Evert Johannes Willem Verwey, also Verweij, (April 30, 1905 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

– February 13, 1981 in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

) was a Dutch

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

, who also did research in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

. Verwey studied chemistry at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

and obtained his MSc () in 1929. From 1931 he worked as an assistant at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

, where he obtained his PhD under the guidance of Hugo Rudolph Kruyt (1934, ''cum laude''). In 1934 he moved to the Philips Laboratories in

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

. He continued work on colloids, which was also the topic of his dissertation, and on oxides. The Verwey transition in

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

is named after him. Some of his studies on

transition metal oxides An oxide () is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion (anion bearing a net charge of −2) of oxygen, an O2− ion with oxygen in the oxidation state o ...

(carried out jointly with Jan Hendrik de Boer) showed that some transition-metal oxides had electrical properties that could not be explained on the basis of band theory. Between 1946 and 1967, together with physicist Hendrik Casimir and the engineer Herre Rinia, he was director of the Laboratories. He is known for DLVO theory, a theory of the interaction of charged surfaces in fluids, which has applications, for example, in the description of colloids. In 1949 he became a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

. In 1967 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

. He was also a curator at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

. He was married to the sociologist and politician Hilda Verwey-Jonker (1908–2004).

References

External links

Verwey's biography in the 1981-1982 Yearbook of the Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences (in Dutch)
1905 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Dutch chemists Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Philips employees Scientists from Amsterdam University of Amsterdam alumni University of Groningen alumni {{Chemist-stub

See also

References

External links