Robert Gomer (24 March 1924, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

– 12 December 2016) was an Austrian scientist known for his research on field electron emission and field ionization, and his role as an adviser to the United States government. He was educated at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

and the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

, where he received his doctorate in 1949. From 1949 to 1950, he was a postdoctoral fellow at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and worked with G. B. Kistiakowsky. He subsequently moved to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, where he was a professor of chemistry in the

James Franck Institute The James Franck Institute of the University of Chicago conducts interdisciplinary research in physics, chemistry and materials science. Scientists at the institute include those interested in condensed matter physics, physical chemistry, material ...

and the Department of Chemistry. From 1977 to 1983 he served as director of the James Franck Institute and in 1984 he was appointed Carl William Eisendrath Distinguished Service Professor. He has been honored with numerous awards, including the A. von Humboldt Society Senior U.S. Science Award, the Davisson-Germer Prize of the American Physical Society, the Medard W. Welch Award of the American Vacuum Society, and the Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Surface Chemistry. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1981. Prior to his retirement he worked on the editorial boards of several journals, including the ''Journal of Chemical Physics'', ''Applied Physics'', and ''Annual Review of Physical Chemistry''. He served on numerous scientific committees, including the President's Science Advisory Committee (1961-1965) and the Advisory Committee for the Directorate of Physical Sciences, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (1961-1975), and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Universities Space Research Association (1976-1978). He is the author of ''Field Emission and Field Ionization'' (American Vacuum Society Classics), a pioneering vacuum text based on four lectures presented at Harvard University in 1958. He was also a member of the

JASON Defense Advisory Group JASON is an independent group of elite scientists which advises the United States government on matters of science and technology, mostly of a sensitive nature. The group was created in the aftermath of the Sputnik launch as a way to reinvigorate ...

, where he worked to discourage the use of nuclear weapons in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

.The Nautilus Institute: Vietnam FOIA JASONs Group

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomer, Robert 1924 births 2016 deaths Austrian chemists Harvard Fellows University of Chicago faculty University of Rochester alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Scientists from Vienna American physical chemists Austrian emigrants to the United States Pomona College alumni