Robert C Bowman

After obtaining his M.S. in Chemistry from the MIT, Bob worked at Mound Laboratory from 1969 to 1984. Bob was a research physical chemist and a science fellow working on the properties of diverse metal-hydrogen materials systems mostly for their usage as components in nuclear weapon systems but also in the development and characterization of novel hydrogen-based materials (i.e., metal hydrides) for renewable energy applications. His primary experimental method used during these studies was nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy although a number of other methods including x-ray and neutron scattering were also employed during numerous external collaborations.

After leaving Mound, Bob held senior science & engineering positions at The Aerospace Corporation (El Segundo, CA), Aerojet ElectroSystems (Azusa, CA), and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA) and he retired in 2018 from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He now consults on hydrogen storage technologies and applications. Bob has published over 300 articles that are mostly on metal hydrides and their applications in nuclear technology, renewable energy, and space projects.

Bob is very interested in American History and participates in several local and national historical societies including being a Director on the Mound Science and Energy Museum Association (MSEMA) Board, the Lecture Organizer for MSEMA, a valued MCWDC Volunteer, and a reenactor (of an army Dragoon during the US-Mexican War of the 1840s)! Bob also conducts genealogical research and presents lectures on a variety of topics on general history, the Manhattan Atomic Bomb Project, the Nuclear Cold War, and some areas of science in classes at Senior Living Institutes and museums. He likes to collect radioactive materials including uranium-containing glass and porcelain objects and has donated several of them to be on exhibit at the Mound Cold War Discovery Center located in Miamisburg OH.