A G Stromberg First Class Scientist Second Class Citizen

Armin G Stromberg was arguably one of the founding fathers of the technique of stripping voltammetry frequently used in chemical analysis, yet he is virtually unheard of in Western Scientific circles. He was a brilliant scientist, but due to his German ancestry, he was interred in one of the NKVD GULAG camps at the outbreak of the second world war.This semi-biographical history presents the complete set of 74 surviving letters written by Stromberg to his wife during this period. The letters provide both historians and the interested public with a rare and unique glimpse into the every-day living conditions of inmates in one of the GULAG labour camps. The book also traces Stromberg's life following his release. More importantly, it relates how he founded the thriving Tomsk school to the wider historical context of electroanalysis in the USSR, drawing conclusions about the rate of scientific development as compared to the West and showing how 'wet analysis' remained of vital importance to industry long after equivalent measurements were made instrumentally elsewhere.Readers will also appreciate how Stromberg's invaluable contributions in the 'Tomsk school of electroanalysis' laid the foundations for the extensive metallurgical extraction and nuclear industries that dominated the entire Siberian region for many years. This book is must-read for anyone interested in the life and times of an important, yet often overlooked scientist of the second world war.

Armin G Stromberg was arguably one of the founding fathers of the technique of stripping voltammetry frequently used in chemical analysis, yet he is virtually unheard of in Western scientific circles. He was a brilliant scientist, but due to his German ancestry he was interred in one of the NKVD GULAG camps at the outbreak of the Second World War. This semi-biographical history presents the complete set of 74 surviving letters written by Stromberg to his wife during this period. The letters provide both historians and the interested public with a rare and unique glimpse into the everyday living conditions of inmates in one of the GULAG labour camps. The book also traces Stromberg's life following his release. More importantly, it relates how he founded the thriving Tomsk school to the wider historical context of electroanalysis in the USSR, drawing conclusions about the rate of scientific development as compared to the West and showing how ‘wet analysis’ remained of vital importance to industry long after equivalent measurements were made elsewhere. Readers will also appreciate how Stromberg's invaluable contributions in the Tomsk School of Electroanalysis laid the foundations for the extensive metallurgical extraction and nuclear industries that dominated the entire Siberian region for many years. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the life and times of an important, yet often overlooked scientist of the Second World War. Contents:The Deportation of the Ethnic Populations of Russia'A Willow in Siberia': The Family History and Early Life of Armin G Stromberg Pre-1937Letters from the GULAG (March 1942–September 1943)Release, Work in Sverdlovsk and the Start of Polarography in the USSRThe Tomsk School of ElectroanalysisLife in Tomsk After Retirement Readership: Professional historians and general readership interested in the GULAG labour camps; chemists, electrochemists and other scientists interested in A G Stromberg. Keywords:Stromberg;Electrochemistry;Stripping Voltammetry;GULAG;USSR;Electroanalysis;RussiaKey Features:The complete biography of Armin Stromberg, one of Russia's most eminent and hugely influential electroanalytical chemists, is set against the historical backdrop of Russian history from the 17th–21st centuries, covering the fall of the Tsars and the October Revolution, the rise of Stalin, WW II and the nuclear arms race that followed during the Cold War, through to Perestroika in the 1990sThe book publishes the complete set of 74 letters written from the GULAG describing Stromberg's daily struggle for survival during his internmentProvides not only Stromberg's own insights into the amazing events that unfolded during his life, but also the first-hand recollections of his daughter, Elza, and several students (many of whom became influential Soviet analytical chemists in their own right) who graduated from the Tomsk School of Electroanalysis under Stromberg's tutelageReviews: “Compton's book exactly paints that picture of a great scientist and humanist. It can be read by anybody interested in getting a picture of USSR science, and the hard struggle of its people to reach world significance. It does not need special background knowledge in science, and it will be valuable for historians as well as for the science community.” Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry

In this collection of interrelated essays, the authors review landmark developments in electrochemistry building on biographic material and personal insight. The book facilitates understanding of the innate pathways of developments in electrochemical science as a result of lucky circumstances fitting to objective conditions. Thus the book will help to understand the present state of electrochemistry and offer inspiration for solving today’s scientific challenges. The authors as experienced electrochemists from the U.S., Western and Eastern Europe also provide guidance for scientific careers by presenting biographical examples of famous electrochemists.

Preface to the second edition -- Preface to the first edition - Introduction -- Mathematical model of an electrochemical system -- Numerical solution of the model system -- Diffusion-only electrochemical problems in one-dimensional systems -- First-order chemical kinetic mechanisms -- Second-order chemical kinetic mechanisms -- Electrochemical simulation in weakly supported media -- Hydrodynamic voltammetry -- Two-dimensional systems: microdisc electrodes -- Heterogeneous surfaces -- Stochastic electrochemistry.

