Joseph Oakland Hirschfelder (May 27, 1911 – March 30, 1990) was an American physicist who participated in the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
and in the creation of the
nuclear bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
.
[New York Times: Obituaries: J. O. Hirschfelder, 78, Atom Bomb Developer, March 31, 1990](_blank)
[National Academies Press:Biographical Memoirs V. 66 (1995), JOSEPH OAKLAND HIRSCHFELDER, BY R. BYRON BIRD, CHARLES F. CURTISS, AND PHILLIP R. CERTAIN](_blank)
Biography
Hirschfelder was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of a Jewish couple, Arthur Douglas and May Rosalie (Straus). He completed his undergraduate studies at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
from 1927 to 1929 and at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
from 1929 to 1931. Hirschfelder received doctorates in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
under the direction of
Eugene Wigner,
Henry Eyring and
Hugh Stott Taylor. He worked as a Postdoctoral fellow with
John von Neumann
John von Neumann (; hu, Neumann János Lajos, ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He was regarded as having perhaps the widest cove ...
for a year after his PhD at the
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
. In 1937, he moved to
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
and stayed there until retirement in 1981, except during World War II.
Robert Oppenheimer
J. Robert Oppenheimer (; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist. A professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Oppenheimer was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is often ...
assembled a team at the Los Alamos Laboratory to work on plutonium gun design
Thin Man, that included senior engineer
Edwin McMillan and senior physicists
Charles Critchfield
Charles Louis Critchfield (June 7, 1910 – February 12, 1994) was an American mathematical physicist. A graduate of George Washington University, where he earned his PhD in Physics under the direction of Edward Teller in 1939, he conducted rese ...
and Joseph Hirschfelder. Hirschfelder had been working on
internal ballistics. Oppenheimer led the design effort himself until June 1943, when Navy
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
William Sterling Parsons
Rear Admiral William Sterling "Deak" Parsons (26 November 1901 – 5 December 1953) was an American naval officer who worked as an ordnance expert on the Manhattan Project during World War II. He is best known for being the weaponeer on the ''En ...
arrived took over the Ordnance and Engineering Division and direct management of the "Thin Man" project.
Hirschfelder was a member of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
,
a group leader in
theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...
and ordnance at the
Los Alamos Atomic Bomb Laboratory,
chief phenomenologist at the nuclear bomb tests at Bikini,
the founder of the Theoretical Chemistry Institute and the Homer Adkins professor emeritus of chemistry at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
.
Hirschfelder was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He was awarded the
National Medal of Science from President
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
“for his fundamental contributions to atomic and molecular quantum mechanics, the theory of the rates of chemical reactions, and the structure and properties of gases and liquids”.
The
National Academies Press
The US National Academies Press (NAP) was created to publish the reports issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Research C ...
called him "one of the leading figures in theoretical chemistry during the period 1935–90".
In 1991 an award was established in his name by the University of Wisconsin's Theoretical Chemistry Institute – the annual Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize in Theoretical Chemistry. He was an elected member of the
International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. His book ''Molecular theory of gases and liquids'' is an authoritative text on the kinetic theories of gases and liquids.
Awards and distinctions
* 1953 - elected to the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
* 1959 - elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
* 1965 - elected to the Norwegian Royal Society
* 1966 - the
Peter Debye Award
The Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry is awarded annually by the American Chemical Society "to encourage and reward outstanding research in physical chemistry". The award is named after Peter Debye and
granted without regard to age or natio ...
from the
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...
* 1966 - the
Alfred C. Egerton Gold Medal of the
Combustion Institute
The Combustion Institute is an educational non-profit, international, scientific and engineering society whose purpose is to promote research in combustion science. The institute was established in 1954, and its headquarters are in Pittsburgh, Penn ...
* 1976 - the
National Medal of Science
* 1978 - honorary degree from
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
* 1980 - honorary degree the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
* 1981 - elected to the
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...
of Great Britain
* 1981 - the Silver Medal of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...
Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize is awarded annually by the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin in honor of Hirschfelder.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirschfelder, Joseph O.
1911 births
1990 deaths
20th-century American physicists
20th-century American chemists
American nuclear physicists
Jewish physicists
Jewish chemists
Jewish American scientists
Manhattan Project people
Nuclear weapons scientists and engineers
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
Members of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
20th-century American Jews