Earl W. McDaniel (April 15, 1926 - May 4, 1997) was a Regents Professor of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

 and the Georgia Tech Research Institute

Georgia Tech Research Institute

The Georgia Tech Research Institute is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...

 and is most noted for his contributions to the field of ion mobility spectrometry.

Education and early career

After completing his undergraduate degree in physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

 and earning his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

, Earl was recruited by Georgia Tech Research Institute

Georgia Tech Research Institute

The Georgia Tech Research Institute is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...

 director James Boyd

James E. Boyd (scientist)

James Emory "Jim" Boyd was an American physicist, mathematician, and academic administrator. He was director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1957 to 1961, president of West Georgia College from 1961 to 1971, and acting president of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1971 to...

to return to Georgia Tech as an assistant professor. He received appointments in both the School of Physics and the School of Electrical Engineering.

Apart from his work as a physicist, Dr. McDaniel was known to be an avid reader of both fiction and classics as well as an expert on the histories of great military conflicts and battles.

Drift tube

In 1964, Earl began construction of a "drift tube" with the help of mechanical engineering student, Dan Albritton. Using this drift tube the pair revolutionized the field of ion transport. Their publication "Mobilities of Mass-Identified H₃⁺ and H⁺ Ions in Hydrogen" was chosen as one of the top 100 papers ever published in the journal Physical Review.

Publications

Aside from a number of popular research publications, Dr. McDaniel also authored or edited 8 books. Among these, the most notable were “Transport Properties of Ions in Gases,” "Atomic Collisions: Electron and Photon Projectiles,” and “Atomic Collisions: Heavy Particle Projectiles.” These books were published in a number of countries and translated into multiple languages.