News

The Tracy project continues the legacy of Dr. Hall’s materials science innovations by maintaining and distributing the Materials Database, a software package that automates the construction of materials properties and can be used to rapidly search for materials with desirable qualities.  The code and documentation are available here: github.com/halllabs/tracy_matdb

"The community is invited to explore the four-story, 189,544-square-foot building during the grand opening planned Aug. 24. Dignitaries will cut the ribbon at 2 p.m., followed by self-guided tours from 2:30-5:30 p.m. Charles A. Wight, the university’s president and a physical chemist, will join science faculty who will conduct fun experiments and offer interactive demonstrations. Visitors will also enjoy science souvenirs and light refreshments." Announcement with "Facts and Figures" info.

It seems like we wouldn't be where we are today without Hall. But who was he? Hall was an Ogden native who helped discover the first reliable synthetic diamond-making process — something people had been trying to do for centuries. Read full article

The glitter of man-made diamonds is etched in H. Tracy Hall's mind as clearly as if he first made them this morning instead of 45 years ago. The date was Dec. 16, 1954. Other researchers for General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y., had gone home for Christmas. Working alone in the lab, the Utahn ran a device that he had cobbled together out of an old, leaky hydraulic press. He finished the experiment and looked inside."The sun was shining through the south windows," he said last week from his home in Provo, "and, tiny as they were, I could see these little facets on these diamonds with my naked eye." Read full article