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
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, ...
s.
Life and work
Müller was born in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, where he studied at the
Technical University
An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...
under
Gustav Hertz
Gustav Ludwig Hertz (; 22 July 1887 – 30 October 1975) was a German experimental physicist and Nobel Prize winner for his work on inelastic electron collisions in gases, and a nephew of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.
Biography
Hertz was born in Hamb ...
. 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 the
Technical University in Berlin after finally having completed the required ''
Privatdozent'' (
habilitation). In 1951, he became professor at the
Free University Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
.
Müller joined the faculty at
Pennsylvania State University 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.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
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 and social scienc ...
(1977)
*Achievement Award of the
Instrument Society of America
The International Society of Automation (ISA), formerly known as The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society, is a non-profit technical society for engineers, technicians, businesspeople, educators and students, who work, study or are int ...
(1960)
*Davisson-Germer Prize of the
American Physical Society (1972)
*
Carl Friedrich Gauß Medal (
:de:Carl-Friedrich-Gauß-Medaille) (1952)
*
John Scott Medal
John Scott Award, created in 1816 as the John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium, is presented to men and women whose inventions improved the "comfort, welfare, and happiness of human kind" in a significant way. "...the John Scott Medal Fund, establish ...
of the City of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
(1970)
*External Scientific Member,
Fritz-Haber-Institut (1957)
*Honorary Degree,
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
(1968)
*Honorary Degree,
University of Lyon
The University of Lyon (french: Université de Lyon), located in Lyon and Saint-Étienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 11 members and 24 associated institutions. The three main universities in this center are: C ...
*
Medard W. Welch Award 1971
*
American Physical Society 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