Earl W. (Wadsworth) McDaniel (April 15, 1926 – May 4, 1997) was a Regents Professor of Physics at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

and the Georgia Tech Research Institute and is most noted for his contributions to the field of

ion mobility spectrometry Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) It is a method of conducting analytical research that separates and identifies ionized molecules present in the gas phase based on the mobility of the molecules in a carrier buffer gas. Even though it is used exte ...

Education and early career

After completing his undergraduate degree in physics at the

and earning his Ph.D. from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, McDaniel was recruited by Georgia Tech Research Institute director James Boyd to return to Georgia Tech as an assistant professor. He received appointments in both the School of Physics and the School of Electrical Engineering. Apart from his work as a physicist, McDaniel was known to be an avid reader of both fiction and classics as well as an expert on the histories of great military conflicts and battles.

Drift tube

In 1964, Earl began construction of a "drift tube" with the help of mechanical engineering student, Dan Albritton. Using this drift tube the pair revolutionized the field of ion transport. Their publication "Mobilities of Mass-Identified H₃⁺ and H⁺ Ions in Hydrogen" was chosen as one of the top 100 papers ever published in the journal ''Physical Review''.

Publications

Aside from several popular research publications, McDaniel also authored or edited 8 books. Among these, the most notable were "Collision Phenomena in Ionized Gases," “Transport Properties of Ions in Gases,” "Atomic Collisions: Electron and Photon Projectiles,” and “Atomic Collisions: Heavy Particle Projectiles.” These books were published in several countries and translated into multiple languages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniel, Earl W. 1926 births 1997 deaths People from Macon, Georgia Georgia Tech faculty Georgia Tech Research Institute people Georgia Tech alumni American particle physicists 20th-century American physicists University of Michigan alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society