Comments on: A Forgotten Figure in the Evolution of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets http://www.terramagnetica.com/2009/09/13/a-forgotten-figure-in-the-evolution-of-rare-earth-permanent-magnets/ commentary on permanent magnet materials, devices & systems :: emerging technologies, supply chain issues, industry news & trends. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:42:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Karen Hoofnagle (Koon) http://www.terramagnetica.com/2009/09/13/a-forgotten-figure-in-the-evolution-of-rare-earth-permanent-magnets/comment-page-1/#comment-500 Karen Hoofnagle (Koon) Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:28:58 +0000 http://www.terramagnetica.com/?p=478#comment-500 Norman Koon was my dad and I found this googling his name, which I do from time to time. It's nice to see him remembered kindly not just for his work, but (thanks Stan) for his humility and scholarship. I'm no judge of his physics scholarship, but I can say that in all my adult life I've never yet met another academic who was as well suited to be happy in his working environment. Dad certainly liked having done work that turned out to be important, but he was completely happy to just get to *do* research and had an exuberant love of both his work and his colleagues. Even into my 20s when we talked about more complex things I never heard him speak disparagingly of a colleague. Or really of anyone now I think of it. Anyhow, thanks for remembering him. Norman Koon was my dad and I found this googling his name, which I do from time to time. It’s nice to see him remembered kindly not just for his work, but (thanks Stan) for his humility and scholarship.

I’m no judge of his physics scholarship, but I can say that in all my adult life I’ve never yet met another academic who was as well suited to be happy in his working environment. Dad certainly liked having done work that turned out to be important, but he was completely happy to just get to *do* research and had an exuberant love of both his work and his colleagues. Even into my 20s when we talked about more complex things I never heard him speak disparagingly of a colleague. Or really of anyone now I think of it.

Anyhow, thanks for remembering him.

]]> By: Stan http://www.terramagnetica.com/2009/09/13/a-forgotten-figure-in-the-evolution-of-rare-earth-permanent-magnets/comment-page-1/#comment-162 Stan Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:15:34 +0000 http://www.terramagnetica.com/?p=478#comment-162 Norm was the editor for one of my papers. He certainly was a gentleman. I have heard some people say that Norm may have been the first to really understand that Nd2Fe14B was the compound of interest. While GM and Sumitomo (now Hitachi) certainly won the race to the Patent Office, Norm may have been the first man on the mountain. Another person of interest for the early days of NdFeB was Joe Becker from GE. Joe did some wonderful work with SmCo5 single grains, giving some insight on the domain wall motion mechanism. He also gave a talk on rapid quenched rare earth iron compounds at the famous MMM conference in Pittsburgh in the fall of 1983, along with Koon and the groups from GM and Sumitomo. He may have been close to the truth, too, but sadly he passed away the next year. Both were humble men, true scholars, at a time when being humble was not popular. Norm was the editor for one of my papers. He certainly was a gentleman.

I have heard some people say that Norm may have been the first to really understand that Nd2Fe14B was the compound of interest. While GM and Sumitomo (now Hitachi) certainly won the race to the Patent Office, Norm may have been the first man on the mountain.

Another person of interest for the early days of NdFeB was Joe Becker from GE. Joe did some wonderful work with SmCo5 single grains, giving some insight on the domain wall motion mechanism. He also gave a talk on rapid quenched rare earth iron compounds at the famous MMM conference in Pittsburgh in the fall of 1983, along with Koon and the groups from GM and Sumitomo. He may have been close to the truth, too, but sadly he passed away the next year.

Both were humble men, true scholars, at a time when being humble was not popular.

]]> By: Scott Masteller http://www.terramagnetica.com/2009/09/13/a-forgotten-figure-in-the-evolution-of-rare-earth-permanent-magnets/comment-page-1/#comment-100 Scott Masteller Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:01:54 +0000 http://www.terramagnetica.com/?p=478#comment-100 I did work with Norm Koon or actually I worked in another group that competed with Norm on crystal growth in rare earth iron alloys for magnetostrictive transducers for sonar systems. It is interesting that there was a rivalry. The group I was with focussed on the heavy rare earths like holmium and terbium, leaving the field open to Norm to look at the lighter rare earth iron compounds. The heavy rare earths lead to the development of Terfenol, certainly a useful if not widely used material, while the light rare earths led to Nd-B-Fe. I did work with Norm Koon or actually I worked in another group that competed with Norm on crystal growth in rare earth iron alloys for magnetostrictive transducers for sonar systems. It is interesting that there was a rivalry. The group I was with focussed on the heavy rare earths like holmium and terbium, leaving the field open to Norm to look at the lighter rare earth iron compounds. The heavy rare earths lead to the development of Terfenol, certainly a useful if not widely used material, while the light rare earths led to Nd-B-Fe.

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