Dan Shechtman
Dan Shechtman is an Israeli materials scientist recognized for discovering quasicrystals, a class of solids exhibiting aperiodic atomic arrangements with forbidden rotational symmetries such as tenfold order, fundamentally challenging the crystallographic restriction theorem that had long held that crystals must possess translational periodicity.[1][2] While studying rapidly solidified aluminum-manganese alloys using transmission electron microscopy at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) in 1982, Shechtman observed electron diffraction patterns indicative of icosahedral symmetry, a structure incompatible with periodic lattices, prompting him to annotate his notebook with three question marks in astonishment.[3][2] This finding, published in 1984 after overcoming significant resistance—including dismissal by established figures like Linus Pauling as "quasiscience"—eventually spurred theoretical validations and experimental confirmations, reshaping solid-state physics and materials science.[4][1] Shechtman received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011 for this breakthrough, which demonstrated that matter can form ordered structures defying classical definitions of crystals, and has held professorships at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and Iowa State University, where he continues research on quasicrystalline materials.[5][6]Early Life and Education
Childhood and Family in Tel Aviv
Dan Shechtman was born on January 24, 1941, in Tel Aviv, within the British Mandate for Palestine, a territory that established the State of Israel in 1948 following the end of the Mandate and the ensuing War of Independence.[5][7] His early years coincided with regional instability, including wartime rationing and scarcity that tested personal resilience in the nascent Jewish community.[8] Shechtman grew up primarily in the neighboring towns of Ramat Gan and Petah Tikva, raised in a working-class Jewish family descended from Eastern European immigrants.[9] His parents, Natania and Yitzhak Shechtman, navigated economic challenges, with Yitzhak employed as a printer, a trade echoing his father-in-law's profession amid the immigrant ethos of self-reliance.[10] This background, rooted in Ukrainian Jewish heritage, emphasized practical skills and adaptability during periods of material hardship, providing a supportive environment that valued inquiry over formal privilege.[10] An early fascination with science emerged through familial influences, particularly his grandfather, who introduced fundamental concepts by explaining mechanical principles and how everyday objects functioned, encouraging hands-on understanding independent of institutional resources.[11] Shechtman also developed a passion for exploratory reading, devouring Jules Verne's adventure novels—such as The Mysterious Island multiple times—which fueled imaginative tinkering and a mindset oriented toward empirical observation amid the era's constraints.[9] These formative experiences, bolstered by family encouragement during historical upheaval, cultivated a resilient approach to problem-solving grounded in direct evidence and persistence.[11]Academic Training at Technion
Shechtman earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology in 1966.[12] He continued his studies at the same institution, obtaining a Master of Science in Materials Engineering in 1968.[12] During this period, the Technion acquired its first transmission electron microscope, providing Shechtman with hands-on experience operating the instrument alongside technicians, which laid groundwork for his later expertise in microstructural analysis.[11] In 1972, Shechtman completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering at the Technion, focusing on topics in materials characterization that honed his skills in experimental techniques central to solid-state research.[12][7] This progression through Technion's engineering programs equipped him with a rigorous foundation in applied materials science, emphasizing empirical methods over abstract theorizing, consistent with the institution's orientation toward technological problem-solving in Israel's developing scientific ecosystem.[7]Professional Career
Early Research Positions
Following his PhD in materials engineering from the Technion in 1972, Shechtman served as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow at the Aerospace Research Laboratories of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, from 1972 to 1975. In this role, he conducted research on the microstructure and physical metallurgy of alloys, applying materials engineering principles to aerospace and defense-related challenges, including the analysis of material properties under extreme conditions.[6][13][14] In 1975, Shechtman returned to Israel and accepted a faculty position as a lecturer in the Department of Materials Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. His early research there emphasized the mechanical properties of metallic alloys, particularly fracture behavior and microstructural influences on material strength, utilizing techniques such as scanning electron microscopy for detailed observations.[12][7] Throughout the late 1970s, Shechtman advanced his expertise in rapid solidification processes through ongoing work at the Technion, where he explored non-equilibrium alloy structures and their potential for enhanced performance in engineering applications. These efforts, conducted via in-house experiments and collaborations within Israel's academic and industrial materials community, positioned him as a specialist in innovative alloy processing methods prior to international exchanges in the early 1980s.[7][13]Period at NIST and Key Experiments
In 1981, Dan Shechtman commenced a sabbatical from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, predecessor to NIST) in Washington, D.C., where he served as a visiting scientist through 1982.[4] His research focused on rapidly solidified aluminum alloys doped with transition metals, such as manganese, to probe metastable phases inaccessible under conventional slow cooling.[1] This work built on NBS's expertise in non-equilibrium processing, aiming to map solidification pathways and phase diagrams under extreme conditions.[4] Key experiments employed the melt-spinning technique, involving ejection of molten alloy onto a chilled rotating copper wheel to achieve cooling rates exceeding 1 million kelvins per second, yielding thin ribbons typically 20–50 micrometers thick.[1] Alloys with compositions near Al₆Mn (approximately 86 atomic percent aluminum and 14 atomic percent manganese) were prepared by technician Frank Biancaniello in the laboratory group of metallurgist William Boettinger.[1] These ribbons were mechanically polished and electrochemically thinned to produce electron-transparent foils, then inserted into a transmission electron microscope (TEM) operating at accelerating voltages around 100–200 kilovolts for microstructural characterization.[4] Shechtman collaborated closely with NBS senior scientist John Cahn, whose theoretical insights on diffusion and phase transformations informed sample selection and interpretation frameworks rooted in thermodynamic models assuming periodic atomic lattices.[4] The lab dynamics reflected a hierarchical structure typical of federal research institutions, with experimentalists like Shechtman relying on shared facilities and interdisciplinary input from physicists and materials engineers, amid an overarching paradigm enforcing translational periodicity as a defining criterion for crystalline order.[1]Return to Israel and Professorship
Following the conclusion of his sabbatical at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) in 1983, Shechtman resumed his faculty position at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, where he had been appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Materials Engineering in 1975.[1][15] He advanced through the academic ranks at the Technion, serving as senior lecturer from 1977 to 1984, associate professor from 1984 to 1986, and full professor from 1986 to 1998.[15] In 1989, Shechtman was appointed to the Philip Tobias Chair in Materials Science, and in 1998, he became Distinguished Professor in the department, a title he holds as emeritus.[15][12] In 2004, Shechtman took on a partial appointment as Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University, complemented by an associate role at the Ames Laboratory, enabling sustained academic exchanges and collaborative research between Israeli and American institutions.[6] Throughout his tenure, he established a research laboratory at the Technion's Wolfson Centre, directing efforts toward advanced materials development and supervising graduate students in materials engineering.[12]