Nathaniel Howell Furman (1892–1965) was an American professor of

analytical chemistry Analytical skill, Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to Separation process, separate, identify, and Quantification (science), quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute t ...

who helped develop the electrochemical uranium separation process as a member of the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

Background and career

Furman was born in the Lawrenceville section of

Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Lawrence Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located at the cross-roads between the Delaware River, Delaware Valley region to the southwest and the Raritan R ...

in 1892. He attended

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

, where he was a model student, graduating with a Master's Prize from his high school in 1909. He enrolled in

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where he received

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

honors and graduated in 1913. He received an M.S. in 1915 and a Ph.D. from Princeton in 1917. Furman served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Chemical Warfare Service The Chemical Corps is the branch of the United States Army tasked with defending against and using chemical weapon, chemical, biological agent, biological, radiological weapon, radiological, and nuclear weapon, nuclear (Chemical, biological, r ...

. He returned to Princeton in 1919 to become an assistant professor, gaining promotion and tenure in 1937, and finished his career in 1960 as the Russell Wellman Moore professor of chemistry.

Manhattan Project

Furman helped develop an ether extraction process to extract

Uranium oxide Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium. The metal uranium forms several oxides: * Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO2, the mineral uraninite or pitchblende) * Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U2O5) * Uranium trioxide or ...

, a precursor to the fissile material used in the first atom bombs as discussed in the

Smyth report The Smyth Report (officially ''Atomic Energy for Military Purposes'') is the common name of an administrative history written by American physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth about the Manhattan Project, the Allies of World War II, Allied effort to ...

. He served as a special consultant to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and was an advisor to the post-War

Office of Scientific Research and Development The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May ...

. An August 8, 1945, special to the Princeton Bulletin revealed that multiple Princeton faculty, among them

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

John Archibald Wheeler John Archibald Wheeler (July 9, 1911April 13, 2008) was an American theoretical physicist. He was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr to e ...

, Henry DeWolf Smyth,

Hugh Stott Taylor Sir Hugh Stott Taylor (6 February 1890 – 17 April 1974) was an English chemist primarily interested in catalysis.Who Was Who, Published by A&C Black Limited In 1925, in a landmark contribution to catalytic theory, Taylor suggested that a cat ...

, and Furman, had all "disappeared to

Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...

" to work secretly on the bomb during wartime.

Books published

In 1933 Furman co-wrote ''Elementary Quantitative Analysis'', one of the first textbooks in the field of analytical chemistry for undergraduates. He co-wrote ''Analytical Chemistry of the Manhattan Project'' in 1950.

Personal life

A resident of

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, Furman owned a summer cottage in

Charlotte, Vermont Charlotte is a New England town, town in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for Queen Charlotte, though unlike Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlottesville, Virginia, and other cities and towns ...

, on

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

and enjoyed sailboat racing and golf in his spare time. He had a son and a daughter—who became a chemist—with Hannah S. Hendrickson.

Honors

* 1953 - Palladium Medalist,

Electrochemical Society The Electrochemical Society is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry solid-state science and related technology. The Society membership comprises ...

* 1951 - President of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

* 1949 - Class of 1913 Distinguished Service Award * 1948 - First recipient of the Fisher Award for analytical chemistry * 1916-1917 - Charlotte Elizabeth Procter Fellowship

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furman, N. Howard 1892 births 1965 deaths Lawrenceville School alumni People from Charlotte, Vermont Scientists from Princeton, New Jersey Manhattan Project people Electrochemists Princeton University alumni