Thor Nathaniel Rhodin (December 9, 1920 – February 17, 2006) was an American professor of Applied and Engineering Physics at
Cornell University and the
University of Chicago's
James Franck Institute, and is credited with pioneering work in the birth and evolution of surface science beginning with his research on surface sensitivity using
auger electron spectroscopy
file:HD.6C.037 (11856519893).jpg, A Hanford Site, Hanford scientist uses an Auger electron spectrometer to determine the elemental composition of surfaces.
Auger electron spectroscopy (AES; pronounced in French) is a common analytical technique us ...
. He played a major role, over several decades, in shaping the development of the field from fundamental work, using the
field ion microscope
The Field ion microscope (FIM) was invented by Müller in 1951. It is a type of microscope that can be used to image the arrangement of atoms at the surface of a sharp metal tip.
On October 11, 1955, Erwin Müller and his Ph.D. student, Kanwar ...
, on the imaging and bonding of individual atoms at surfaces to the fundamentals of surface catalysis of hydrocarbon chemistry by the
transition metals.
Education
*B.S. 1942 (
Haverford College
Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...
);
*Ph.D. 1946 (
Princeton University)
Academic genealogy
*Thor Rhodin was a student of Hugh Scott Taylor.
**Taylor was a student of Frederick George Donnan and Henry Bassett
ef.1
***Donnan was trained by Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald.
****Ostwald's adviser was Schmidt, Carl,
*****who was a student of
Justus von Liebig
Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at t ...
.
***Bassett was trained by
Adolf von Baeyer and
Victor Villiger
Victor Villiger (1 September 1868 – 10 June 1934) was a Swiss-born German chemist and the discoverer of the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation.
Life
He studied at University of Geneva and, following his graduation, began his doctoral studies with ...
.
****Baeyer was a student of
Robert Bunsen and
Friedrich August Kekulé Friedrich may refer to:
Names
* Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich''
* Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich''
Other
* Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...
.
*****Bunsen was a student of Friedrich Stromeyer.
*****Kekulé was a student of Heinrich Will.
Sources
http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~mainzv/Web_Genealogy/Info/rhodintn.pdf
External links
* http://www.aep.cornell.edu/eng10_page.cfm?pg=4&peopleID=121
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodin, Thor
American physicists
Cornell University faculty
1920 births
2006 deaths