Arthur Charles Wahl (September 8, 1917 – March 6, 2006)[2] was an American chemist who, as a doctoral student of Glenn T. Seaborg at the University of California, Berkeley, first isolated plutonium (94) in February 1941[3][4] shortly after the element neptunium (93) was discovered by McMillan and Abelson in 1940.[5]

Arthur C. Wahl
Wahl's identity badge photo from Los Alamos Laboratory
Born
Arthur Charles Wahl

(1917-09-08)September 8, 1917
DiedMarch 6, 2006(2006-03-06) (aged 88)
Alma materIowa State University (B.S.) and University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D.)
Known forFirst isolation of plutonium
AwardsACS Award for Nuclear Chemistry (1966)[1]
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
InstitutionsWashington University in St. Louis
Doctoral advisorGlenn T. Seaborg

Wahl was a researcher on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos until 1946, when he joined Washington University in St. Louis. Beginning in 1952, he was the Henry V. Farr Professor of Radiochemistry; he received the American Chemical Society Award in Nuclear Chemistry in 1966 and retired in 1983.[6] He moved back to Los Alamos in 1991 and continued his scientific writing until 2005.

He died in 2006 of Parkinson's disease and pneumonia.[7]

Further reading

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  • Seaborg, Glenn T.; Katz, Joseph J. (1954). The Actinide Elements. National Nuclear Energy Series. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
  • Seaborg, Glenn T. (1958). The Transuranium Elements. Atoms for Peace. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
  • Clark, David L.; Hecker, Sigfried S.; Jarvinen, Gordon D.; Neu, Mary P. (2006-02-17). "Plutonium and Plutonium Compounds". Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-48494-3.

References

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  1. ^ ACS Award for Nuclear Chemistry Archived November 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Daues, Jessica (2006-04-27). "Wahl, professor who discovered plutonium; 89". The Source. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  3. ^ Seaborg, G. T.; Wahl, A. C.; Kennedy, J. W. (1946-04-01). "Radioactive Element 94 from Deuterons on Uranium". Physical Review. 69 (7–8): 367–367. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.69.367. ISSN 0031-899X.
  4. ^ Seaborg, G. T.; Mcmillan, E. M.; Kennedy, J. W.; Wahl, A. C. (1946-04-01). "Radioactive Element 94 from Deuterons on Uranium". Physical Review. 69 (7–8): 366–367. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.69.366.2. ISSN 0031-899X.
  5. ^ McMillan, Edwin; Abelson, Philip Hauge (1940-06-15). "Radioactive Element 93". Physical Review. 57 (12): 1185–1186. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.57.1185.2. ISSN 0031-899X.
  6. ^ "Arthur Wahl". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  7. ^ Sobotka, Lee G.; Holtzer, Alfred M.; Friedlander, Gerhart; Sarantites, Demetrios G.; Weissman, Samuel I. (2006-07-11). "Obituary of Arthur C. Wahl". Physics Today. doi:10.1063/PT.4.2311.
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