Frank Spedding: Difference between revisions

'''Frank Harold Spedding''' (22 October 1902 – 15 December 1984) was a Canadian -American [[chemist]]. He was a renowned expert on [[rare earth elements]], and on extraction of metals from minerals. The [[Ames process|uranium extraction process]] helped make it possible for the [[Manhattan Project]] to build the first [[atomic bomb]]s.

Spedding developed an [[ion exchange|ion-exchange]] method of separating and purifying rare earth elements using [[ion -exchange resin]]s, and later used ion exchange to separate [[isotope]]s of individual elements, including hundreds of grams of almost pure [[nitrogen-15]]. He published over 250 peer-reviewed papers, and held 22 patents in his own name and jointly with others. Some 88 students received their Ph.D. degree under his supervision.

Spedding was born on 22 October 1902, in [[Hamilton, Ontario]], Canada, the son of Howard Leslie Spedding and Mary Ann Elizabeth (Marshall) Spedding. Soon after he was born, the family moved to Michigan, and then Chicago.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=3}} He became a naturalized U.S. citizen through his father.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Physics Today]] |issn=0031-9228 |last=Hansen |first=Robert S. |title=Frank H. Spedding |volume=39 |issue=5 |pppages=106–107 |date=1 May 1986 |doi=10.1063/1.2815016 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The family moved to [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]], where his father worked as a photographer, in 1918. He entered the [[University of Michigan]] in 1920, receiving a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in chemical engineering in 1925 and a Master of Science (M.S.) in analytical chemistry the following year.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=3}}

As an undergraduate, Spedding took issue with the prevailing explanation by [[Friedrich August Kekulé]] of how the six [[carbon]] [[atom]]s in [[benzene]] hold together and proposed an alternate explanation. His professor, [[Moses Gomberg]], recognised this as being the same as the (incorrect) model advanced by [[Albert Ladenburg]] in 1869. At Gomberg's suggestion, Spedding applied to the [[University of California, Berkeley]], to study for his doctorate under [[Gilbert N. Lewis]]. Gomberg wrote a recommendation so that Spedding was not only accepted, but given a teaching fellowship as well.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=4}} Under Lewis's supervision, Spedding earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 1929,<ref name="papers">{{cite web|url=http://findingaids.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/arch/rgrp/17-01-11.pdf|title=Frank Spedding papers|publisher=Iowa State University|accessdateaccess-date=30 October 2013}}</ref> writing his thesis on "Line absorption spectra in solids at low temperatures in the visible and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum".{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=3}} It was published that year in the ''[[Physical Review]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Line Absorption Spectra of Solids at Low Temperatures in the Visible and Ultra-Violet Regions of the Spectrum a Preliminary Study of GdCl₃•6H₂O from Room Temperature to that of Liquid Hydrogen

|lastlast1=Freed |firstfirst1=Simon

|pppages=945–953

|bibcode=1929PhRv...34..945F }}</ref>

Spedding's graduation coincided with the onset of the [[Great Depression]], and jobs became hard to find. Spedding received a National Research Fellowship from 1930 to 1932, enabling him to stay at Berkeley and continue his research into the spectra of solids.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=4}} While hiking in northern California, he met Ethel Annie MacFarlane, who shared his passion for camping, hiking and mountain climbing. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she was a graduate of the [[University of Saskatchewan]] and the [[University of Toronto]], where she had earned a master's degree in history. When they met, she was teaching at [[Victoria High School (British Columbia)|Victoria High School]] in [[Victoria, British Columbia]]. They were married on 21 June 1931. They had a daughter, Mary Anne Elizabeth, who was born in 1939.<ref name="Iowa">{{cite book |url=http://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/DetailsPage.aspx?id=354 |contribution=Spedding, Frank Harold (October 22, 1902 – December 15, 1984) |last = Goedeken | first = Edward A. |title=The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa |publisher=University of Iowa Press |year=2009 |accessdateaccess-date=6 June 2015 }}</ref>{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=6}}<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/17/obituaries/frank-spedding-key-figure-in-atom-bomb-development.html |title=Frank Spedding, Key Figure in Atomic Bomb Development |date=17 December 1984 |accessdateaccess-date=7 June 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c82j6f3n/ |title=Elizabeth Spedding Calciano Papers |publisher=Online Archive of California |accessdateaccess-date=27 August 2015}}</ref>

