Frank H. Spedding (1902-1984) was a chemist who led a group of chemists at Ames Laboratory which developed an efficient process for obtaining high purity uranium from uranium halides. The general technique is known as the Thermite process, but is sometimes called the Ames process. This process was developed in 1942 and was driven by the need for large quantities of uranium in support of the Manhattan Project.
External Links
Story of the Atom Bomb (http://www.3rd1000.com/nuclear/cruc18.htm) Frank Spedding (http://stills.nap.edu/html/biomems/fspedding.html)
Spedding was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on October 22, 1902, but his photographer father, Howard Leslie Spedding, and mother, the former Mary Ann Elizabeth Marshall, were American citizens.
While working on his doctorate at UC, Spedding studied the mathematics underlying the chemical relationships among properties of rare-earth metals, the elements consisting of scandium and yttrium, and the fifteen elements from lanthanum to lutetium.
Spedding moved to Cambridge, England, in 1934 to study theoretical chemistry and physics on a Guggenheim Fellowship.
The award is given in recognition of excellence and achievement in research centered on the science and technology of rare earths and consists of a medal mounted on a plaque and a prize of $1,000, sponsored by Bracco Research USA Inc.
The Spedding Award is named in honor of FrankSpedding, a longtime Iowa State chemistry professor and one of the nation’s leading atomic scientists.
Spedding was a pioneer researcher with rare earths and organized and directed the chemistry phase at Iowa State of the historic Manhattan Project.
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