Columbia University School of Engineering - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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SCUTO BONAE VOLUNTATIS TUAE CORONATI NOS DEDICATION Wfe dedicate this Year Book to Colin Garfield Fink, whom we have come to like so well for his friendliness and under- standingg and for his knowledge, which he so ably imparts to others.

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H THE COLUMBIA ENGINEER PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENT BODY OF THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Qlnlnmhia Hniueraitg in my Qliitp uf 392311 Burk 1933

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BIUGRAPHY OLIN GARFIELD FINK was born in New Jersey, December 31, 1881. Grad- uating from Columbia College in 1903, Dr. Fink then spent four years in the Ostwald Research Laboratories of the Universitv of Leipzig, receiving his degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with highest honors, in 1907. Returning to America, Dr. Fink joined the research staff of the General Electric Company at Schenectady. He is the originator of the ductile tungsten lamp filament used all over the world. He is also the inventor of the copper-clad nickel steel leading-in wire used as a substitute for platinum in lamps, radio tubes, etc. ln 1917 he became the head of the new research laboratories of the Chile Exploration Company, New York. He invented the insoluble anode, chilex, in operation at the great plant at Chuquicamata since 1922. ln 1922 Dr. Fink was called to Columbia University and has since then been in charge of the Division of Electrochemistry. At Columbia he has devoted most of his attention to researches in electrodeposition of chromium aid tungsten, the restoration of ancient bronzes, and the corrosion of metals and a oys. The entire chromium plating industry throughout the world is built up on Dr. Fink's basic inventions. lt is difiicult to estimate the economic importance of Dr. Finkls discoveries and inventions. The various improvements in the manufacture of the incandescent lamp and radio tube resulted in a financial return to the General Electric Company to such an extent that for almost ten years the lamp profits represented 70 per cent to 82 per cent of the total net profits of the company on all types of apparatus. The leading-in Wire invention alone meant a saving of over 337,000,000 to the General Electric Company at the end of the first year of the wire's introduction into practice. ln the case of the Chilex Anode the saving in power resulting from the intro- duction of the new anode made the existing power plant able to take care of increased tank house production, saving several million dollars. The cost of anode mainte- nance was reduced by about 90 per cent, saving in addition about 31,000,000 per year. This is a brilliant example that foresight in research often pays handsomely. Dr. Fink's process for the restoration of ancient bronzes is used all over the world. The Fink electrochemical process for the restoration of ancient bronzes has been in regular use at Field lVIuseum in Chicago for more than Hve years. This process, which was first developed by Professor Colin G. Fink at Columbia University for the use of the Nletropolitan lVIuseum of Art, has, in the laboratories of Field Nluseum, proved Safe, simple and easily applied. The Fink process reverses corrosion by electrolytic methods. It reduces the oxidized copper minerals of the incrustation to metallic copper. ' Dr. Fink is past president and now secretary Csince 19215 of The Electro- chemical Societyg honorary member of Tau Beta Pig fellow of the American Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Scienceg Editor of Tungsten, lVIineral lndustry, Editor of 'lElectrochemistry, Chemical Abstracts, American Chemical Societyg Contributing Editor to The American Year Book QChapter on Electrochemistryjg lVIember of the Hoover Dam Committee, Charman of the Committee on Electro- chemistry for the Chicago 'lCentury of Progress. Dr. Fink- is also a member of the A. C. S., A. l. Nl. Nl. E., and the Am. lnst. of Chemists. Fifve