Robert Schmieder
| Robert William Schmieder | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 10, 1941 Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
| Residence | Walnut Creek, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Occidental College, Caltech, Columbia |
| Known for | NanoLogic, Underwater Islands |
| Spouse(s) | Kathleen (Deal) Schmieder |
| Awards | Schmieder Bank, 4 named species, NAUI Environmental Award, Amateur Radio Hall of Fame |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physical and Natural Science |
| Institutions | Sandia National Labs, Cordell Expeditions |
| Thesis | (1968) |
Robert William Schmieder (born July 10, 1941) is an American scientist and explorer. Schmieder has had a multidisciplinary career, broadly divided between physics and related physical sciences, and natural science and exploration. In most of his projects, he created and led teams of both professional scientists and volunteers. His work is documented in about 100 technical publications and 10 books. Among his most significant work was the invention of laser spark spectroscopy (now commercialized), the formulation of nanologic (the use of nanoscale devices in computers), and the concept of underwater islands (which led to designation of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary).
Schmieder was born and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, a member of a large family who were descendants of pioneers. His maternal grandmother migrated on horseback from Texas to the mining town of Superior, in the Arizona Territory. His father emigrated from Germany as a watchmaker and was later a businessman. As a child, Robert demonstrated an exceptional curiosity and interest in science, and decided on his career before the age of 12. In high school, he won several science awards, including the Westinghouse Science Talent Search and the Arizona State Science Fair. He was among the first in the United States to develop amateur rocketry, stimulated by events that led to the first Earth satellites in 1957.
B.A. Physics, Occidental College, 1963
B.S. Physics, California Institute of Technology, 1963
M.A. Physics, Columbia University, 1965
Ph.D. Physics, Columbia University, 1968
Schmieder's research career in physical science began while an undergraduate at Caltech, when he wrote his first technical papers. While still an undergraduate, he worked at the CIT synchrotron laboratory, and he participated in the discovery of a new isotope (In106) using the Berkeley 60-inch cyclotron. For his PhD thesis at Columbia University, under the direction of Allen Lurio and William Happer, he made a definitive series of measurements of the hyperfine structure constants and lifetimes of the free alkali atoms. As a post-doc at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, under the guidance of Richard Marrus, he was the first to produce highly stripped atoms in a high-energy accelerator (the Berkeley HILAC) and to observe relativistic and multipole atomic transitions in those ions. This work led to the new field of “high-energy atomic physics.” He also made significant contributions to instrumentation for X-Ray spectroscopy, including the Doppler-tuned XRay spectrometer, the electron ring accelerator as a spectroscopic source, laser modulation of electron beams, superconducting switches, and laser/microwave gas breakdown.
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