Dieter Gruen

Dieter Gruen

Dieter M. Gruen is a senior scientist in the Materials Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory. He received B.S. (1944, cum laude) and M.S. (1947) degrees in chemistry from Northwestern University and the Ph.D. (1951) in chemical physics from the University of Chicago.

Gruen made contributions in a broad range of topics in the chemistry of materials: the definitive establishment of the 5f character of the actinides by the measurement and ligand field interpretation of magnetic moments at low temperatures; the creation of a solution chemistry in fused salts using spectroscopy to determine oxidation states, complex ions, and coordination equilibria of transition metal ions; the elucidation of the interactions of reactive molecular and atomic species with noble gas matrixes; the rational design of metal alloy hydrides for energy storage and heat pump applications; the determination of the energetics and depth of origin of sputtered species; ultrasensitive detection of atoms and molecules using laser Fluorescence and resonance ionization mass spectrometry; the discovery and development of a new chemical vapor deposition process for the synthesis of phase-pure nanocrystalline diamond films.