nist.gov · Public domain

Born in Cologne, he fled Nazi Germany as a child and went on to become one of the most influential figures in materials science, applying the fundamental laws of thermodynamics to explain how metals and alloys separate into different phases as they cool. He taught metallurgy at MIT before moving to the National Bureau of Standards in 1977, and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1998 for research that shaped how materials scientists understand and predict phase transitions.