Charles L. Christ facts for kids

Charles Louis Christ (born March 12, 1916 – died June 29, 1980) was an American scientist. He was especially known for studying rocks and minerals. He was a geochemist and a mineralogist. This means he studied the chemistry of the Earth and its minerals.

Education and Early Work

Charles Christ went to Johns Hopkins University. He earned three degrees there. He got his Bachelor's, Master's, and finally his Ph.D. (Doctorate) in 1940. A Ph.D. is the highest degree you can get.

After finishing his studies, he worked for the General Electric Company. He was a research chemist in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1941, he started teaching at Wesleyan University.

War Research

From 1942 to 1945, Charles Christ returned to Hopkins. He worked as an instructor and helped lead the C.Y. War Research Laboratory. This lab worked on important projects during World War II.

One of their main tasks was to create a special device. This device was called a bolometer. It could detect infrared radiation, which is a type of heat energy.

After the war, from 1946 to 1949, he worked at American Cyanamid Company. He led a team that used X-ray crystallography. This is a way to study the tiny structures of materials.

Working for the U.S. Government

In October 1949, Charles Christ joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS is a government agency that studies the Earth. He worked there until he retired in 1979.

His research at the USGS focused on minerals. He studied minerals that contained uranium, vanadium, and other rare elements. He was very interested in borate minerals. These minerals have a lot of water in them and are complex.

Teaching and Discoveries

From 1956 to 1965, he was a professor at George Washington University. This university is in Washington, DC.

In 1960, he developed a set of rules. These rules explained how complex borate minerals form. They became famous as Christ's Rules.

In 1965, he moved with the USGS to Menlo Park, California. He continued his important research there. In 1972, he was a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii.

Awards and Honors

• In 1959, Charles Christ received the Rockefeller Public Service Award. This award recognized his excellent work for the public.
• In 1977, a brand new mineral was discovered. It was found in a gold deposit in Carlin, Nevada. Scientists named this new mineral Christite in his honor. You can learn more about it here: Christite.

He was also a respected member of several scientific groups. He was a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America. He was also a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. From 1955 to 1959, he was an editor for The American Mineralogist journal.