Erwin Wilhelm Müller (or ''Mueller'') (June 13, 1911 – May 17, 1977) was a German physicist who invented the Field Emission Electron Microscope (FEEM), the Field Ion Microscope (FIM), and the Atom-Probe Field Ion Microscope. He and his student, Kanwar Bahadur, were the first people to experimentally observe atoms.

Life and work

Müller was born in Berlin, where he studied at the Technical University under Gustav Hertz. He received his degree in engineering in 1935 and his doctorate in 1936. Müller worked at the

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

Research Laboratory, where he invented the field emission microscope in 1936 that allowed resolutions of 2

nanometer 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the molecular scale. The nanometre (international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm) or nanometer (American and British English spelling differences#-re ...

s. Müller married Klara Thüssing in 1939, and their only daughter Jutta was born in 1940. Due to the circumstances of war, he also worked at the Stabilovolt Company. In 1947, he was appointed to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (renamed to Fritz-Haber-Institut on the occasion of its incorporation into the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

in 1953) by

Iwan N. Stranski Ivan Nikolov Stranski ( bg, Иван Николов Странски; german: Iwan Nikolow Stranski; 2 January 1897 – 19 June 1979) was a Bulgarian physical chemist who is considered the father of crystal growth research. He was the founder o ...

. Here he developed the field ion microscope which, due to its resolution of 0.25 nm, was the first instrument used to observe atoms. In 1950, he took a teaching appointment at the Technical University in Berlin after finally having completed the required ''

Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...

'' (

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

). In 1951, he became professor at the Free University Berlin. Müller joined the faculty at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1952, where he remained until his death in 1977. He co-invented the Atom-Probe Field Ion Microscope at Penn State in 1967. He died in Washington D.C.

Honors

* National Medal of Science (1977) *Achievement Award of the Instrument Society of America (1960) *Davisson-Germer Prize of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

(1972) * Carl Friedrich Gauß Medal ( :de:Carl-Friedrich-Gauß-Medaille) (1952) * John Scott Medal of the City of Philadelphia (1970) *External Scientific Member, Fritz-Haber-Institut (1957) *Honorary Degree, Free University of Berlin (1968) *Honorary Degree, University of Lyon *

Medard W. Welch Award The Medard W. Welch Award is given to scientists who demonstrated outstanding research in the fields pertinent to the focus areas of the American Vacuum Society, which are "the basic science, technology development, and commercialization of materia ...

1971 *

1971

Selected bibliography

* Müller's first FIM paper. According to Melmed, "

his paper His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

provided the world's first view of the atomic nature of solid matter and began an entirely new field of study." * * * *

References

External links

Erwin Müller at Penn State
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Erwin Wilhelm 1911 births Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1977 deaths 20th-century German inventors 20th-century German physicists National Medal of Science laureates Howard N. Potts Medal recipients