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complex is unstable. Using equipartition of energy for a soft spring, the ‘frequency’ of oscillation, ν , of this spring is given by hν = kT , where k is Boltzmann’s constant, the gas constant per molecule. Thus, formally the reaction rate constant is the product of ν and P (Δ G $^{‡}$), 

<img src='content_image/352356.jpg'>

Of course, the reactants, on reaching the pass and forming an activated complex, may not cross the pass and form the products. They may fall back. Hence, it is often convenient to multiply the exponential in Eq. (3) by a factor, κ , that is called the transmission coefficient. 

Although there is no general method of calculating κ , Eyring’s rate theory has been very illuminating and has been used in a wide variety of chemical and biological applications. 

Eyring was awarded the National Medal of Science, the Berzelius Medal, the Wolf Prize, and many other prestigious awards for this work but, alas, not a Nobel Prize. 

At Princeton, he started writing his famous book, Quantum Chemistry $^{9}$. This may have been the first book in English that used this title. The writing took a decade. Eyring told me that Kimball and Walter never met. In any case, the book became a standard text and was translated into several languages. It was the book from which I first studied quantum mechanics. Of course, I had encountered quantum mechanics but not as the exclusive subject of a course. Not only is quantum mechanics covered in this book but it is an excellent reference for special functions and group theory. 

## IV. UTAH 

In 1946, with his wife’s encouragement, he accepted the position of Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Utah. The University of Utah, a long established institution, planned to inaugurate a doctoral program; Henry found the chance to help build this pro- gram an irresistible temptation. In this he was highly successful. The University of Utah has a very prestigious graduate program. 

Earlier he had developed an interest in the theory of liquids. This, I assume, resulted from a desire to extend reaction rate theory from gas phase reactions to reactions in condensed phases. At the time it was thought that in contrast to gases and solids, there was no satisfactory theory of the liquid state. It is interesting that this is not true. The van 

