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 obtained his PhD degree under Edward Norman Maslen with a thesis entitled "The Structure of p-Diphenylbenzene and Other Compounds", a single crystal neutron and X-ray diffraction study.
This investigation was the first single crystal neutron diffraction study in Australia and was conducted at the High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) in the Lucas Heights suburb of Sydney.
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.