Robert Eugene Rundle (1915 – 9 October 1963) was an American chemist and crystallographer. He was a professor at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

and fellow of the American Physical Society.

Early life and education

Rundle was born in

Orleans, Nebraska Orleans is a village in Harlan County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 386 at the 2010 census. History Orleans was founded in the 1870s. It was likely named after Orleans, Massachusetts. 1925 editionis available for download aUnivers ...

in 1915. He attended

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

where he completed a bachelor of science in 1937 and a master's degree in 1938. He completed a Ph.D. in 1941 at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. His advisors were

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific top ...

and J. Holmes Sturdivant.

Career and research

Rundle joined

as an assistant professor of chemistry. From 1945 to 1946, he worked at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

before returning to Iowa State University as a full professor. His research was focused on x-ray diffraction by crystals, inorganic

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, particularly, but not necessarily exclusively of, non-molecular solids. It therefore has a str ...

, intermetallic and

interstitial compound In materials science, an interstitial defect is a type of point crystallographic defect where an atom of the same or of a different type, occupies an interstitial site in the crystal structure. When the atom is of the same type as those alre ...

s, hydrogen-bonded substances, compounds of uranium and thorium, and

electron-deficient compound Electron deficiency (and electron-deficient) is jargon that is used in two contexts: species that violate the octet rule because they have too few valence electrons and species that happen to follow the octet rule but have electron-acceptor propert ...

s. He was a member of the

American Crystallographic Association The American Crystallographic Association, Inc. (ACA) is a non-profit, scientific organization for scientists who study the structure of matter via crystallographic methodologies. Since its founding in 1949 it has amassed over 2000 members worldwi ...

and served as the president of the organization in 1958. He was a member of the

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations. The AAUP's stated mission is ...

Awards and honors

Rundle was a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Personal life

Rundle died from a stroke in

Iowa Methodist Hospital Iowa Methodist Medical Center is a non-profit, 370-bed hospital in Des Moines, Iowa owned and operated by UnityPoint Health. History Iowa Methodist Medical Center originally opened on January 16, 1901, as Iowa Methodist Hospital, a 30-bed hospi ...

on October 9, 1963. He was survived by his wife and three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rundle, Robert E. 1915 births 1963 deaths People from Harlan County, Nebraska Scientists from Nebraska 20th-century American chemists University of Nebraska alumni Iowa State University faculty California Institute of Technology alumni American crystallographers Fellows of the American Physical Society Presidents of the American Crystallographic Association Solid state chemists