Pioneer Scientist: The Story of James Bert Garner, Gas Mask Inventor

By Sarah Gustafson

The story of James Bert Garner is a narrative quest for his pioneering scientific identity. It is set in the historical and scientific contexts of World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and post-war periods. The purpose of the book is to give him long overdue credit for his many pioneering scientific contributions to global humanity. The highlight of his achievements was the invention of the first gas mask used by the Allies in World War I, despite other claimants. Aiming to decrease human suffering, he engineered twenty-three scientific and technological inventions in the natural gas, petroleum, oil, steel, coal, rubber, and medical industries. His search for a career focused on excellence in science and education led him from Wabash College, the University of Chicago, and Bradley Polytechnic Institute to the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This book is a tribute to his fundamental values of public service, collaborative research, and education, based on his prodigious work ethic. His humanitarian legacy lives on in the lives and contributions of his outstanding students and numerous descendants. Woven in among his evolving scientific discoveries are the ebbs and flows of his life as the father of twelve children, the Garner Dozen, by four wives. The story unfolds from his ancestral roots in Germany to the family pioneers who settled in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky and eventually converged in Indiana. Ultimately, his identity can best be discerned in his own words: "The philosophy I hold doesn't include despair, disaster, or destruction. There is always a note of joy, happiness, and anticipation about life."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0692227776
• ISBN13: 9780692227770
• Release Date: September 2014
• Publisher: Sarah E. Gustafson
• Length: 456 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.0"