Grovenstein, Erling R., Jr., Dr., 2006 February 14

This is a Living History interview with Dr. Erling Grovenstein Jr., class of 1944 and faculty from 1948-88, conducted by Marilyn Somers on February 14, 2006 at his home in Atlanta, Georgia. The subject is the interviewee’s life, and experiences at Georgia Tech.

Dr. Grovenstein was born in Miami, Florida on November 12, 1924. He had two sisters and their family grew up in Albany, Georgia. Dr. Grovenstein attended school in Albany until he started Georgia Tech in 1941. While at Georgia Tech, he studied chemistry and lived in the Howell Dormitory. Dr. Grovenstein pledged the Beta Kappa fraternity, but never joined because World War II started about that same time. He was in the ROTC and had friends who signed up for the Army ASTP program. Dr. Grovenstein did not qualify for the military because he was declared 4F. When he graduated, he decided to attend MIT for graduate school. He graduated from MIT in 1948 and then returned to Atlanta to teach at Georgia Tech. He lived at the YMCA on Luckie Street in downtown Atlanta before moving to Little Five Points with another chemistry professor. Dr. Grovenstein attended Druid Hills Presbyterian Church where he met his wife, Lillian Anne. They were married and had two sons, John and Alfred. Since retiring, Dr. Grovenstein had taken up botany. He plays piano and has researched the genealogy of his family. He also gives money back to Georgia Tech in hopes of helping out a student who is struggling.