Erwin Wilhelm Müller (or ''Mueller'') (June 13, 1911 – May 17, 1977) was a German

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

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

atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

Life and work

Müller was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where he studied at the Technische Hochschule in Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin) under Gustav Hertz. He received his degree in engineering in 1935 and his doctorate in 1936. Müller worked at the Siemens Research Laboratory, where he invented the field emission microscope in 1936 that allowed resolutions of 2 nanometers. 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 in 1953) by Iwan N. Stranski. 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 Technische Universität Berlin after finally having completed the required '' Privatdozent'' (

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

). 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 Pennsyl ...

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 The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...

(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 ...

(1972) * Carl Friedrich Gauß Medal ( :de:Carl-Friedrich-Gauß-Medaille) (1952) * John Scott Medal of the City of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

(1970) *External Scientific Member, Fritz-Haber-Institut (1957) *Honorary Degree, Free University of Berlin (1968) *Honorary Degree, University of Lyon * Medard W. Welch Award 1971 *

1971

Selected bibliography

* Müller's first FIM paper. According to Melmed, " his paperprovided 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 Technische Universität Berlin alumni Academic staff of Technische Universität Berlin