John Eugene Kunzler (April 25, 1923 – January 11, 2006) was an American physicist who conducted pioneering research into the field of

superconducting magnet A superconducting magnet is an electromagnet made from coils of superconducting wire. They must be cooled to cryogenic temperatures during operation. In its superconducting state the wire has no electrical resistance and therefore can conduct much ...

s.Rogers, Madolyn Bowman
"Superconducting magnets"
''Symmetry magazine'', December 1, 2008. Accessed March 30, 2023. "In 1954, G.B. Yntema at the University of Illinois and, in 1959, Stanley Autler at MIT, independently wound superconducting coils with cold-worked niobium and produced magnetic fields close to 10 kilogauss, an order of magnitude higher than before. The gauss race was on. The prize went to metallurgist John E. "Gene" Kunzler, whose group at Bell Labs produced 15 kilogauss using an alloy of molybdenum-rhenium. Kunzler filed for a patent (see image) on September 19, 1960, beating Autler's patent filing by 15 days. Kunzler's patent was issued first, on April 14, 1964."Khurana, Anil
"Superconductivity Seen Above the Boiling Point of Nitrogen"
''

Physics Today ''Physics Today'' is the membership magazine of the American Institute of Physics. First published in May 1948, it is issued on a monthly schedule, and is provided to the members of ten physics societies, including the American Physical Society. ...

'', April 1987. Accessed March 30, 2023.

Biography

He was born on April 25, 1923, in Willard, Utah, the son of John Jacob Kunzler and Mary Frieda Meier Kunzler. He married Lois McDonald Kunzler on December 29, 1950, and had four daughters (Carol, Marilyn, Bonnie & Kim). Kunzler earned degrees in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

at the undergraduate level in 1945 at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

and earned his doctorate in Chemistry at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1950. A resident of the Port Murray section of

Mansfield Township, Warren County, New Jersey Mansfield Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Warren County, New Jersey, Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 7,781, its highest decennial census count ...

, he died on January 11, 2006, at the age of 82.

Career

He has conducted pioneering research into superconducting

niobium Niobium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and Ductility, ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs scale of mineral hardness, Mohs h ...

magnets. He owned several critical patents in the area of

s, including an early patent filed on September 19, 1960. In 1982, he became the Director of the Future Device Research Center at the

AT&T Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...

Awards and honors

* 1962 —

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of fellows of the ...

* 1964 —

John Price Wetherill Medal The John Price Wetherill Medal was an award of the Franklin Institute. It was established with a bequest given by the family of John Price Wetherill (1844–1906) on April 3, 1917. On June 10, 1925, the Board of Managers voted to create a silv ...

(shared with

Howard Aiken Howard Hathaway Aiken (March 8, 1900 – March 14, 1973) was an American physicist and a list of pioneers in computer science, pioneer in computing. He was the original conceptual designer behind IBM's Harvard Mark I, the United States' first C ...

John Kenneth Hulm John Kenneth Hulm (4 July 1923, Southport, UK – 16 January 2004) was a British-American physicist and engineer, known for the development of superconducting materials with applications to high-field superconducting magnets. In 1953 with George F. ...

, and

Bernd Matthias Bernd T. Matthias (June 8, 1918 – October 27, 1980) was a German-born American physicist credited with discoveries of hundreds of elements and alloys with superconducting properties. He was said to have discovered more elements and compounds wi ...

) * 1968 - Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics * 1979 — American Physical Society International Prize for New Materials (shared with

and Bernd T. Matthias)James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials

American Physics Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

. Accessed March 30, 2023.

References

External links

nae.edu

symmetrymagazine.org

w2agz.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunzler, John Eugene 1923 births 2006 deaths American scientists American physicists People from Warren County, New Jersey People from Willard, Utah University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Utah alumni

Biography

Career

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links