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Stepping stone
In theory, Gordon Miller's work leads to solid-state results.
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When Gordon Miller left his upstate New York farm home for college in the 1970s, many expected his return in a few years as the town doctor. Miller was considering a medical degree during his undergraduate days at the University of Rochester - until he started spending time in an inorganic chemistry research lab.
A professor of chemistry at Iowa State, Miller thought his chemistry courses would be a stepping stone to medical school. But he started making materials in the lab.
"That was a turning point for me," said Miller. "Inorganic chemistry fascinated me. I found research much more interesting than the prospect of medical school."
In November Miller's contributions to the solid-state chemistry field were honored by his being named a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Miller was one of five from Iowa State honored this academic year by AAAS, the world's largest general science organization. The others are Philip Becraft, associate professor of genetics, development and cell biology; Marit Nilsen-Hamilton, professor of biochemisty, biophysics and molecular biology; David Lynch distinguished professor emeritus of physics and astronomy; and Jacob Petrich, professor and chair of chemistry.
Miller's distinction, according to AAAS, honors his work in combining theory with experimentation to study chemical bonding and electronic structure in complex, metal-rich solids.
His group's research efforts combine theoretical investigations with a variety of experimental approaches to "tailor new inorganic materials that will show interesting chemical and physical properties," he said.
The group is currently researching complex intermetallic compounds to better understand relationships among composition, structure and properties. Aluminum is the primary component of the work.
"We use theory to provide possible interpretations of our experimental results, in particular, to rationalize and even predict the sites for various elements in complex intermetallic structures."
He says his research team simply wants to answer the question, "Where are the atoms?" Miller said theory is crucial to understand intermetallic compounds because, unlike organic chemistry, this field "doesn't have as many rules guiding the composition of stable compounds."
Explained Miller, "There are no simple, general models available for describing structure-property relationships in these phases." His work is aimed at getting enough of an understanding to develop some rules.
The theories Miller's group use have a significant "qualitative" aspect.
"Although we rely on computational work, the level of theory we use can range from simple, theoretical models to complex, exhaustive computations," he said. "The goal is to provide a picture, or a conceptual understanding, of what the theory says, with the hope of using these ideas in the laboratory."
Miller entered the field of solid-state chemistry while in graduate school at the University of Chicago. He spent a summer at the renowned Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, Germany. He enjoyed it enough that he returned after graduation as a post-doctoral researcher and stayed three and a half years.
"It was an opportunity to work in a foreign country," Miller said. He learned the language and immersed himself with the German culture.
He returned to the U.S., landing at ISU. It turned out to be a good move because, "Ames, Iowa, is a good location for a solid-state chemist," Miller said. "Iowa State and the Ames Laboratory have a tremendous reputation in solid-state chemistry."
Gordon Miller
Around LAS
January 14-27, 2008
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