing, believed to be the only course of its kind being taught in a chemistry department. Dr. Mellon has always given freely of his time as a committee member or a speaker. He is a member of the important Committee E-3 (Chemical Analysis of Metals) of the A.S.T.M. organized by the late G. E. F. Lundell. He was first chairman of the Committee 011 Naming Methods in the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry. He has addressed more than 50 local sections of the ACS, usually speaking on colorimetry, spectroscopy, or chemical literature. i l s he joins the illustrious group of Fisher Award winners-Furman, Lundell, Kolthoff, and Willard-we extend our hearty congratulations to Melvin G. AIellon. Each and every member of the editorial staff has felt free to ask his advice and assistance frequently. Analysts everywhere join in this heartfelt tribute to a great leader in the field of analytical chemistry.
