Philosophy
"UC Davis nuclear physics lab founder, John Jungerman, dies"
by
Jillian Sullivan
May 5th, 2014
SFGate
John Jungerman, founding director of the nuclear physics research laboratory at UC Davis who also worked on the classified project that developed the first atomic bomb, died at his home in Davis on March 28. He was 92.
Dr. Jungerman had received his bachelor's degree in physics and was working toward his doctorate at UC Berkeley when World War II began.
He wanted to join the Navy, but a faculty adviser encouraged him instead to work at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory for Ernest Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron and leader of a group of scientists trying to separate isotopes of uranium-235, a key step in building an atomic bomb.
Dr. Jungerman was 22 years old when he was recruited to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and later at Los Alamos, N.M., where the first atomic bombs were being designed and built.
After learning there would be a test explosion of the bomb, Dr. Jungerman and a couple of his friends sneaked onto the military-guarded test site in the desert of New Mexico.
On July 16, 1945, they witnessed the success of Trinity test, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, as a giant mushroom cloud lit up the morning sky.
"It was a transformative experience in his life," said Dr. Jungerman's son, Eric Jungerman. "He had a mixture of this awestruck feeling about how this was going to be used, combined with excitement that they actually made it work."
Dr. Jungerman returned to Berkeley after the war and completed his doctorate in physics in 1949. He then went back to work at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory (now the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and later worked with famed nuclear physicist Hans Bethe at Cornell University.
In 1951, Dr. Jungerman became an early member of the physics department at UC Davis. He helped grow the fledgling department from a faculty of three to more than 50, and he was instrumental in developing a world-class nuclear physics research facility for the university's graduate program.
In the 1960s, his goal to build a research particle accelerator on campus was made possible with the help of Lawrence, who offered Dr. Jungerman parts from the Berkeley cyclotron.
The building housing the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory on the Davis campus has been renamed John A. Jungerman Hall, in honor of its founding director, in 2011.
Dr. Jungerman retired from UC Davis in 1991, becoming professor emeritus of physics and returned to teach his favorite courses for several years and develop new courses on nuclear arms control, society, and the environment for undergraduates and high school teachers.
During his career, Dr. Jungerman was interested in the relationship between physics and spiritual issues. In 1954, he became a founding member of the Unitarian Fellowship (later the Unitarian Universalist Church) of Davis. In 2000, the John Templeton Foundation awarded him $10,000 for his freshman science and religion course, "Modern Physics, Cosmology and Religions," and he later wrote a book on the subject.
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- Deceased--albert Ghiorso
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- Deceased--herbert York
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Philosophy
Deceased--John Jungerman
John Jungerman
December 28th, 1921 to March 28th, 2014"UC Davis nuclear physics lab founder, John Jungerman, dies"
by
Jillian Sullivan
May 5th, 2014
SFGate
John Jungerman, founding director of the nuclear physics research laboratory at UC Davis who also worked on the classified project that developed the first atomic bomb, died at his home in Davis on March 28. He was 92.
Dr. Jungerman had received his bachelor's degree in physics and was working toward his doctorate at UC Berkeley when World War II began.
He wanted to join the Navy, but a faculty adviser encouraged him instead to work at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory for Ernest Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron and leader of a group of scientists trying to separate isotopes of uranium-235, a key step in building an atomic bomb.
Dr. Jungerman was 22 years old when he was recruited to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and later at Los Alamos, N.M., where the first atomic bombs were being designed and built.
After learning there would be a test explosion of the bomb, Dr. Jungerman and a couple of his friends sneaked onto the military-guarded test site in the desert of New Mexico.
On July 16, 1945, they witnessed the success of Trinity test, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, as a giant mushroom cloud lit up the morning sky.
"It was a transformative experience in his life," said Dr. Jungerman's son, Eric Jungerman. "He had a mixture of this awestruck feeling about how this was going to be used, combined with excitement that they actually made it work."
Dr. Jungerman returned to Berkeley after the war and completed his doctorate in physics in 1949. He then went back to work at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory (now the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and later worked with famed nuclear physicist Hans Bethe at Cornell University.
In 1951, Dr. Jungerman became an early member of the physics department at UC Davis. He helped grow the fledgling department from a faculty of three to more than 50, and he was instrumental in developing a world-class nuclear physics research facility for the university's graduate program.
In the 1960s, his goal to build a research particle accelerator on campus was made possible with the help of Lawrence, who offered Dr. Jungerman parts from the Berkeley cyclotron.
The building housing the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory on the Davis campus has been renamed John A. Jungerman Hall, in honor of its founding director, in 2011.
Dr. Jungerman retired from UC Davis in 1991, becoming professor emeritus of physics and returned to teach his favorite courses for several years and develop new courses on nuclear arms control, society, and the environment for undergraduates and high school teachers.
During his career, Dr. Jungerman was interested in the relationship between physics and spiritual issues. In 1954, he became a founding member of the Unitarian Fellowship (later the Unitarian Universalist Church) of Davis. In 2000, the John Templeton Foundation awarded him $10,000 for his freshman science and religion course, "Modern Physics, Cosmology and Religions," and he later wrote a book on the subject.
- Deceased--andrew Sessler
Andrew Sessler December 11th, 1928 to April 17th, 2014 "Former director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory dies at 85" by Chris Tril April 27th, 2014 The Daily Californian Andrew Sessler, a former director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,...
- Deceased--stuart Freedman
Stuart Freedman January 13th, 1944 to November 9th, 2012 "Stuart Freedman - renowned physicist - dies" by David Perlman November 21st, 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Stuart Jay Freedman, a Berkeley nuclear physicist renowned for his pathbreaking investigations...
- Deceased--albert Ghiorso
The codiscoverers of nobelium [No, element 102] in the HILAC building, LBL in 1958:Albert Ghiorso, Torbjorn Sikkeland, and John R. Walton. Glenn T. Seaborg is absent. Albert Ghiorso July 15th, 1915 to December 26th, 2010 "Albert Ghiorso dies at 95; engineer...
- Death Of An "atom Smasher"
"Historic Atom Smasher Reduced to Rubble and Revelry" by Alexis Madrigal July 8th, 2009 Wired Science BERKELEY, California — What was once the world's biggest atom smasher will soon be nothing more than a collection of old photos and the dust...
- Deceased--herbert York
Herbert York Novemeber 24th, 1921 to May 19th, 2009 "Herbert York dies at 87; scientist and arms-control leader" Herbert York, who was a delegate to the anti-satellite arms control talks in 1978 and chief negotiator in the U.S.-Soviet talks on a ban...