Nier, Alfred Otto Carl
Nier, Alfred O. C. (Alfred Otto Carl Nier) (1911-1994), a United States nuclear physicist. Nier was the first to separate the rare isotope uranium 235 (U-235) from U-238. He joined other scientists in proving that U-235 is a source of nuclear energy when uranium is bombarded with slow neutrons. Nier was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota in 1936. He became an assistant professor of physics at that university in 1938 and a full professor in 1946.