Dr. Ray Crist, class of 1920, passed away on Saturday, July 23, 2005, at the age of 105. Dr. Crist had a long and distinguished career as a scientist, researcher and educator. He taught chemistry at Columbia University and worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb during World War II.

On the 40th anniversary of his graduation, Dickinson College awarded him an honorary doctor of science degree. Shortly after that, he returned to Dickinson and taught courses in chemistry and the history of science. When he retired from Dickinson at the age of 70, he went to work at Messiah College as a teacher and researcher.

As he continued working at Messiah, Dr. Crist became known as an example of lifelong learning and hard work. He was profiled in The Philadelphia Inquirer's magazine in March 2002 and was saluted as "America's Oldest Worker" by Experience Works, a national, nonprofit organization.

More information can be found in the obituary published in The Sentinel.

At Alumni Weekend 2003, Dr. Crist was honored by the Dickinson College Alumni Council with a special Lifetime Achievement Award. The presentation of the award provides an excellent summary of his remarkable life:

Dickinson College Alumni Weekend - June 7, 2003
Alumni Council President Anne W. Selden '65

I now have the pleasure of making a very special presentation to Dr. Ray H. Crist, Class of 1920.

Born on March 8, 1900 on a farm in nearby Shepherdstown, PA. Ray Crist entered grade school at the age of 4 and has been doing homework ever since. In 1916 he began a four-year stint of commuting to Dickinson via train from Dillsburg. As an undergraduate, he joined the Student Army Training Corp, the newly chartered Theta Chi fraternity and ran cross-country. And in the true liberal arts spirit, although his degree was in chemistry, Dr. Crist has said that his courses in Shakespeare and ancient history were some of his favorites.

Shortly after graduating from Dickinson, he enrolled in Columbia University and graduated in 1926 with a PhD in chemistry. In 1928 he received a Cutting Travelling Fellowship which allowed him to study for a year in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Crist returned to Columbia where he taught chemistry for 24 years until he was recruited in 1941 to work with a group of top scientists for the Manhattan Project developing the first atomic bomb. He then became director of research of the Manhattan district of the project based at Columbia. He and thousands of other scientists worked intensely for years to discover the active uranium isotope that would give birth to nuclear energy. Dr. Crist has said that while they were all struggling with the morality of developing a bomb, they realized that they needed to continue in order to protect themselves and the country in a time of war. After the war, Dr. Crist worked at Union Carbide Chemical Co. in Charleston, W. VA. where he developed a coal hydrogenation process whose by-product could be used as an alternative to petroleum oil.

Soon after this achievement, he was awarded an honorary degree by Dickinson on the 40th anniversary of his graduation. Three years later he returned to campus as a visiting professor of chemistry. Although he taught mostly upper-level chemistry courses, his favorite class was a general credit course on the history of science - designed for non-majors - where he helped students to understand some of the basic laws of the natural world around them. At the time of his employment, Dickinson had a mandatory retirement age of 70, but this didn't stop Dr. Crist from teaching. He just moved down the road to Messiah College where he continues to work to this day for the salary of $1 per year at his request. Soon after joining Messiah, Crist became concerned with the increasing deterioration of the environment which prompted him to begin biochemical-ecological research. As the visiting professor of environmental science he has taught classes and trained research students in his lab and has conducted research with his son, Lance, a retired Columbia University professor of chemistry.

Since 1971 he has published more than 20 scientific papers in national and international journals and presented his findings at numerous scientific meetings around the world including Nagasaki, Japan.

In recognition for his accomplishments, Dr. Crist was featured in the 2001 PBS series "The Living Century: Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary People". In 2002 Experience Works, a national nonprofit organization that provides services for mature workers, named Crist "America's Oldest Worker." He has also been featured on CBS' 60 Minutes and The CBS News Sunday Morning Show with Charles Osgood.

In addition to his son, Lance, Dr. Crist has two other sons, Henry, a pathologist at Carlisle Hospital and a member of the class of '62 who is with us today, and Robert, a professor of American literature at the University of Athens, Greece. Dr. Crist still lives in Carlisle and if you pass by his house you may very well see him mowing his grass or shoveling snow.

Dr. Crist, would you join me at the podium. In recognition of your outstanding accomplishments in the field of chemistry, for your dedication to your countless students over the years and for your longevity in the workforce, I am delighted to award you this special Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the Dickinson College Alumni Council. Congratulations!