This is the first textbook in the field of electrochemistry that will teach experimental electrochemists how to carry out simulation of electrode processes. Processes at both macro- and micro-electrodes are examined and the simulation of both diffusion-only and diffusion-convection processes are addressed. The simulation of processes with coupled homogeneous kinetics and at microelectrode arrays are further discussed.Over the course of the book the reader's understanding is developed to the point where they will be able to undertake and solve research-level problems. The book leads the reader through from a basic understanding of the principles underlying electrochemical simulation to the development of computer programs which describe the complex processes found in voltammetry.This second edition has been revised throughout, and contains new material relating to random walks in electrochemistry, as well as expanded materials on the checking and validation of simulations, pulse techniques, and square wave voltammetry.

2004 marked the centennial of the birth of J Robert Oppenheimer, and brought historians and scholars, former students, nuclear physicists, and politicians together to celebrate this event. Oppenheimer's life and work became central to 20th century history as he spearheaded the development of the atomic bomb that ended World War II. This book provides a spectrum of interpretations of Oppenheimer's life and scientific achievements. It approaches the extraordinary scientist and teacher from many perspectives, chronicling the years from his boyhood through his role as director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and afterwards. The book also discusses Oppenheimer's connection to New Mexico, which hosted two of the Manhattan Project's most crucial sites, and addresses his lasting impact on contemporary science, international politics, and the postwar age.

Popular associations with chemistry range from poisons, hazards, chemical warfare and environmental pollution to alchemical pseudoscience, sorcery and mad scientists, which gravely affect the public image of science in general. While chemists have merely complained about their public image, social and cultural studies of science have largely avoided anything related to chemistry.This book provides, for the first time, an in-depth understanding of the cultural and historical contexts in which the public image of chemistry has emerged. It argues that this image has been shaped through recurring and unlucky interactions between chemists in popularizing their discipline and nonchemists in expressing their expectations and fears of science. Written by leading scholars from the humanities, social sciences and chemistry in North America, Europe and Australia, this volume explores a blind spot in the science-society relationship and calls for a constructive dialog between scientists and their public.

This is the first of two projected volumes on the history of operational research (OR) in Britain commissioned by the UK Operational Research Society. Based upon a vast array of published and unpublished sources, the book provides an original account of the discipline's pre-war and wartime origins. This serves as a prelude to a wide-ranging analysis of the diffusion of OR into the public and private sectors after 1945. The chapters on the role of OR in iron and steel and coalmining, and its rapid adoption in the UK corporate sector after 1960, will be of particular interest to practitioners. The book also analyses and explains the diffusion of OR into local and central government and provides an informed commentary on the origins and subsequent history of the OR Society. Professor Kirby has related the development of OR in the UK to contemporary developments in the USA. The book concludes with a resume of the post-1970 debates concerning the future trajectory of OR. Contents:The Origins of Operational Research: Military and Other Antecedents to 1937The Beginnings of Operational Research: British Air Strategy, 1920–1940The Wartime Diffusion of Operational Research, 1940–1945Operational Research in Bomber Command, 1941–1945The Postwar Labour Government and Operational Research 1945–1951Operational Research in Iron and SteelOperational Research in CoalminingThe Diffusion of Operational Research After 1960: The Corporate SectorOperational Research in the Public SectorThe Institutional Development of Operational Research Readership: Graduate students, academics and practitioners in operational research and management science, as well as military, business and economic historians. Key Features:This is the first detailed history of operational research in Britain, written by an established economic historian. It is not a narrow history of the subject — the development and diffusion of OR is placed firmly within the context of Britain's recent political, social and economic history.Sponsored by the Operational Research Society, the book is based upon a wide range of archival sources, oral interviews and secondary literature.The book has been written at a level which can be understood by readers unfamiliar with OR methodology and techniques.For OR practitioners and academics, the book is an essential aid to understanding the background to the debates and controversies which affected the OR community in the 1970s and 1980s and which still resonate today.For specialist historians, the book will appeal to those with interests in the ‘scientific management’ of modern warfare; social historians wishing to further their understanding of the ‘rise of professions’; economic and business historians with interests in Britain's post-1945 industrial and managerial development; and political historians seeking further insights into the modernisation of central government unleashed by the 1964–70 Labour Government.Reviews:“Although the brief of this book might appear narrow, Kirby has commendably broadened its scope to show the relevance of OR to, or used it as an example of wider historical and economic issues, most obviously in his discussions about the penetration of Taylorism and scientific management in Britain compared to the US.” Business History “… is an excellent authorized history, produced for the Operational Research (OR) Society. Its novelty lies not in what it tells us about OR at war but about OR in peace.”The Economic History Review “The interesting historical perspective presented by the author shows that the success of operational research in obtaining the status of an independent science considerably increased the level of its technical requirements and therefore is also responsible for a closed-loop mathematical development and a loss of contact with application.”Mathematical Reviews