Life of Norman Hackerman
...nd passivity. He has also written several published works. In September of 1996, Conversations on the Uses of Science and Technology, a book co-written by Hackerman and Kenneth Ashworth was published. In the book, Hackerman and Ashworth discuss the problems scientists will face with the reductions in government financial support for reasearch and with restrictive government directives. The authors explain why scientific research must be allowed to continue unrestricted if humankind is to gain its full benefits. In 2003, Evaluating and Improving Undergraduate Teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics was published as well. Of all of the projects that Hackerman was involved in, the Manhattan Project was undoubtedly the most influential. In 1943 Hackerman began work at the Manhattan Project's New York headquarters. He wasn't a laboratory chemist, but an ousider who visited all the labs associated with the K25 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The plant was built to separate fluorinated uranium isotopes through gas diffusion. The system used to separated the isotopes was made entirely from nickel, so the plant had to be kept clean and dry, otherwise nickel oxide would form, reducing the efficiency of the separation process. To prevent corrosion, the plant was treated with fluorine, producing a nickel fluorine film, which could react with other substances and set the whole plant on fire. His experiences at the K25 facility introduced Hackerman to corrosion, which would be a major topic of research for the remainder of his career. A large part of his work with corrosion was with the study of corrosion inhibitors, substances that reduce the rate at which metals corrode. Hackerman's first experience with inhibitors occured when he was approached by a Dallas gas company that was having problems with a gas-field. Two wells had been drilled into the field, to the same depth. One well was severely corroded in the wellhead and gas-gathering lines, but the second was in good condition. Hackerman put samples of metal into each line. As suspected, the sample in the first line was badly corroded, but the sample in the second line developed a strange sheen, but no corrosion. This led Hackerman to believe that the lines were not drilled into the same horizon (pool of gas), and that there was a natural corrosion inhibitor in the second horizon. He suggested pumping gas from the second line into the bottom of the first, but that couldn't be done. Later he found that the second well contained naphthenic acids, which inspired him to study the inhibition of metal reactions as a surface chemistry process. His studies led his lab to develop several anti-corrosion materials while concentrating on understanding the structure-function relationships that led to better inhibitors. Most of his lab...