Bibliographic Information:

Letter from Emma P. Carr to Professor Victor Henri, [July 5, 1924]
An Electronic Edition

Emma P. Carr, 1880 - 1972

Original Source: United States, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, Manuscript Collection: MS 0517
Author: Emma P. Carr
Addressee: Victor Henri
Place: 528 Chestnut Street, Coshocton, Ohio
Date: [ca July 5, 1924]

Online Publication Date: Dec.8. 2004

Responsibility:
Selected by Jean Costello, Nov. 20, 2004
Approved by Donald Cotter, Chair of Chemistry, Nov. 20, 2004
Creating of machine-readable text by Shaoping Moss, Nov. 23, 2004
Encoded by Shaoping Moss and Jean Costello, Nov. 30, 2004
Estimated date by Jennifer Gunter King, Archivist of MHC, Nov. 20, 2004

LC Subject Headings:
Carr, Emma P. (Emma Perry), 1880-1972
Carr family
Mount Holyoke College. Chemistry Dept
Chemists -- United States -- Correspondence
Women chemists -- United States -- Correspondence
Women scientists -- United States -- Biography
Women college teachers -- United States -- Biography
College teachers -- United States -- Biography
Chemistry -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- History -- Sources

MHC Online Catalog

Encoding Principles: Copyright 1998. This text can be freely distributed.

The Letter:

528 Chestnut Street,
Coshocton, Ohio

[ca July 5, 1924]

My dear Professor Henri: --

                                         Since writing you last week, it occurs to me that in asking to work with you next year I should have written you more in detail of my academic training and experience. I took my degrees of B.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, --the latter in 1910, -- and my major work was in physical-organic chemistry. My work in organic was with Dr. Nef and my dissertation on the Aliphatio Imido-esters was done under the direction of Professor Julius Stieglitz. My teaching experience has all been at Mount Holyoke College , one of the larger of our colleges for women, where I have been lecturer in General and Physical Chemistry and director of the department since 1910.                                         

                                         Our college is distinctly an undergraduate college where the teaching duties take much of one's time so that I have not had sufficient connected time to accomplish a great deal in my research work. My particular interest has been in the application of physical methods to the study of organic problems and about ten years ago I began my work on absorption spectra . We purchased a Fery spectrograph, made by Hilger, and my investigations have been entirely on problems of constitution of organic compounds, -- the cyclopropane derivatives and, more recently, the tautomerism of hydantoin derivatives, and the halogen substitution products of the aliphatic esters. As you know, there has been very little work on ultraviolet absorption spectra of organic compounds in any of the laboratories of this country so that the development of the work in our laboratory has necessitated extensive and detailed work on the literature of the subject. I realize so keenly the limitations of the method involved in our determinations by the Hartley method and I am hoping that we shall be able to equip the laboratory with instruments for the quantitative study of ultra-violet and infra-red spectra after my study abroad. The work that is being done in your laboratory is without question the most important contribution in the field that is being made anywhere and I very much hope that I may have the opportunity of working under your direction.                                         

                                         In writing you with regard to my proposed plan of presenting the material in my assignment of the Tables, I trust that I made clear to you that the plan is a tentative one and if it does not seem feasible to you that you will not hesitate to criticize it. As I have worked with the literature, it has seemed to me that it might be possible to compile a systematic description of absorption curves in such a way that the characteristic points of each curve could be located with sufficient accuracy to reproduce the essential points of the curve from the description. The numerical data on absorption spectra which is given in the French Annual Tables is so varied in method of presentation that it is not possible to get values which are significant and comparable. If this data is to be included in the International Critical Tables in either numerical or graphical form it seems to me imperative that it should be systematically organized and I have found the greatest difficulty in working out what seems to me a satisfactory plan.                                         

                                         In the suggested plan which I sent you the description of Column 3 should be changed in order to avoid the use of the terms "beginning" and "end" of absorption band since this is likely to introduce confusion with the usual use of these terms in their application to the width of the band rather than the depth as I have used them. It would seem better to say, "Where two numbers are given the first is the value for the minimum thickness of the standard solution at which the absorption band is evident and the second for the maximum thickness at which it appears." Similarly there should be a change in phrasing to avoid the same terms in the general description which follows. If this general plan should be adopted a number of modifications and changes would no doubt have to be made. The important point to be decided is whether this plan or any similar plan can give the desired information in systematic form and can, at the same time, be coordinated with the other chapters. I will await your opinion on the matter with the greatest interest.                                         

                                         May I assure you again of my sincere appreciation of all suggestions or criticisms which you may make? In undertaking the work with the I.C.T., I feel that my contribution must be along the lines of careful and accurate organization of existing data for my own experience in the repetition of the work of others is not sufficiently extensive to establish standards for the critical evaluation of conflicting data. There is, as you say, no field of physical chemistry in which the confusion in the literature is greater and undoubtedly the future development will be along the quantitative lines which you have worked out and systematized so admirably.                                         

Very sincerely yours,

Emma P. Carr.

Interpretations:
Autobiography
[Education]
[Mount Holyoke College]
[Director of Chemistry]
[Aliphatio Imido-esters]
[Julius Stieglitz]
[Physical-Organic Chemistry]
[Julius Stieglitz]
[Absorption Spectra]
[Summer house]
[Lecturer of General and Physical Chemistry]
[Dr. Nef]
[Victor Henri]
Chemistry
[Absorption Spectra]
Areas of Interest
[Cyclopropane derivatives]
[Tautomerism of hydantoin derivatives]
[Halogen substitution products of the aliphatic esters]
Research methods
[Fery spectrograph]
[Hartley method]
Institutions
[Mount Holyoke College]
[University of Chicago]
[International Critical Tables]
[French Annual Tables]
Collaborators
[Victor Henri]