The Ph.D. Adventure of Morris M. Christensen

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Morris M. Christensen dictated this memoir to his daughter,

Roslyn Christensen Kuzmich, on February 14, 2009

1951 — Summer

Morris Christensen took a course in functions of complex variables, a graduate course in mathematics, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. His wife, Dorothy, stayed home in East Mill Creek (near Salt Lake City) and took care of Roslyn, 3, and Hugh, 2, and the house and garden. She was pregnant with Rand, who would be born in September.

1952 — Summer

Morris moved his wife and three children to Ames, Iowa, to begin his Ph.D. program. Dr. Boast was his major professor. The university received a government contract from the Office of Ordinance Research (00R) to do crystallography research. The university was looking for a graduate student to work on the contract project at the Ph.D. level. Prof. Coover, head of the electrical engineering department, informed Morris that the physics department had been awarded this contract and that it might be a good Ph.D. project Even though Morris was in electrical engineering, he investigated this physical chemistry research project for his Ph.D. dissertation program and was accepted. His major professor was in EE and never knew what it was he was actually doing at any time during the project.

Morris went to the physics committee to learn the details of the OOR contract project and to lobby for it and acquire it for his Ph.D. project. Upon leaving that committee meeting, the Spirit told him not to engage in this project. But he could not foresee any other available projects that were anywhere near this one in terms of Ph.D.-worthy consideration. Despite the discouraging influence of the Spirit following the meeting with the physics department, Morris concluded that the project had Ph.D. aspects in it. The next day he met a buddy who was a physical chemistry graduate student with whom he discussed the proposed project. He told Morris he would never be able to do the research project if he did not first take a crystallography course from Dr. Robert E. Rundle. (This physical chemistry student was also a Ph.D. candidate and had already taken crystallography course work.) However, the course was not being offered that semester. Morris posted a notice up on the bulletin board saying: "Sign up here if you would like the physical chemistry department to offer a course in crystallography during the fall term." Approximately 10 men signed up; so the physical chemistry department offered the class.

Morris worked alone with the encouragement and assistance of Dr. Stebbins in the physics department. His research project extended from the summer of 1952 to the completion of the dissertation in December 1955. Morris and his family were in residence at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, from the summer of 1952 to December 1954. The year 1955 was devoted to the writing of the Ph.D. dissertation, and the degree was granted in December 1955.

On the day of Morris' Ph.D. final exam, he met with the graduate committee assigned to his graduate work. The members of this committee included: Dr. W.B. Boast, EE; Dr. Dean W. Stebbins, physics; Dr. Earls, optics; and Dr. Thielman, math. It was not a difficult exam; and, in fact, none of those gentlemen were more knowledgeable on the subject of this research project than Morris. At the conclusion of the exam, Morris was excused and asked to wait in the hallway. Being a man of exquisite curiosity, Morris found a side door that led back to the conference room and put his ear to the door. Among the things he heard was Dr. Boast say to Dr. Earls, "If you don't think Christensen's dissertation is worthy of granting him a Ph.D. degree, then you will have to be the one to tell him." Needless to say, that conversation never happened.

Dr. Stebbins was supposed to write a quarterly report on the progress of the OOR project, but he never did. Instead, he submitted Morris' Ph.D. dissertation for his report.

Dr. Earls helped Morris with valuable optics information from which Morris re-wrote pages 40 and 42 of his dissertation.