ERIC C. KUNZ, A EULOGY 259 building up the American house of Givaudan, he had time for other activities. Along about 1930, a small group of essential oil houses got together and formed the present "Essential Oil Association of the U.S.A." Dr. Kunz was among that group. The primary reason was to correct some of the abuses which had developed in our industry in connection with contracts and terms. The association grew slowly, but in a few years it had been suc- cessful and looked for new fields to conquer. In the course of discus- sions, the idea of a technical sci. entific committee was formulated to establish the chemical standards for our industry on 'essential oils and aromatic chemicals. Perhaps the seed may even have been planted by our friend, Dr. Kurtz but in any case, it was formed and was to consist of a chemist from each member house. The president of the association made a very wise and fortunate selection in asking Dr. Kunz to head up this commit- tee. He was in a sense the logical man because of his fine chemical background, his diplomatic ap- proach to problems, and what I think may be more important is the fact that he was willing to look on this work as a scientist, seeking only the truth, and not so much for any commercial advantage. The con- cept of the committee and the basic aims as originally formulated have never been changed. Dr. Kunz has headed that group ever since the inception of the scientific com- mittee, and I think that this very fact speaks louder than any words of mine as to the respect with which he is held by the industry. We know that it has been a sacrifice of his time and energy, but as a result, he has done as much for the indus- try as a whole as any one individual in recent years. The original hope was that the findings of the scien- tific committee might become, not only U.S.A., but world standards. We have not reached that goal as yet, but the revision committee of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia regularly consults with our group. The pub- lications of the association are being called for by many foreign houses and groups. My own personal acquaintance with Dr. Kunz dates back only about fifteen years through the executive and general committee meetings of the Essential Oil As- sociation. It was in that period that I got to appreciate his fine character, and ability to think so clearly on the many subjects that come up in everyday business. It was always a pleasure to have him add his words of wisdom to our dis- cussions. It is an exception when we find combined in one individual the attributes of a fine chemist, a good businessman, an excellent ad- ministrator, and a gentleman. Dr. Kunz, I salute you!

ERIC G. KUNZ--MEDALIST By EowAe, o SAOARIN Givaudan-Delawanna, Inc., New York 18, N.Y. THERE MAY BE many in this audience who feel that it is a pecu- liarly simple and pleasant task for me to utilize eulogistic terms in revealing something to you about a life as rich in accomplishments as that of Dr. Eric C. Kunz. The task is pleasant, but it is far from simple, for I am being called upon to introduce to you a man for whom ! have so great an admiration, so personal an affection, that I can- not pretend to achieve that objec- tivity which is the foundation of all search for truth. Rather than constrain myself, I shall allow the life of this man to speak for itself, and I will be content with a bio- graphical statement of his 'achieve- ments. We are gathered here tonight-- most of us American natives and citizens--to honor a man who came to us in his youth from another land. The story of this Swiss-born scien- tist who is our medal-award winner is a story which, fortunately for the United States, has been told many times before, and we hope will be relived in the future. For it is the saga of American strength, the poetry of her soul, the story of the land which offers opportunities un- limited to those who reach her shores from overseas, and at the same time enriches herself by ab- sorbing from these people their talents and their ambitions- enriches herself by distilling in the great melting pot the ideals and the philosophies and the cultures of all lands and peoples. It was out of this fundamental cornerstone that America was born and grew, and it is from this precept that there was made possible the life-work of a man like Dr. Kunz, thus benefitting at one and the same time both the man and his adopted country. 1884--the year that Eric Kunz was born in a small town on the Lake of Zurich, in the German- speaking section of Switzerland. how the young science of synthetic organic chemistry was groping in the first flush of its early successes, yet how little did mankind dream of the wonders of syn thesis that were to come on the morrow! The first syntheses of dyestuffs, synthetic perfume materials, even medicinal compounds, were capturing the imagination of the scientifically inclined youth of Europe, and in the 260