Norris Bradbury
Encyclopedia
Norris Edwin Bradbury was an American physicist
who was born in Santa Barbara
, California
. He served as director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory
for 25 years (1945 - 1970), succeeding J. Robert Oppenheimer, who personally chose Bradbury for the position of director after working closely with him on the Manhattan Project
. During the war he was in charge of the final assembly of "the gadget", detonated in July 1945 for the Trinity test
. He oversaw the transition of the laboratory from World War II
through the Cold War
. The Bradbury Science Museum
is named in his honor.
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who was born in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He served as director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
for 25 years (1945 - 1970), succeeding J. Robert Oppenheimer, who personally chose Bradbury for the position of director after working closely with him on 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...
. During the war he was in charge of the final assembly of "the gadget", detonated in July 1945 for the Trinity test
Trinity test
Trinity was the code name of the first test of a nuclear weapon. This test was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, at the new White Sands Proving Ground, which incorporated the Alamogordo Bombing...
. He oversaw the transition of the laboratory from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
through 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...
. The Bradbury Science Museum
Bradbury Science Museum
The Bradbury Science Museum is the chief public facility of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, located at 1350 Central Avenue in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in the United States. It was founded in 1963, and was named for the Laboratory's second director , Norris E. Bradbury...
is named in his honor.
External links
- Biographical memoirs by Harold M. Agnew and Raemer E. Schreiber
- Obituary from Los Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
- Annotated Bibliography for Norris Bradbury from the Alsos Digital Library