Frederick En-Yu Wang (August 1, 1932January 3, 2022) was a Taiwanese-American solid state chemist. He determined the crystal structure of

Nitinol Nickel titanium, also known as nitinol, is a metal alloy of nickel and titanium, where the two elements are present in roughly equal atomic percentages. Different alloys are named according to the weight percentage of nickel; e.g., nitinol 55 and ...

and the development and patenting of thermal heat exchange engines using Nitinol. He was the founder of Innovative Technology International (1980).

Early life

Wang, born in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, was the second son of Eng-Siek Wang and Sim-Chu Wu. Wang married Mary Jo Walker in 1962. Together, they had two children, Fritz Wang and Teresa Wang. Walker and Wang divorced in 1989.

Education

Wang studied at the

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwester ...

, where he graduated in 1953 with a Bachelors of Science in Physical Science. He attained a Master's of Science in Physical Science (

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

) in 1957, and PhD in

Solid State Chemistry Solid-state chemistry, also sometimes referred as materials chemistry, is the study of the synthesis, structure, and properties of solid phase materials. It therefore has a strong overlap with solid-state physics, mineralogy, crystallography, ceram ...

(

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

) in 1960. Wang did post-doctoral work at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

between 1960 and 1962, where he researched and studied boron hydrides under

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

William Lipscomb William Nunn Lipscomb Jr. (December 9, 1919April 14, 2011) was a Nobel Prize-winning People of the United States, American Inorganic chemistry, inorganic and Organic chemistry, organic chemist working in nuclear magnetic resonance, theoretical ch ...

Research and discoveries

During his work at Harvard from 1960 to 1962, assisted with Lipscomb's Nobel Prize winning

borane Borane is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . Because it tends to dimerize or form adducts, borane is very rarely observed. It normally dimerizes to diborane in the absence of other chemicals. It can be observed directly as a c ...

research and co-authored several research papers with Lipscomb. From 1963 to 1980, Wang worked at the Naval Ordinance Laboratory (NOL) in White Oak, Maryland. While working with William Buehler at NOL, Wang determined the crystal structure of a

shape memory alloy In metallurgy, a shape-memory alloy (SMA) is an alloy that can be deformed when cold but returns to its pre-deformed ("remembered") shape when heated. It is also known in other names such as memory metal, memory alloy, smart metal, smart alloy, ...

(SMA) called

, which Buehler discovered earlier. Wang's ongoing research at NOL resulted in various patents relating to Nitinol, SMAs, and Li-B compounds. In 1980, Wang started his own company, Innovative Technology International, Inc. (ITI), and embarked on developing and patenting a thermal heat exchange engine using Nitinol. While running ITI, Wang continued to collaborate with other scientists to publish articles on superconductivity.

Later life

After retiring from ITI in 2012, Wang returned to Taiwan, working as a consultant until 2017.

Death

Wang died on January 3, 2022, in High Point, NC.

Publications

Grimes, R., Wang, F. E., Lewin, R., & Lipscomb, W. N. (1961). A New Type of Boron Hydride, B10H16. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'', ''47''(7), 996-999. Wang, F. E., Buehler, W. J., & Pickart, S. J. (1965). Crystal Structure and a Unique``Martensitic''Transition of TiNi. ''Journal of Applied Physics'', ''36''(10), 3232-3239. Wang, F. E., DeSavage, B. F., Buehler, W. J., & Hosler, W. R. (1968). The irreversible critical range in the TiNi transition. ''Journal of Applied Physics'', ''39''(5), 2166-2175. Buehler, W. J., & Wang, F. E. (1968). A summary of recent research on the nitinol alloys and their potential application in ocean engineering. ''Ocean Engineering'', ''1''(1), 105-120. Wang, F. E., Pickart, S. J., & Alperin, H. A. (1972). Mechanism of the TiNi Martensitic Transformation and the Crystal Structures of TiNi‐II and TiNi‐III Phases. ''Journal of Applied Physics'', ''43''(1), 97-112. Wang, F. E., & Buehler, W. J. (1972). Additional unique property changes observed during TiNi transition. ''Applied Physics Letters'', ''21''(3), 105-106. Wang, F. E. (1979). An unusual phenomenon in the formation of Li 5 B 4 compound-alloy. ''Metallurgical Transactions A'', ''10'', 343-348. Wang, F. E. (2018). ''Bonding theory for metals and alloys''. Elsevier.

References

External links

* https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Frederick-E-Wang-2011640834 1932 births 2022 deaths Taiwanese chemists People from Changhua County Southwestern University alumni Syracuse University alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Solid state chemists {{Improve categories, date=February 2024