Air Force Research Lab mentored a Nobel Laureate in the making

  • Published
  • By Laura McGowan
  • 88 Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Seven years before Dr. Dan Shechtman made his remarkable discovery in the physical patterns of crystals in 1982 at the National Bureau of Standards in Maryland, he worked at what was then called Aerospace Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, from 1972-1975. Then he stayed on post 1975 in the Air Force Materials Laboratory, which is now a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, working several summers researching and teaching informal courses.

Immediately after earning his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the Technion in 1972, he studied the microstructure and physical metallurgy of titanium aluminides as a National Research Council Fellow for three years in the ARL. As an NRC Fellow, Dr. Shechtman stayed on and taught informal courses in Electron Microscopy.

"I did my post doctorate at Wright-Patterson and worked at what was then called the Aerospace Research Laboratory for three years, from 1972 through 1975," said Dr. Shechtman. "Then I came to the base for several years, almost every summer, and that is where I met Dennis Dimiduk and Daniel Miracle--gifted students." He said that his time here was a very good period of time.

"He taught us very thoroughly about how to understand crystals and diffraction, a fundamental technique," said Dr. Dennis Dimiduk, Technical Director for Metals, Ceramics and Nondestructive evaluation Division, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL.

He said, "It was no surprise that he won based on his knowledge of the fundamentals of crystals; he motivated us in our research as a mentor, and he said there were still more discoveries to be made."

Dr. Daniel Miracle, who works in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL, said, "Danny has now given us two wonderful gifts. The first was quasicrystals, and now he has also brought a level of recognition to the materials science (and metallurgy!) field that many thought was not possible."

"Beside all that, it's also just a great story--he wasn't looking for it, and [the pattern] was thought to be impossible. He withstood tremendous criticism, and won out in the end," he said. "[He is] a real inspiration."

Dr. Shechtman knew that he was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in chemistry for quite a while, but he did not follow it intensely. He said, "I was sitting at my computer in my office [at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology ] when I got a call from the secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. She said, 'Hold the line for the president. There is an important message for you.'"

Then he explained the President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science said to him, "'Great news for you. You won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year!'"

"Who won it with me?" asked Dr. Shechtman. The committee president answered, "'No one. You were the discoverer.'" He would have liked to have some of his colleagues standing with him, but that was not his decision. The Academy president asked him if he was surprised, and Dr. Shechtman said, "Yes." Then after that announcement, the new Nobel Prize recipient for Chemistry jokingly told me, "Then all hell broke loose!"

He holds fond memories of his time spent at Wright-Patterson and had even thought about staying on to work as an Air Force civilian in the Research Lab. However, he was offered and accepted a position at the Technion in Israel where he continues to teach. But he might be able to come back to Wright-Patterson for a visit in the future--maybe.