In Memoriam: M. Eugene Merchant

Abstract

Mylon Eugene Merchant (affectionately known to all as Gene Merchant): a philosopher and a prophet of manufacturing; a giant amongst the giants in the field of manufacturing; a visionary who foresaw the role of computers and developed groundbreaking concepts for computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) linking CAD with CAM (long before computers have become easily accessible and popular); a pioneer in metal cutting research who transformed the art of metal cutting to the science of metal cutting with his basic theory of the mechanics of metal cutting and the famous Merchant circle; an ambassador and a globe trotter in search of the latest advances in manufacturing worldwide; a pioneer in tribology who developed original concepts on the real area of contact between two sliding members and its role in sliding friction; and finally, a person who was deeply concerned with the environmental and human aspects of manufacturing, passed away on August 19, 2006 at Deupree Terrace in Cincinnati, OH. He was born in Springfield, MA on May 6, 1913. Gene's father was a congregational minister, whose sojourn took the family to settle in the Green Mountains of Vermont. He was married for 69 years to his wonderful wife, Helen S. Bennett of Baltimore in 1937, and settled in Cincinnati.