Frank Spedding

Frank Spedding
Frank Spedding
Born	(1902-10-22)22 October 1902 Hamilton, Ontario
Died	15 December 1984(1984-12-15) (aged 82) Ames, Iowa
Education	University of Michigan (BS, MS) University of California, Berkeley (PhD)
Known for	Ames process
Awards	ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1933) Irving Langmuir Award (1933) William H. Nichols Award (1952) James Douglas Gold Medal (1961) Francis J. Clamer Medal (1969)
Scientific career
Institutions	Cornell University Cavendish Laboratory Iowa State University Metallurgical Laboratory Ames Laboratory
Thesis	Line absorption spectra in solids at low temperatures in the visible and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum  (1929)
Doctoral advisor	Gilbert N. Lewis

Frank Harold Spedding (22 October 1902 – 15 December 1984) was a Canadian-American chemist. He was a renowned expert on rare earth elements, and on extraction of metals from minerals. The uranium extraction process helped make it possible for the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bombs.

A graduate of the University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley, Spedding became an assistant professor and head of the department of physical chemistry at Iowa State College in 1937. His efforts at building up the school were so successful that he would spend the rest of his career there, becoming a professor of chemistry in 1941, a professor of physics in 1950, a professor of metallurgy in 1962, and ultimately professor emeritus in 1973. He co-founded, along with Dr. Harley Wilhelm, the Institute for Atomic Research and the Ames Laboratory of the Atomic Energy Commission, and directed the Ames Laboratory from its founding in 1947 until 1968.

Spedding developed an ion-exchange method of separating and purifying rare earth elements using ion-exchange resins, and later used ion exchange to separate isotopes of individual elements, including hundreds of grams of almost pure nitrogen-15. He published over 250 peer-reviewed papers, and held 22 patents in his own name and jointly with others. Some 88 students received their Ph.D. degree under his supervision.