Dr. Cherry Logan Emerson

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Mr. Emerson, Chemist and Alumnus, was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science at the One Hundered Forty-ninth Commencement of Emory University on May Ninth, Nineteen Hundered Ninety-four.

Cherry Emerson knew his multiplication tables before he started school, he knew calculus before he went to Boys' High in Atlanta, and he knew that the Emory Chemistry Department must have a supercomputing center to remain among the leading chemistry programs in the world. That is why he endowed a chair in chemistry to recruit one of the world's foremost quantum chemists and experts in high-speed computation, and why he established The Cherry L. Emerson Center for Scientific Computation to provide powerful computing resources for Emory researchers in a variety of disciplines. The Center underwent an expansion in 2001.

Although his grandfather was the founding dean of the School of Engineering and chairman of the Department of Chemistry at Georgia Tech, and his father was a Georgia Tech engineer, Cherry Logan Emerson chose to matriculate at Emory in 1934. He earned his master's degree in organic chemistry in 1939, then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study chemical engineering with Professor Warren K. Lewis. In 1942 he married Professor Lewis' daughter, Mary.

During World War II, Mr. Emerson worked for Monsanto Chemical Company, supervising the production of ethyl alcohol for the U.S. Navy. Later he and colleague William R. Cuming began Emerson-Cuming, the nation's first formulator of epoxy resins that produced a variety of plastics by adding different curing agents and filler materials. Their products were used in items ranging from electric coffe pots to pumps for deep oil-well drilling. Pioneering the development of the microballoon, the company also became involved in spacecraft and Stealth aircraft technology.

After retirement, the Emersons relocated to Atlanta and became active in Emory's Friends of Music and the Board of Visitors. In 1987 the University awarded Mr. Emerson the Emory Medal in recognition of his professional accomplishments and his devotion to the University.