Paul Grant
Paul Grant
Born(1935-05-09)May 9, 1935
Poughkeepsie, New York, USA
DiedDecember 20, 2023(2023-12-20) (aged 88)
Ajijic, Mexico
Alma materClarkson University, Harvard University
Occupation(s)Physicist, Science-Writer
Employer(s)IBM, EPRI, W2AGZ[1]
Awards

Paul Michael Grant was an American/Irish physicist and science writer who was involved in discovering and elucidating the structure of Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide which was important as the first high temperature superconductor to exhibit superconductivity above the boiling point of Nitrogen.[2][3] He was a co-author of IBM's US patent application covering their preparation.[4][5][6][7]

Career

Grant joined IBM Poughkeepsie, NY in 1953 working as a technician on the SAGE computer defense system.[8] He was able to take advantage of IBM's educational leave-of-absence program to obtain a BS degree from Clarkson and a Ph.D. from Harvard.[9]

In 1957, he filed a patent[10] that is cited as a precursor to the magnetoresistive head used universally in magnetic recording. In 1965, he moved to IBM Research – Almaden. At IBM, Grant was among the team researching superconductivity in the material Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide (YBCO) and found it to exhibit superconductivity at temperatures as high as 90 K.[2] This patent application provided some of first evidence that superconductivity could be supported at temperatures above the boiling point of Nitrogen, a common cryogenic refrigerant.

In 1987–88, with guidance from Grant, his 8th-grade daughter, Heidi, and then subsequently a science class at Gilroy High School, were able to show the relative ease with which high temperature superconductors could be fabricated and demonstrated.[11][12][13]

Also in 1987, Grant became the manager of the group at IBM devoted to research on exotic new materials, including superconductors. When high-Tc cuprate superconductors were discovered at IBM Zurich that same year, Paul became the driving force behind the work at IBM Research - Almaden in this hot new area. IBM Almaden made many important discoveries related to these cuprate superconductors, with Grant involved on most of them.

From 1990 to 1993, Grant was a "visiting faculty researcher" at the Instituto de Investigationes Materiales (IIM), National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where he carried out numerical studies on the properties of rare earth copper oxides.

From 1993 to 2004, Grant was a Science Fellow with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

In 2004, he started his own consulting business.[1][5] Grant has long been an advocate for commercial applications of superconductivity.[14][15] He was a popular science writer[11][16][17][18] and has been prolific author of scientific papers and patents.[19][20] Grant was a member of the Storage Interest Group[21] at the Computer History Museum.

From 2005 to 2008, he was a visiting scholar in applied physics at Stanford University

Patent dispute

In 2000, a patent dispute over the invention of YBCO (see above) dating back to March 1987 was finally resolved. The dispute was between IBM's Almaden Research Center, the US Naval Research Laboratory, the University of Houston, and Bell Labs. Ultimately, Bell Labs. prevailed and was granted the US patent based on priority date (date of invention rather than the current criterion of date of filing)[22][23]

Recognition and awards

Grant became a Senior Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1998 "For contributions to the fields of organic conductors and high temperature superconductivity".[24] He became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, United Kingdom, in Nov 2004.

In 2013, Grant was chosen as American Physical Society Distinguished Lecturer on the Applications of Physics.[25]

Grant was also one of Clarkson University's "Notable Knights".[26]

Science Writing

Grant was a prolific science writer, for both professional and popular audiences. He wrote multiple articles and News and Views commentaries on a range of topics for the journal Nature.

Final years

In 2021, Grant retired to Ajijic, Mexico with his wife Maru Grant. He enjoyed skiing, traveling, reading and 70s rock music. He passed away on December 20, 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 W2AGZ website
  2. 1 2 Grant, P. M.; Beyers, R. B.; Engler, E. M.; Lim, G.; Parkin, S. S. P.; Ramirez, M. L.; Lee, V. Y.; Nazzal, A.; Vazquez, J. E.; Savoy, R. J. (1987). "Superconductivity above 90 K in the compound YBa2Cu3Ox: Structural, transport, and magnetic properties". Physical Review B. 35 (13): 7242–7244. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.35.7242. PMID 9941013.
  3. ↑ A. Malozemoff et al., "Superconductivity at IBM - a Centennial Review: Part II – Materials and Physics", IEEE/CSC & ESAS European Superconductivity News Forum, No. 20, July 2012
  4. ↑ Canadian Patent CA1341623C refers to US provisional patent application US2465387A filed 1987-03-11
  5. 1 2 W2AGZ Paul Grant biography
  6. ↑ Clarkson University Biography: Paul Grant
  7. ↑ Grant, Paul (2001). "Rehearsals for prime time". Nature. 411 (6837): 532–533. doi:10.1038/35079212. PMID 11385548. S2CID 4423073.
  8. ↑ Computer History Museum: SAGE Defense System
  9. ↑ IBM Kingston News, Vol. 5, No. 21, May 25, 1960
  10. ↑ US Patent 3016507, "Thin film magneto resistance device" 1962-01-09
  11. 1 2 P. Grant, "Do-it-yourself superconductors", New Scientist, pp. 36-38 30 July 1987
  12. ↑ M. Browne, "Superconductivity Moves From the Laboratory to the Classroom" NY Times, Jan. 12, 1988
  13. ↑ IBM Research Blog, June 2011
  14. ↑ Physics World video, "Where next for superconductivity", 6th Apr. 2011
  15. ↑ P. Grant, "The Energy Supergrid"
  16. ↑ P. Grant, "Hydrogen lifts off — with a heavy load", Nature Vol. 424, 10 July 2003
  17. ↑ Grant, Paul M. (2002). "London calling". Nature. 420 (6917): 743–744. doi:10.1038/420743a. S2CID 38765396.
  18. ↑ P. Grant, C. Starr, T. Overbye, "A power grid for the hydrogen economy", Scientific American, pp. 77-83, July 2006
  19. ↑ Google Citations: Paul Grant
  20. ↑ Paul Grant publications and patents
  21. ↑ Storage Interest Group, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California
  22. ↑ Tony Feder, "Bell Labs Wins Long-Running Patent Battle over High-Tc Superconductor", Physics Today 53, 4, 56 (2000)
  23. ↑ MacIlwain, Colin (2000). "Bell Labs win superconductivity patent". Nature. 403 (6766): 121–122. doi:10.1038/35003008. PMID 10646568. S2CID 1120705.
  24. ↑ APS Fellow Archive
  25. ↑ APS Newsletter Fall 2013 "Paul Grant chosen as the 2014 Distinguished Lecturer"
  26. ↑ Clarkson University Notable Knights
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