The Eyring name has played a big role in the Church. It’s also been important in other fields such as chemistry and science in general. I’d like to mention two interesting books from a prominent Eyring, Henry J. Eyring, Vice President of Academic Affairs at BYU-Idaho.

The first book, Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring (Deseret Book, 2008) is about his famous grandfather, Henry Eyring, the wise and lovable Mormon scientist from Princeton University (and later the University of Utah) who many felt should have received a Nobel Prize for his contributions to chemistry.

I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Henry Eyring just days after my mission while I was working for my uncle Daniel Miles in the Chemistry Dept. at the University of Utah. Henry Eyring still came into the office occasionally, though he had long since retired. He spoke kindly to me and told me that my great grandmother, Victoria Josephine Jarvis Miles, had taught him for a while in a little one-room school house. I think that occurred in Arizona–not sure right now. Later that year, he would pass away and many would miss that brilliant mind and faithful soul.

The book about Henry Eyring has been well received and widely reviewed, and is a credit to Henry J. Eyring’s scholarship and writing. What’s really got me excited, though, is a second book soon to come out, The Innovative University by Clayton Christensen (of Harvard Business School fame) and Henry J. Eyring, published by John Wiley & Sons (scheduled for August 2011). Thanks to the kindness of Henry J. Eyring, I’m working on a post about this book. For now I am happy to report that this further work of Henry J. Eyring, in collaboration with the master of disruptive innovation, Clayton Christensen, will represent another major reason why the Eyring name (and the Christensen name) will live on not just in LDS lore but in the world of academia and broader areas still. Hint: I think what this book could achieve is monumental. It’s also downright fascinating.

I’ll have more to say about The Innovative University in the near future…. And maybe more to say about the chemist, Henry Eyring. What a terrific legacy.