Paul Scherrer

Paul Hermann Scherrer (3 February 1890 – 25 September 1969) was a Swiss physicist known for his contributions to the field of crystallography. Born in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Scherrer studied Mathematics and Physics at Swiss Federal Polytechnic (ETH Zurich). He furthered his studies at the University of Göttingen, where he earned his doctorate in 1912. During this time, Scherrer and his tutor, Peter Debye, developed the 'Debye-Scherrer powder method', a technique for structural analysis of crystals using X-rays. This method played a significant role in the development of scattering techniques still used today. Scherrer later became head of the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich.