Dwain Edwin Diller

Born on August 21, 1927 in Carey, Ohio, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physics from Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio where he met and married his wife, Saralu, a student at the same college. He completed his master’s in physics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Dwain served a tour in the Army beginning in 1945 in which he played the trombone in an Army band. He also served in the reserves.

His three children, Christine Achziger of Johnstown, Kimberly Middaugh of Broomfield, and Charles Diller of Longmont, were born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in 1951, 1956, and 1957, respectively. Dwain and Saralu moved to Boulder in 1959 where Dwain began work at the Bureau.

Dwain was the 1966 winner of the Boulder Scientist Award, given annually by the Boulder Chapter of the Scientific Research Society of America (RESA).

The award, which is given for the most outstanding paper contributed by a Boulder area scientist, was presented to him for his paper entitled, “Measurements of the Viscosity of Parahydrogen.”

In the paper, he detailed a new technique in the field and included data on the viscosity of parahydrogen over wide ranges of pressure, temperature, and density where none were available before. The data had immediate application in the aerospace industry where liquid hydrogen was used as a propellant.

Because of his work, which included over 50 papers, Dwain spoke all over the world. He and Saralu’s travels included Russia, Belgium, Algeria, Spain, Portugal and England. They also enjoyed frequent trips to New Mexico, Tucson, Arizona, and New York City.

Dwain was a long-time volunteer for the Nomad Theatre, the Boulder Public Library and Boulder Community Hospital. He greatly enjoyed his church family at Grace Lutheran Church. Dwain and Saralu celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with their family on Sept. 3, 2010. Dwain was a devoted father of three, grandfather of seven, and great-grandfather of eight.