The Nuclide Corporation Archives and The Papers of Leonard F. Herzog

Leonard F. Herzog (1926-2011) was an American geophysicist and scientific instrument industry executive. He was the founder of Nuclide Corporation, an American manufacturer of mass spectrometers and other scientific instruments.

Leonard F. Herzog was born in Syracuse, New York on June 17, 1926 and spent much of his childhood in Hollywood, California. He entered the California Institute of Technology in 1944, but his education was interrupted by military service in the United States Army during World War II, where he rose to the rank of master sergeant. While serving in the military, he earned his Certificate of Civil Engineering from Oregon State University (1945). Herzog resumed his education at Cal Tech after the war, earning his B.S. in Geology in 1948. He subsequently attended graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning his Ph.D. in Nuclear Geophysics and Economic Geology (1952), with a minor in Soil Mechanics from Harvard University (1950).

After earning his doctorate, Herzog joined MIT’s faculty, serving as Director of the Nuclear Geophysics Laboratory (1952-1956). In 1956, he joined the faculty of Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Geophysics and Geochemistry, where he served as Assistant Professor (1956-1960) and Associate Professor (1961-1967). In the academic sphere, Herzog became a recognized authority in determining the geological age of rocks by radioactive decay. He also became an expert on the design and construction of mass spectrometers and developed methods for their use in the fields of geochemistry and cosmochemistry.

In 1954, while still on the faculty of MIT, Herzog founded Nuclide Analysis Associates (NAA), a scientific consulting firm. Originally based in Boston, Massachusetts, NAA specialized in the commercial applications of mass spectrometry. When Herzog moved to Penn State in 1956, NAA’s headquarters were moved to State College, Pennsylvania, but the firm continued to maintain a Boston office. That same year, NAA started manufacturing custom-built mass spectrometers. The United States Atomic Energy Agency was the firm’s first major customer. NAA’s instruments soon found favor with the firm’s clientele and the demand for them grew.

To keep up with growing demand, Herzog founded Nuclide Corporation in 1961. Headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, Herzog was named president of the new firm. Under Herzog’s leadership, Nuclide grew into a flourishing small scientific instruments concern. Nuclide purchased and absorbed NAA in 1963. In 1965, Nuclide purchased the assets of Alloyd-General Vacuum Corporation, a Boston, Massachusetts based vacuum metallurgy firm, which became Nuclide’s AGV Division.

Over the course of the 1960s, Nuclide acquired a reputation for innovation. The firm was best known for developing and building mass spectrometers which were used for several applications, including, but not limited to, nuclear energy, earth sciences, thermodynamics, and chemical physics. Through its AGV Division, it also manufactured electron-beam and vacuum metallurgy equipment. Also, during this time period, Nuclide introduced the Luminoscope, the world’s first commercial instrument for electron luminescence analysis.

In recognition of its business success and technical innovation, Nuclide was awarded the President’s “E” Award for Export by the Kennedy Administration in 1963. Herzog was promoted to chairman of the firm in 1966. In 1967, he resigned his professorship at Penn State to focus on running Nuclide on a full-time basis.

Nuclide was also noted for its involvement with NASA space programs during the 1960s. In 1964-1965, the firm developed a prototype for a miniature monopole mass spectrometer for use in the unmanned Surveyor lunar mission. Although this device was ultimately rejected as unfeasible, Nuclide continued to work closely with NASA. Starting in 1969, NASA used Nuclide instruments to analyze lunar samples brought back to Earth by the Apollo moon missions.

Nuclide Corporation encountered a more difficult business climate during the 1970s. A combination of factors, including economic recession brought on by the 1973-1974 Energy Crisis and the death of one of its principal investors weakened the firm’s financial position. In 1976, Nuclide’s financial problems were further exacerbated by the discovery of embezzlement by its recently deceased controller. Despite these difficulties, the firm continued to grow and develop new products, albeit at a slower rate.

Nuclide’s financial condition worsened in the early 1980s. In 1983-1984, the firm encountered two major problems: the shutdown of a federal nuclear fuel production facility for which Nuclide was furnishing several mass spectrometers and the increasing value of the United States dollar, which dried up Nuclide’s foreign market. This combination of factors forced Nuclide to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1984.

In 1987, the assets of Nuclide Corporation were purchased by Measurement and Analysis Systems, Incorporated (MAAS). MAAS retained Leonard F. Herzog as Director of Technical Operations and hired most of Nuclide’s staff. The former Nuclide operations were moved to a facility in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. However, MAAS proved to be a short-lived venture, filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1991. Herzog retired from MAAS in 1992. That same year, MAAS was purchased by Premier American Technologies, Incorporated (PATCO), which went out of business in the late 1990s.

While working for Nuclide and MAAS, Herzog was a principal in three other business ventures. During the 1960s, he served as chairman and president of Ho-Par Associates, Incorporated, a chemical consulting firm. From 1969 to 1979, he was president of Scientific Products, Incorporated (SPI), a scientific instrument leasing and finance firm. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Herzog served as president of Science Centre, Incorporated (SCI), another scientific leasing and finance firm and the corporate successor of SPI.

After retiring from MAAS, Herzog returned to Pennsylvania State University as a professor emeritus, serving on the staff of the Noll Laboratory of Human Performance. A firm believer in serving one’s community, he volunteered for several civic organizations, including Schlow Memorial Library, the State College Area Chamber of Commerce, and Meals on Wheels.

Over the course of his career, Herzog authored a number of scientific journal articles and frequently presented papers at science symposia and conferences. He was also an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Society for Mass Spectrometry and the American Society for Testing and Materials. In 1963, Herzog became the youngest ever recipient of the American Free Enterprise Association’s American Success Story Award.

Leonard F. Herzog passed away on February 16, 2011.

Sources

The Nuclide Corporation Archives and The Papers of Leonard F. Herzog, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.