Harry George Drickamer

Who is this?

Harry George Drickamer (November 19, 1918 – May 6, 2002), born Harold George Weidenthal, was a pioneer experimentalist in high-pressure studies of condensed matter. His work generally concerned understanding the electronic properties of matter. Drickamer was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Louise Weidenthal and Harold Weidenthal. His father died when Harry was very young, and after his mother remarried, Harry's stepfather adopted him. After graduating early from public schools in East Cleveland, he played minor league professional baseball in the Cleveland Indians farm system, then entered Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship. He soon transferred to Indiana University and then to the University of Michigan, where he received a B.S. in chemical engineering in 1941 and master's degree one year later. In 1942 Drickamer began work at the Pan American Refinery in Texas City, Texas. After his fellow students played a prank by forging his name on a sign-up sheet for the Ph.D. qualifying exam in chemical engineering, he decided to take the 16-hour exam. After he started work in Texas, he received word that he had passed. He then combined work with study of physics and quantum mechanics, and in February 1946 returned to the University of Michigan for one term to receive his Ph.D. Drickamer joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he subsequently remained for his entire professional career. After his initial appointment as an assistant professor of chemical engineering in 1946, he was promoted to associate professor in 1949 and to full professor in 1953. In 1958 he was appointed professor of chemical engineering and physical chemistry, and in 1983 he became professor of chemical engineering, chemistry, and physics.

Career

1. 1918
   Born
2. 1951
   Won Guggenheim Fellowship
3. 1967
   Won Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize
4. 1983
   Member of American Philosophical Society
5. 1988
   Won Elliott Cresson Medal
6. 1989
   Won National Medal of Science
7. 2002
   Passed away
8. Member of National Academy of Sciences
9. Member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
10. Won Fellow of the American Physical Society

Trivia

• •Place of birth: Cleveland
• •Citizenship: United States
• •Known as: chemical engineer, physicist