Carl W. Garland papers

Carl Wesley Garland, 1929-2017, was professor emeritus in the Department of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned a BS in chemistry at the University of Rochester in 1950 and PhD in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1953.(1) He taught at MIT as an instructor in the Department of Chemistry, 1953-1955; assistant professor, 1955-1959; associate professor, 1959-1968; and full professor from 1968 until his retirement in 1996. (2) While at MIT, Garland served on the Committee on Freshman Advising, 1977-1979. (3) He was also a member of the Internal Advisory Committee for the Center for Materials Science and Engineering, 1989-1996. (4)

Most known for his research in physical chemistry, Garland co-authored the laboratory textbook, Experiments in Physical Chemistry (1st edition, 1962), with fellow MIT Chemistry Professor David P. Shoemaker. Garland’s early work, 1953-1965, investigated absorption on metal surfaces by means of the infrared spectra of absorbed molecules. From 1965-1980, his work focused on order-disorder phenomena in fluids and crystals, and second order phase transitions in liquid crystals from 1980-2010. (5)

1. Danielle Randall, “Carl Garland, professor emeritus of chemistry, dies at 87,” MIT News, July 18, 2017.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, President’s Report Issue, 1955, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59037; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, President’s Report Issue, 1959, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59041; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Report of the President 1968, 1968, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59049; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Reports to the President for the Year Ended June 30, 1995, 1995, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59074.

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Report of the President and the Chancellor 1977-78, 1978, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59059; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Report of the President and the Chancellor 1978-79, 1979, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59060.

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Reports to the President 1989-90, 1990, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59069; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Reports to the President for the Year Ended June 30, 1996, 1996, http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/59075.

5. Randall, “Carl Garland, professor emeritus of chemistry, dies at 87.”