Lauby’s Cornell Chemical Recollections

March 1972

“EMILE MONNIN CHAMOT, ‘CHAMMY’”

[Picture: Chamot]

A native of Buffalo, Emile Monnin Chamot entered Cornell in 1887 and gained the B.S. degree in 1891. He was assistant to and did his senior thesis with Professor George Caldwell, the first head of the Chemistry Department. Caldwell possessed two microscopes and introduced Chamot to the application of microscopy to chemistry, the field in which he was to become recognized as a pre-eminent authority. Chamot also inherited from Caldwell interest in toxicology and sanitary chemistry.

Chamot was appointed Instructor in 1891 and continued graduate studies with Dr. Caldwell, qualifying for Ph.D. in 1897. As was the case with his colleagues Dennis and Bancroft, Chamot then went abroad to polish off his education and spent a year at Nancy and Delft. Behrens, the world’s leading chemical microscopist at Delft, reinforced Chamot’s interest in chemical microscopy and, upon hi return to Cornell as an Assistant Professor, Chamot initiated courses in this field for which Cornell was to become a center. In 1910 he was promoted to Professor, teaching courses in sanitary chemistry and toxicology as well as microscopy. When sanitary chemistry and toxicology were transferred to other departments he concentrated on microscopy and metallography. In 1924-25 he represented seven American universities as exchange professor to a number of French institutions.

Alumni will remember Chammy as a small, quiet, friendly person who was always easily available for advice from his enormous store of knowledge, of which he had impressive powers of recall. His well considered and firm judgments were frequently sought by students and colleagues and he was in demand as an expert consultant off campus.

Chammy loved the outdoors and enjoyed hunting upland birds and fishing for trout. He lived near the crest of State Street hill and always walked to the laboratory. Julian S. Collier, Cornell ’18 writes, “Who can forget the little professor with the big dog walking across campus every morning? They say even the day of the big snow (39 inches).”

Professor Chamot introduced American chemists to the potential of microscopic methods by his pioneer book “Elementary Chemical Microscopy” (1915), which was succeeded in 1930 by “Handbook of Chemical Microscopy” (with C.W. Mason). Many were the student stories concerning Chammy’s magic with the microscope. My favorite involved the instance when a student submitted a crystalline product he had prepared to Professor Chamot for examination. Next day Chammy reported that the material had laid out on a filter paper to dry in the air overnight in a room with an open window. The amazed student admitted this to be the truth. How did Chammy do it? His microscope revealed the presence in the preparation of a tiny hair which, when compared with the extensive collection of hairs in his file, turned out to be that of a bat. Small wonder that Professor Chamot often was called upon to act as expert witness in legal cases.