Ames Laboratory - Notable Alumni & Faculty

Notable Alumni & Faculty

Frank Spedding (B.S. 1925, M.S. 1926) (deceased), directed the chemistry phase of the Manhattan Project in World War II, which led to the world's first controlled nuclear reaction. He was Iowa State's second member of the National Academy of Sciences and the first director of the Ames Laboratory. Dr. Spedding won the Langmuir Award in 1933, Only Oscar K. Rice and Linus Pauling preceded him in this achievement. The award is now called the Award in Pure Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. He is the first to bear the title Distinguished Professor of Sciences and Humanities at Iowa State (1957). Further awards include: William H. Nichols Award of the New York section of the American Chemical Society (1952); the James Douglas Gold Medal from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (1961) for achievements in nonferrous metallurgy; and the Francis J. Clamer Award from the Franklin Institute (1969) for achievements in metallurgy.

Harley Wilhelm (Ph.D. 1931) (deceased), developed the most efficient process to produce uranium metal for the Manhattan Project, a process still used today.

Velmer A. Fassel (Ph.D. 1947)(deceased), internationally known for developing an analytical process, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), used for chemical analysis in almost every research laboratory in the world; former deputy director of the Ames Laboratory.

Karl A. Gschneidner, Jr. (B.S. 1952, Ph.D 1957) Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering in 2007, Gschneidner is acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost authorities in the physical metallurgy and thermal and electrical behaviors of rare earth materials. Additionally Gschneidner is a Fellow of the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, Fellow of the American Society for Materials International, and Fellow of the American Physical Society.

James Renier (Ph.D. 1955), chairman and chief executive officer of Honeywell Inc. (1988–93).

Darleane C. Hoffman (Ph.D. 1951), a 1997 recipient of the National Medal of Science, is one of the researchers who confirmed the existence of element 106, seaborgium.

John Weaver (Ph.D. 1973), named Scientist of the Year for 1997 by R&D Magazine. Weaver is currently head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

James Halligan (B.S. 1962, M.S. 1965, Ph.D. 1967), president of Oklahoma State University (1994–present).

Allan Mackintosh, noted expert on rare-earth metals and President of the European Physical Society.

James W. Mitchell (Ph.D. 1970), named Iowa State University's first George Washington Carver Professor in 1994. He is also the winner of two R&D 100 Awards and the prestigious Percy L. Julian Research Award given by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers for innovative industrial research. Mitchell is vice president of the Materials Research Laboratory at Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies.

John Corbett, chemistry and Ames Laboratory, member of the National Academy of Sciences, created the first noncarbon example of buckyballs; discovered more than 1,000 new materials.

Kai-Ming Ho, Che-Ting Chan, and Costas Soukoulis, physics and Ames Laboratory, were the first to design and demonstrate the existence of photonic band gap crystals, a discovery that led to the development of the rapidly expanding field of photonic crystals. Photonic crystals are expected to have revolutionary applications in optical communication and other areas of light technology. Costas Soukoulis is a recipient of the Descartes Prize for Excellence in Scientific Collaborative Research, the European Union’s highest honor in the field of science.

Dan Shechtman, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Pat Thiel, chemistry and Ames Laboratory, received one of the first 100 National Science Foundation Women in Science and Engineering Awards (presented in 1991).

Edward Yeung, chemistry and Ames Lab, first person to quantitatively analyze the chemical contents of a single human red blood cell, using a device that he designed and built; the development could lead to improved detection of AIDS, cancer and genetic diseases such as Alzheimer's, muscular dystrophy and Down's syndrome. Yeung has won four R&D 100 Awards and an Editor's Choice award from R&D Magazine for this pioneering work. He is also the 2002 recipient of the American Chemical Society Award in Chromatography for his research in chemical separations.

Klaus Rudenberg, physics and Ames Laboratory, 2001 recipient of the American Chemical Society Award in Theoretical Chemistry for his innovative research in the field of theoretical chemistry.