1881-1957
Chemist and Physicist, Nobel Laureate

Education.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on 31 January 1881 to an insurance executive and his wife, Irving Langmuir studied chemistry, physics, and mathematics at Columbia University and received a degree from the university's School of Mines in metallurgical engineering in 1903. Langmuir studied under the future Nobel laureate Walther Nernst at the University of Gottingen in Germany, receiving the Ph.D. in 1906 for his dissertation on the study of heated platinum wire and low pressure gases. Upon his return to the United States he taught at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Research Scientist.

In 1909 Langmuir took a fulltime position as a researcher at the General Electric Company's research laboratory in Schenectady, New York. At GE Langmuir made a major contribution to the development of the modern lightbulb when he proved that adding inert gas to the bulb enhanced the life of the...