Martin Julian Buerger (April 8, 1903 – February 26, 1986) was an American
crystallographer. He was a Professor of Mineralogy at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. He invented the X-ray precession camera for studies in
crystallography. Buerger authored twelve textbooks/monographs and over 200 technical articles. He was awarded the
Arthur L. Day Medal by the
Geological Society of America
The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences.
History
The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...
in 1951. The
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...
fluor-buergerite was named for him. The MJ Buerger Award (established by the
American Crystallographic Association
The American Crystallographic Association, Inc. (ACA) is a non-profit, scientific organization for scientists who study the structure of matter via crystallographic methodologies. Since its founding in 1949 it has amassed over 2000 members worldwi ...
) was established in his honor.
Buerger was a member of the Provisional International Crystallographic Committee chaired by
P. P. Ewald from 1946 to 1948, and he continued as a member of the IUCr Executive Committee from 1948 to 1951. He was also a member of the Commission on ''International Tables'' from its establishment in 1948 until 1981.
In 1956, Buerger was the third person (after
John C. Slater
John Clarke Slater (December 22, 1900 – July 25, 1976) was a noted American physicist who made major contributions to the theory of the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and solids. He also made major contributions to microwave electroni ...
and
Francis O. Schmitt
Francis Otto Schmitt (November 23, 1903 – October 3, 1995) was an American biologist and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Schmitt was born November 23, 1903 to Otto and Clara Schmitt, in South St. Louis, Missou ...
) to have been appointed
Institute Professor
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes can ...
at MIT.
Significant works
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*''Crystal-Structure Analysis,'' 668pp, Krieger Pub Co., 1979
*''Introduction to crystal geometry,'' 204pp., R. E. Krieger, 1977
*''Contemporary crystallography,'' 364pp., McGraw Hill, 1970
*''Elementary crystallography;: An introduction to the fundamental geometrical features of crystals,'' 528pp., Wiley, 1963
*''X-ray crystallography;: An introduction to the investigation of crystals by their diffraction of monochromatic X radiation,'' 531pp., Chapman & Hall, 1958
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References
Memorial, American Mineralogist, Volume 73, pages 1483-1485, 1988 Obituary from the Journal of Applied Crystallography, 1986
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buerger, Martin
1903 births
1986 deaths
American mineralogists
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences