February 2025 Program: Solving the Puzzle of Rare Earth Metals

Solving the Puzzle of Rare Earth Metals

Roger Turner

Location: Virtual– Microsoft Teams

Thursday, February 13th, 2025

Speaker: 12 PM to 1 PM

Summary

Advances in separations chemistry during the 20th century opened a surprisingly wide range of applications of the rare earth metals, from incandescent gas lighting to computer hard drives, lasers, and wind turbines. Today, both skill in separations chemistry and the production of rare earth metals has become highly concentrated in China, leading to American concerns about national security and economic competitiveness. This situation has deep roots in 20th century nuclear science and post-1970s trade and industrial policies. Understanding this history can help us piece together better ways to produce rare earth metals without compromising the environment or our democratic values.

Roger Turner

Roger Turner is the curator of instruments and artifacts at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. Since 2018 he has been the historical lead for the Rare Earth Elements Project, a partnership to produce credible, disinterested information about these metals. The Project was awarded a Horizon Prize for Education from the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2023. Turner holds a Ph.D. in History and Sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Link for an historical artifact: Rare earths sliding puzzle - Science History Institute Digital Collections<https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/p8gi3b5>