Elton N. Kaufmann

Elton Neil Kaufmann was born in 1943[1] in Cleveland, Ohio[2] to Phillip H. Kaufmann and his wife.[3] Kaufmann graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with his bachelor's degree physics in 1964. He then attended California Institute of Technology under the advisorship of Felix Boehm,[2] graduating with his PhD in physics in 1968.[4]

He is known for his work investigating hyperfine interactions with nuclear spectroscopic methods and the interactions between particles and solids.[1] He first worked for Bell Labs after finishing his PhD and was employed there from 1968 through 1981. He researched the properties of materials using methods like hyperfine interactions, laser-solid interactions, and ion-solid interactions.[4] In 1981 he joined the staff of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, becoming the leader of their Materials Division in 1986.[5]

In 1989 he began working at Argonne National Laboratory, where he is currently an emeritus scientist.[6] He has been the editor of several academic journals, including Hyperfine Interactions,[4] Methods in Materials Research, and the Annual Review of Materials Research.[5][7] He was also the editor of the text Characterization of Materials, which is considered "a leading reference guide to any researcher working on materials systems".[8]

Kaufmann served as the president of the Materials Research Society in 1985.[2] He was elected as a fellow of the American Physical Society in 1988 for "development and application of a broad range of techniques such as nuclear and electron resonance spectroscopies and ion beam analysis to fundamental studies in materials science."[9]

He married Diane née Smith in 1964.[3] He later married Adeline J. Thomas in 1988.[10] Kaufmann has been interested in photography since 1985. He has self-published several books of his photography, which feature monochrome photographs.[11] Some of his work can be found at www.cycloid-fathom.com and his personal essays include those at cycloid.substack.com.