Hugo M. Rietveld (7 March 1932 – 16 July 2016[1][2]) was a Dutch crystallographer who is famous for his publication on the full profile refinement method in powder diffraction, which became later known as the Rietveld refinement method. The method was developed to refine neutron diffraction data, but is applicable to other diffraction experiments as well, like X-ray diffraction. The Rietveld refinement uses a least squares approach to refine a theoretical line profile (calculated from a known or postulated crystal structure) until it matches the measured profile. The introduction of this technique which used the full profile instead of individual reflections was a significant step forward in the diffraction analysis of powder samples.
In 1964 he became a research officer at the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland, ECN) in Petten, where he worked together with Bert Loopstra and Bob van Laar on the structure solution and refinement of uranates and other ceramic compounds using neutron powder diffraction. In 1967 he implemented the full profile refinement method in a computer program, which he published as his own achievement under his own name in his 1969 citation classic.[3] After publishing this important project alone, Rietveld found his position in the small Petten group increasingly difficult. In 1974 he successfully applied for the post of head of the ECN library, a function that had been vacant for some time, and consequently he left science. He remained with the library until his retirement in 1992.[4]
Young, R. A. (Ed.). (1993). The Rietveld method (Vol. 6). Oxford. Oxford University Press.
Rietveld, H. M. (1 January 1967). "Line profiles of neutron powder-diffraction peaks for structure refinement". Acta Crystallographica. 22 (1). International Union of Crystallography (IUCr): 151–152. doi:10.1107/s0365110x67000234. ISSN0365-110X.
Rietveld, H. M. (2 June 1969). "A profile refinement method for nuclear and magnetic structures". Journal of Applied Crystallography. 2 (2). International Union of Crystallography (IUCr): 65–71. doi:10.1107/s0021889869006558. ISSN0021-8898.
^Rietveld, H. M. (2 June 1969). "A profile refinement method for nuclear and magnetic structures". Journal of Applied Crystallography. 2 (2). International Union of Crystallography (IUCr): 65–71. doi:10.1107/s0021889869006558. ISSN0021-8898.
