EUNICE THOMAS MINER, SIXTH HONORARY MEMBER By HARDEN F. TAYLOR, D.Sc. New York 6, New York It ts •t¾ oooD fORTYNE to be asked to tell you something of the accomplishments at The New York Academy of Sciences of the person whom the SOCIETY Or COSMEtiC CItEMiSTS has chosen to be honored today. Most of us, as we run the careers of our lives, miss many opportunities decide wrong, and discover too late what we are best fitted for, and are irresolute and indecisive about what we want to do with what talents we have, so that the end result is the product of good and bad luck in which are mixed many regrets about what might have been. Only rarely do we see some one who discovers early in life what he wants to do, sets his heart upon it and pursues it with inflexible determination, makes all decisions without hesitation, overcomes all obstacles, and achieves a resounding success. Such a person is the subject of our honor today. I have used the pronouns "he" and "his" in the common gender, for our guest of honor is a woman, Eunice Thomas Miner. Her close friends affectionately call her Tommy. Mrs. Miner is a New Englander, born at Everett, Mass., and educated at Boston University with a B.A. degree. After graduation in 1924 she became associated with the American Museum of Natural History, taking part, during the next ten years, in numerous field expeditions in the West Indies in underwater collecting of marine specimens with the aid of a div- ing helmet. In 1935, she became Assistant Recording Secretary of The New York Academy of Sciences which has its office in the Museum Building. The Academy had been founded in 1817 and had had more than a century of existence marked by many vicissitudes of fortune it was still alive but in a low state of animation, with a membership of 300 or 400 and a total income, in 1934, of $6024. Three years later, in 1937, Mrs. Miner became Executive Secretary, and after the house had been put in order, the mem- bership in 1938 was 517. In 1948 she became Executive Director. She now knew what she wanted to do and how to do it. 134

SIXTH HONORARY MEMBERSHIP 135 Up to the mid-thirties, meetings in scientific societies had nearly always been made up of individual papers on all sorts of subjects promiscuously presented. It was just beginning to be realized, and by no one more quickly than by Mrs. Miner, that many of the great problems of science were solvable only by joint study and action by many scientific minds approaching them from their several points of view and with different techniques, all of which could be facilitated by intimate discussion. Ac- cordingly, she organized in 1938 the first of the Academy's now famous conferences, that one on "Electrophoresis." Since then, 105 New York Academy of Sciences conferences have been organized a'nd held, most of which have been followed by the publication of monographs of all the papers presented. Mrs. Miner intensely studied the art of organization and procedure, and constructed an edifice so perfect that it is now a model of smooth operation designed to serve scientists in their deliberations. Meanwhile, in the 20 years since Mrs. Miner came to the Academy, membership has grown to about 8000, in which all the states of the union and many foreign countries are represented, the Academy's income and budget approach a quarter of a million dollars a year, and it has endowment funds of more than $400,000 and total assets approaching $1,000,000. The Academy outgrew its quarters and received in 1949 the gift of the beau- tiful home which it now occupies. In it are accommodated for meeting rooms, etc., more than 40 other societies. There is also provided the bene- fits of the Societies Administrative Service Division which handles the administration of three well-known societies, one of which is the SOC•V.T¾ or COSMETIC CHEMISTS. All of this phenomenal growth is the work of the guest to be honored today. She is life member and fellow of the Academy, and her accomplishments, of course, have otherwise been widely recognized. Honorary Member, Sigma Delta Epsilon, Kappa Chapter (Women's Scientific Society). Director, Marine Historical Museum 1947-1949 1950-1952 1953-. Trustee, Pequotsepos Wildlife Sanctuary 1948-1953. Director, New York State Society for Medical Research, 1952-. Honors: Cross of Commander, Grand Prix Humanitaire de Belgique (Belgium, 1952). Commander of the Order of the Gold Cross of the Military Chapter of Cyprus and Jerusalem (Rome, 1951). (Founded, 1199 A.D.). Officier d'Acad•mie Fran9aise, 1953 (Palmes Acad•miques). Honorary Fellow, The Consular Law Society, 1953.