|pppages=777–779

| date=March 1931 |publisher=American Physical Society

}}</ref>{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=4}} These were expensive and hard to find, and generally available only in minute amounts. In 1933 he won the [[Irving Langmuir Award]] for most outstanding young chemist. The award came with a cash prize of $1,000. He borrowed money to travel to Chicago to collect it. While he was there, he was approached by a man offering several pounds of [[europium]] and [[samarium]]. His benefactor was [[Herbert Newby McCoy]], a retired chemistry professor from the [[University of Chicago]], who had obtained a supply of these elements from the Lindsay Light and Chemical Company, where they were a byproduct of [[thorium]] production. A few weeks later, Spedding received a package in the mail containing jars of the metals.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=7}}

In 1934, Spedding was awarded a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/frank-h-spedding/ |publisher=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation |title= Frank H. Spedding |accessdateaccess-date=6 June 2015 }}</ref> allowing him to study in Europe. To save money, Spedding and his wife travelled to Europe by heading westward across the Pacific. His intention was to study in Germany under [[James Franck]] and [[Francis Simon]], but they fled Germany after [[Adolf Hitler]] came to power in March 1933. Instead he went to the [[Cavendish Laboratory]] at the [[University of Cambridge]] in England, where he was welcomed by [[Ralph H. Fowler]]. Spedding worked with [[John Lennard-Jones]], and attended lectures given by [[Max Born]]. He paid a visit to [[Niels Bohr]] in Copenhagen, and gave a lecture in [[Leningrad]].{{sfn|Corbett|2001|pp=8–9}}

|lastlast1=Bethe |firstfirst1=H. A. |authorlinkauthor-link=Hans Bethe

|bibcode=1937PhRv...52..454B }}</ref>{{sfn|Corbett|2001|pp=10–11}} At one point he drove out to [[Ohio State University]] hoping to find a tenure track position. The position had already been filled, but the professor of chemistry there, W. L. Evans, knew that Winfred F. (Buck) Coover at [[Iowa State College]] in [[Ames, Iowa]], had a position. "I wouldn't normally have chosen the place," Spedding later recalled, "but I was desperate. I thought: I can go there and build up physical chemistry and when jobs really open up I can go to another school."{{sfn|Corbett|2001|pp=10–11}}

By February 1942, the United States had entered World War II, and the [[Manhattan Project]] was building up. At the University of Chicago, [[Arthur H. Compton]] established its [[Metallurgical Laboratory]]. Its mission was to build [[nuclear reactor]]s to create [[plutonium]] that would be used in [[atomic bomb]]s.{{sfn|Compton|1956|pp=82–83}} For advice on assembling the laboratory's Chemistry Division, Compton, a physicist, turned to Herbert McCoy,{{sfn|Compton|1956|pp=92–93}} who had considerable experience with [[isotopes]] and radioactive elements. McCoy recommended Spedding as an expert on the rare earth elements, which were chemically similar to the [[actinide]] series that included [[uranium]] and plutonium.<ref>* {{cite web | last = Seaborg | first = Glenn T. | authorlinkauthor-link = Glenn T. Seaborg | title=Recollections and Reminiscences at the 25th Anniversary of the First Weighing of Plutonium |publisher = University of Chicago |date = 10 September 1967 |url = http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/documents/fullText/ACC0071.pdf | accessdateaccess-date = 7 June 2015 }}</ref> Compton asked Spedding to become the head of the Metallurgical Laboratory's Chemistry Division.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=12}}

After World War II, Spedding founded the Institute for Atomic Research and the [[Ames Laboratory]] of the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]]. He directed the Ames Laboratory from its founding in 1947 until 1968.<ref name="papers"/> It was initially established on the grounds of Iowa State College. Permanent buildings were constructed that were opened in 1948 and 1950, and subsequently named Wilhelm Hall and Spedding Hall.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|p=19}} Spedding was "universally acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost experts on the identification and separation of rare earths".<ref name="papers" /> He developed an [[ion exchange|ion-exchange]] method of separating and purifying rare earth elements using [[ion -exchange resin]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Separation of Rare Earths by Ion Exchange. IV. Further Investigations Concerning Variables Involved in the Separation of Samarium, Neodymium and Praseodymium |firstfirst1=F. H. |lastlast1=Spedding |first2=E. I. |last2=Fulmer |first3=T. A. |last3=Butler |first4=J. E. |last4=Powell |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |date=June 1950 |volume=72 |issue=6 |pppages=2349–2354 |doi=10.1021/ja01162a003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Separation of Rare Earths by Ion Exchange. V. Investigations with One-tenth Per Cent. Citric Acid-Ammonium Citrate Solutions |firstfirst1=F. H. |lastlast1=Spedding |first2=E. I. |last2=Fulmer |first4=T. A. |last4=Butler |first3=J. E. |last3=Powell |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |date=June 1950 |volume=72 |issue=6 |pppages=2354–2361 |doi=10.1021/ja01162a004 }}</ref> He later used ion exchange to separate [[isotope]]s of individual elements, including hundreds of grams of almost pure [[nitrogen-15]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=A Laboratory Method for Separating Nitrogen Isotopes by Ion Exchange |firstfirst1=F. H. |lastlast1=Spedding |first2=J. E. |last2=Powell |first3=H. J. |last3=Svec |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |volume=77 |issue=23 |pppages=6125–6132 |doi=10.1021/ja01628a010 |date=December 1955 |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1019021/ }}</ref>

During his career, Spedding published over 260 peer-reviewed papers,<ref name="papers"/> and held 22 patents in his own name and jointly with others. Some 88 students received their Ph.D. degree under his supervision.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|pp=23–24}} After his retirement in 1972, he authored 60 books.<ref name="Iowa" /> He received the [[William H. Nichols]] Award from the [[American Chemical Society]] in 1952, the [[James Douglas (businessman)|James Douglas]] Gold Medal from the [[American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers]] in 1961 and the [[The Franklin Institute Awards|Francis J. Clamer Medal]] from the [[Franklin Institute]] in 1969.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|pp=23–24}} He was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in chemistry, but never won.<ref name="New York Times"/> An award called the Frank H. Spedding Award is presented at the annual Rare Earth Research Conference.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unr.edu/rerc/spedding-award|title=Spedding Award|work=Rare Earth Research Conference|accessdateaccess-date=30 October 2013 |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106023528/http://www.unr.edu/rerc/spedding-award |archivedatearchive-date=6 November 2013 }}</ref>

* {{cite book |last=Compton |first=Arthur |authorlinkauthor-link=Arthur Compton |year=1956 |title=Atomic Quest |url=https://archive.org/details/atomicquestperso0000comp |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |oclc=173307 |ref=harv }}

* {{cite journal | last = Corbett | first = John D. | title = Frank Harold Spedding 1902–1982 | url = http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10269&page=300–326 | journal = Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences | publisher = National Academy of Sciences | volume = 80 | year = 2001 |authorlinkauthor-link= John Corbett (chemist) |accessdateaccess-date=6 June 2015 |ref=harv|isbn=978-0-309-08281-5}}

* {{cite book |lastlast1=Hewlett |firstfirst1=Richard G. |authorlinkauthor-link=Richard G. Hewlett |last2=Anderson |first2=Oscar E. |title=The New World, 1939–1946 |location=University Park|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |year=1962 |url=https://www.governmentattic.org/5docs/TheNewWorld1939-1946.pdf|accessdateaccess-date=26 March 2013|isbn=0-520-07186-7|oclc=637004643 |ref=harv }}

* {{cite thesis |last=Payne |first=Carolyn Stilts |title=The Ames Project: Administering classified research as a part of the Manhattan Project at Iowa State College, 1942-1945 |year=1992 |degree=PhD |publisher=[[Iowa State University]] |id=Paper 10338 |url=http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11337&context=rtd |accessdateaccess-date=29 May 2016 |ref=harv }}

{{portal bar|Biography|Chemistry|History of Science|Nuclear technology|World War II}}

[[Category:PeopleScientists from Hamilton, Ontario]]