Jerrold R. Zacharias
Encyclopedia
Jerrold Reinach Zacharias (January 23, 1905–July 16, 1986) was an American physicist and Institute Professor
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
at MIT and the Manhattan Project
. He helped build the MIT Physics Department after the war, and was responsible for recruiting Bruno Rossi
and Victor Weisskopf to the Institute. During the Cold War
he was the head of a number of defense-related studies hosted at MIT (Project Hartwell, Project Charles, Project Lamp Light) and later he both founded and ran the Physical Science Study Committee, which was influential in changing physics education in the United States in the wake of Sputnik (1957). In 1954 he testified at the security clearance hearing of J. Robert Oppenheimer, where he was accused of being part of a cabal known as "ZORC" (Zacharias, Oppenheimer, Rabi, Charles Lauritsen
) that was attempting to do damage to U.S. national security (on the contrary, Zacharias did much research to aid national defense); he was later investigated by agents of Senator Joseph McCarthy
, whom he did not cooperate with (leading to fear that he might lose his job).
He continued to push for educational reform throughout the 1960s and 1970s through such projects as Elementary Science Study and the educational TV series "Infinity Factory." His scientific work was in the area of nuclear physics. Zacharias also developed the first practical version of the cesium-beam clock, often called an "atomic clock," which later became the internationally accepted standard for timekeeping. He was also the founder of Education Development Center, a global nonprofit that develops science and math curricula.
Institute Professor
Institute Professor is the highest title that can be awarded to a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States...
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Career
Zacharias was involved in both the Radiation LaboratoryRadiation Laboratory
The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts and functioned from October 1940 until December 31, 1945...
at MIT and the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
. He helped build the MIT Physics Department after the war, and was responsible for recruiting Bruno Rossi
Bruno Rossi
Bruno Benedetto Rossi was a leading Italian-American experimental physicist. He made major contributions to cosmic ray and particle physics from 1930 through the 1950s, and pioneered X-ray astronomy and space plasma physics in the 1960s.-Biography:Rossi was born in Venice, Italy...
and Victor Weisskopf to the Institute. During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
he was the head of a number of defense-related studies hosted at MIT (Project Hartwell, Project Charles, Project Lamp Light) and later he both founded and ran the Physical Science Study Committee, which was influential in changing physics education in the United States in the wake of Sputnik (1957). In 1954 he testified at the security clearance hearing of J. Robert Oppenheimer, where he was accused of being part of a cabal known as "ZORC" (Zacharias, Oppenheimer, Rabi, Charles Lauritsen
Charles Christian Lauritsen
Charles Christian Lauritsen was a Danish-born, American physicist.-Early life and career:Lauritsen was born in Holstebro, Denmark and studied architecture at the Odense Tekniske Skole, graduating in 1911...
) that was attempting to do damage to U.S. national security (on the contrary, Zacharias did much research to aid national defense); he was later investigated by agents of Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
, whom he did not cooperate with (leading to fear that he might lose his job).
He continued to push for educational reform throughout the 1960s and 1970s through such projects as Elementary Science Study and the educational TV series "Infinity Factory." His scientific work was in the area of nuclear physics. Zacharias also developed the first practical version of the cesium-beam clock, often called an "atomic clock," which later became the internationally accepted standard for timekeeping. He was also the founder of Education Development Center, a global nonprofit that develops science and math curricula.