Kenneth Mees
Charles Edward Kenneth MeesFRS[1](26 May 1882 – 15 August 1960) was a Britishscientistandphotographic researcher.
Early life and education[edit]
Mees was born inWellingborough,England,the son of aWesleyanminister.
He attended theUniversity of London.In 1906 he was awarded hisD.Sc.with a dissertation on photographic theory.
Career[edit]
From 1906 until 1912, Mees worked for Wratten and Wainwright, Ltd., assistingFrederick Wrattenin developing the firstpanchromaticphotographic plates, as well aslight filtersand safelights for the darkroom.
In 1912,Eastman KodakCompany acquired Wratten and Wainwright because they were interested in the skills Mees provided.George Eastmanconvinced Mees to move toRochester,New York,United States, where Mees created the Kodak Research Laboratories,[2]becoming its first director.[3]
Mees helped the US military inWorld War Iin its instruction of photography.[2]After theattack on Pearl Harbor,Mees became an American citizen so that he could have access to high security war projects and information duringWorld War II.[2]
Later, he was named vice president in charge of Research and Development for Eastman Kodak; he remained at that position until he retired in 1955.[2]
During his career, he published 100 scientific papers and 60 other works. Among his accomplishments was the development of sensitive photographic emulsions for use inastronomy.
Mees served as the first president of the board of trustees ofGeorge Eastman Housefrom 1947 until 1954.[4]
He died suddenly inHonoluluin 1960.
Personal life[edit]
He married in 1909 Alice Crisp, and together they raised two children: Graham (1910) and Doris (1912). They were married for 45 years.[2]
In 1951 he suffered a massive thrombosis in one leg and lost it to amputation. Despite that, he became adept at using an artificial limb and even managed to drive his own car.[2]
Selected works[edit]
- C.E. Kenneth Mees,An Atlas of Absorption Spectra,1909.
- C.E. Kenneth Mees,The Photography of Colored Objects,1909.
- C.E. Kenneth Mees,F. M. Hamerand L. G. S. Brooker.Recent advances in sensitizers for the photography of the infrared.J. Opt. Soc. Am., 23:216., 1933
- C.E. Kenneth Mees,Photography,Macmillan Co., New York, 1942.
- C.E. Kenneth Mees,The Theory of the Photographic Process,Macmillan Co., New York, 1942.
- C.E. Kenneth Mees & S. Sheppard,Investigations on the Theory of the Photographic Process.
- C.E. Kenneth Mees,The Path of Science,J. Wiley & sons, inc., 1946.
- C.E. Kenneth Mees and John A. Leermakers,The Organization of Industrial Scientific Research,McGraw-Hill, 1950.
- C.E. Kenneth Mees,From dry plates to Ektachrome film: a story of photographic research,Ziff-Davis Pub. Co., 1961.
Awards and honors[edit]
- Progress Medal, Royal Photographic Society, Great Britain, 1912 and 1952[2]
- Hurter and Driffield Medal, 1924[2]
- Henry Draper Medal,National Academy of Sciences,1936.[5]
- Progress Medal,Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, 1936[6]
- Member of theAmerican Philosophical Society,1937[7]
- Member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences,1941[8]
- Member of the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences,1950[9]
- Franklin Medal,1954
- Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society
- Fellow of theRoyal Society,1939[1]
- Inductee, International Photography Hall of Fame, 1972
Legacy[edit]
- The C.E.K. Mees Award is the highest research honor given by Kodak.
- The C.E.K. Mees Medal, awarded in odd-numbered years by theOptical Society of America,is named after him and was endowed by the Mees family.
- TheUniversity of Rochester'sC.E.K. Mees Observatoryis named after him.
- The craterMeeson theMoonis named after him.
- Mees Solar Observatory on the summit ofHaleakalais named after him.
References[edit]
- ^abClark, W. (1961). "Charles Edward Kenneth Mees. 1882-1960".Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society.7:172–197.doi:10.1098/rsbm.1961.0014.S2CID62540744.
- ^abcdefghSFR (1991)."Book Reviews"(PDF).Photoresearcher(2). European Society for the History of Photography: 39 – via ESHPH.org.
- ^Journey: 75 Years of Kodak Research(Eastman Kodak, Rochester, 1989) pp. 7-9.
- ^"Dr. C. E. Kenneth Mees"(PDF).Image.George Eastman House. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 July 2011.Retrieved12 December2010– via eastmanhouse.org.
- ^"Henry Draper Medal".National Academy of Sciences. Archived fromthe originalon 26 January 2013.Retrieved24 February2011.
- ^"SMPTE Progress Medal Historical List Recipients".SMPTE.Retrieved27 November2020.
- ^"APS Member History".search.amphilsoc.org.Retrieved24 May2023.
- ^"Charles Edward Kenneth Mees".American Academy of Arts & Sciences.9 February 2023.Retrieved24 May2023.
- ^"Charles Mees".nasonline.org.Retrieved24 May2023.
Further reading[edit]
- James, Thomas H. (1990).C. E. Kenneth Mees: Pioneer of Industrial Research.Photographic Research Laboratory, Eastman Kodak Company.ISBN0879856572.
External links[edit]
- Dr. C.E. Kenneth Mees (1882–1960)Archived4 March 2016 at theWayback Machineat iphf.org
- Historically speaking - tribute to C.E. Kenneth Mees, scientist and photographer, and former VP at Eastman Kodak
- Charles Edward Kenneth Mees 1882-1960Mees' role in history of infrared photography development and Kodachrome
- National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
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