In Memoriam

Dr. Graham Morrison (1943-1993)

Dr. Graham Morrison joined NBS in 1980, as a research chemist who specialized in identifying alternatives to ozone-damaging refrigerants. He graduated from Lehigh University and received his doctorate in chemistry from Cornell University.

At a time before the potential damaging effects of refrigerants was clearly understood, Morrison's early research focused on identifying the measurements that should be made to quickly and efficiently study the thermophysical properties of refrigerants. His research was instrumental in developing NIST's program on alternative refrigerants.

In 1985 Morrison began publishing papers on the properties of refrigerant mixtures; one of the most important was the 1986 NBS Technical Note 1226, "applications of a Hard Sphere Equation of State to Refrigerants and Refrigerant Mixtures," co-authored with Dr. Mark McLinden. The computer program REFPROP that he coauthored has become a standard for scientists and engineers that are designing new, environmentally friendly refrigerators, heat pumps, and air conditioners.

Among the awards Morrison received as the result of his work were the prestigious NIST Applied Research Award (joint with Mark McLinden), the Department of Commerce Silver Medal, and the Measurement Service Award.

Outside the lab, Graham was a volunteer researcher, radio program developer, and reader for the programs that assisted visually and physically handicapped.

Dr. Robert D. Goodwin (1915 - 1994)

Dr. Robert D. (Bob) Goodwin joined the Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory of NBS in Boulder in 1955, after receiving his Ph.D. in chemistry from the Johns Hopkins University. His first project was the development of a thermostating system for quartz-crystal time standards. He quickly moved on to a comprehensive and large project on the thermodynamic and transport properties of parahydrogen. This work was in support of the space program of the early sixties. Parahydrogen was used as a propellant for the rockets and as a monopropellant in nuclear rocket-propulsion systems. This work earned the Department of Commerce Gold Medal. He was responsible for much of the early design of the low-temperature thermophysical-property instrumentation developed in the Division. Throughout his career in fluid-properties measurement he maintained a keen interest in equations of state and eventually devised the equation that bears his name. He retired in 1985 after 30 years of Federal service.

He was an active ski mountaineer, and served in the Rocky Mountain rescue Group. Bob always took an interest in the careers of younger staff members and postdoctoral associates. He was always there with good advice and encouragement.

Dr. Lloyd Weber (1935 - 1999)

Dr. Lloyd Weber earned a PhD. degree in Physical chemistry from Rice University in 1960. He then joined the Cryogenics Engineering Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) in Boulder, Colorado. At NBS/NIST, Dr. Weber first measured the properties of liquid hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. His results were used by NASA to help design liquid-fueled rockets. For this work, Dr. Weber and 5 colleagues shared the Department of Commerce's Gold Medal in 1966.

Dr. Weber also made extensive measurements of the properties of newly synthesized liquids that were environmentally acceptable candidates to replace the refrigerants that were considered to be ozone depleting . His results were used by industry and by the US Navy to optimize the design of a wide range of air conditioning and refrigeration systems. In addition to obtaining engineering data, Dr. Weber improved the accuracy and efficiency of the apparatuses used to measure vapor pressure, the equation of state, heat capacity, and dielectric constants of liquids and gases.

Dwain E Diller (1927-2014)

Dwain E Diller joined NBS in 1959 after working at B.F. Goodrich for five years. He received his B.S. in Physics (magna cum laude) from Baldwin-Wallace University in 1950, and his M.S. in physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1953. He was a member of the Cryogenics Division of NBS, and later the Properties of Fluids Group. Indeed, Mr. Diller served as Section Chief of this Group.

Dwain was a pioneer in the measurement of fluid viscosity by use of the torsional crystal method. His measurements on the viscosity para-hydrogen, making use of this method, have had lasting impact in the aeronautics and aerospace industries.This work was part of a team effort that succeeded in developing a complete picture of the properties of hydrogen, for which the five member team was awarded the Department of Commerce Gold Medal in 1966.

Later in his career, Mr. Diller's measurement activities turned toward mixtures important for natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and later, alternative refrigerants. His work resulted in publication of over 50 papers, and presentations worldwide.He remained associated with NIST as a guest researcher until 2010, serving as a sought after reviewer of papers and a trusted adviser to junior staff.

Outside NIST, Mr. Diller was a volunteer at the Nomad Theater, the Boulder Public Library and Boulder Community Hospital. He is survived by three children, seven grand-children and eight great-grand children.

Arthur J. Kidnay (1934-2015)

Art Kidnay earned his B.S. in petroleum refining engineering in 1956, followed by his doctorate in chemical engineering and petroleum refining in 1968, both from Colorado School of Mines.  He was an engineer at Monsanto, then a research engineer in the Fluids Properties Group at NBS (NIST), then a faculty member at Mines for 21 years.  During the time he was on the faculty at Mines, he was also a part time staff member at NIST.  He was named dean of graduate studies and research in 1990. After his retirement from Mines in 1998, he continued to teach short courses for Special Programs and Continuing Education (SPACE). Art supported the university as a member of the President’s Council for more than two decades.

A fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a member and former chairman of its Rocky Mountain section, and a member of Sigma Xi, Art’s research interests included applied thermodynamics, vapor-liquid equilibria, and thermophysical properties of fluids and mixtures. He built several vapor-liquid equilibria apparatuses at Mines.  In 2013 he received the Donald L. Katz Award from the Gas Processors Association for accomplishments in gas processing research and engineering education. His name appeared in American Men of Science, now called the American Men and Women of Science, a biographical reference on leading scientists in the United States and Canada. He co-authored 70 publications, including three books. Appointed by the governor of Colorado, he served two terms on the Colorado State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers.

Dr. William M. (Mickey) Haynes (1943 -2016)

William M. (Mickey) Haynes joined the national Bureau of Standards in 1970 as a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Associate after completing his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Virginia.  In 1972 he became a permanent staff member and was involved in research on measurements and correlations of the thermophysical properties of fluids and fluid mixtures, developing state-of-the-art apparatus for measurements of both transport and thermodynamic properties of fluids.  Indeed, the integrated approach of high precision measurement combined with precise equation of state correlation, the hallmark of NIST fluid property research today, was due in large part to the foresight of Mickey Haynes.  He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1999 and has received several Department of Commerce (DOC)/NIST awards. 

In 1985 Mickey became Group Leader of the Properties of Fluids Group in the Thermophysics Division and served in that capacity for ten years. In 1989 he assumed the position of Deputy Chief of the Thermophysics Division, which was reorganized and became the Physical and Chemical Properties Division in 1996. While remaining in the Deputy Chief position, Mickey became the Assistant Director for Boulder of the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory (CSTL) in 1994. He stayed in these positions until becoming the Chief of the Physical and Chemical Properties Division in 1999, retiring in 2003.  Upon retiring in 2003, he was appointed a Scientist Emeritus.