Seymour Meyerson

Seymour Meyerson was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and attended the University of Chicago from which he received his undergraduate degree. Unsure of what he wanted to pursue as a career, Meyerson decided to take additional courses in a variety of disciplines from the University of Chicago, as well as from George Williams College, which he attended for one year. After a brief time in a Chicago laboratory, he began working as a civilian inspector for the U.S. military. By 1943 Meyerson began active service with the U.S. military, spending the majority of his time with the Signal Corps; he also performed important work as the technical liaison officer between the Manhattan District and Standard Oil Company (Indiana).

Though he had studied chemistry as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, Meyerson's wartime work removed him from a laboratory setting for many years. His time with the military, however, afforded him the opportunity to be trained in electronics, to encounter his first mass spectrometer, although simply as a black box, and also to make important contacts with Standard Oil Company (Indiana). In 1946 Meyerson started what would become a nearly forty year career with Standard Oil Company (Indiana) (later the Amoco Corporation). From the outset, Meyerson was involved with the mass spectrometry group, first conducting quantitative gas analysis on gases and low-boiling liquids, consisting of hydrocarbons and fixed gases. His extensive career gave him the ability to witness the development of mass spectrometry at Standard Oil Company (Indiana) and the movement of his laboratory to newer buildings with more space and newer instrumentation, as well as the transition from human calculators to early analog computers.

Much of Meyerson's research was conducted in collaboration with others in his company and in the larger mass spectrometry community. He and his colleagues were able to make advances in mass spectrometry techniques because Standard Oil Company (Indiana) supported basic research and there was a commitment of corporate management to the larger scientific community. Throughout his oral history Meyerson detailed the instrumentation with which he worked, mainly from Consolidated Engineering Corporation. Additionally, Meyerson discussed the early history of mass spectrometry as a discipline and as a community.

Deavitt Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois

1941 - 1942 Chemist

Deavitt Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois

1942

Army Ordnance, Kankakee Ordnance Works, Joliet, Illinois

United States Army

1943 - 1946 Army Signal Corps

United States Army

1945

Army Corps of Engineers, Manhattan Engineer District

Standard Oil Company (Indiana)/Amoco Corporation

1946 - 1951 Chemist

Standard Oil Company (Indiana)/Amoco Corporation

1951 - 1954 Assistant Project Chemist

Standard Oil Company (Indiana)/Amoco Corporation

1954 - 1957 Project Chemist

Standard Oil Company (Indiana)/Amoco Corporation

1958 - 1960 Senior Project Chemist

Standard Oil Company (Indiana)/Amoco Corporation

1960 - 1962 Senior Research Scientist

Standard Oil Company (Indiana)/Amoco Corporation

1962 - 1972 Research Associate

Standard Oil Company (Indiana)/Amoco Corporation

1972 - 1980 Senior Research Associate

Standard Oil Company (Indiana)/Amoco Corporation

1980 - 1984 Research Consultant

Michael A. Grayson

Michael A. Grayson is a member of the Mass Spectrometry Research Resource at Washington University in St. Louis. He received his B.S. degree in physics from St. Louis University in 1963 and his M.S. in physics from the University of Missouri at Rolla in 1965. He is the author of over 45 papers in the scientific literature. Before joining the Research Resource, he was a staff scientist at McDonnell Douglas Research Laboratory. While completing his undergraduate and graduate education, he worked at Monsanto Company in St. Louis, where he learned the art and science of mass spectrometry. Grayson is a member of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), and has served many different positions within that organization. He has served on the Board of Trustees of CHF and is currently a member of CHF's Heritage Council. He currently pursues his interest in the history of mass spectrometry by recording oral histories, assisting in the collection of papers, and researching the early history of the field.