Louis Rosen (June 10, 1918 – August 15, 2009) was a

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

, the "father" of the

Los Alamos Neutron Science Center The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), formerly known as the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF), is one of the world's most powerful linear accelerators. It is located in Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in Technical Ar ...

accelerator (LAMPF, now known as LANSCE). Dr. Rosen held a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

and a Doctorate 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 ...

from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

.Douglas Martin, "Louis Rosen, 91, Dies; Worked on First Nuclear Bombs"
''New York Times'', September 5, 2009. He had never taken a course in

Nuclear Physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

before arriving in Los Alamos. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Rosen worked 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 ...

Career

While most of his colleagues at Los Alamos did not stay, Rosen remained there his entire career, and was still working there two days before his death. He initiated and led an effort to build in Los Alamos what was then the most intense

atom smasher A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel electric charge, charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined particle beam, beams. Large accelerators are used for fun ...

in the world, LAMPF. It accelerated a beam of

protons A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...

to create an intense beam of

pi meson In particle physics, a pion (or a pi meson, denoted with the Greek letter pi: ) is any of three subatomic particles: , , and . Each pion consists of a quark and an antiquark and is therefore a meson. Pions are the lightest mesons and, more gene ...

(

pion In particle physics, a pion (or a pi meson, denoted with the Greek letter pi: ) is any of three subatomic particles: , , and . Each pion consists of a quark and an antiquark and is therefore a meson. Pions are the lightest mesons and, more gene ...

) particles. It was 1000 times more powerful than any previously existing

particle accelerator A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams. Large accelerators are used for fundamental research in particle ...

, and was used to study the interaction of

pions In particle physics, a pion (or a pi meson, denoted with the Greek letter pi: ) is any of three subatomic particles: , , and . Each pion consists of a quark and an antiquark and is therefore a meson. Pions are the lightest mesons and, more gene ...

with other

nuclear material Nuclear material refers to the metals uranium, plutonium, and thorium, in any form, according to the IAEA. This is differentiated further into "source material", consisting of natural and depleted uranium, and "special fissionable material", con ...

s. He called his machine "a badly needed bridge between subnuclear and

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

Personal life

Dr. Rosen's wife Mary (''née'' Terry), to whom he was married for sixty years, died in 2004. Rosen was awarded the

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award was established in 1959 in honor of a scientist who helped elevate American physics to the status of world leader in the field. E. O. Lawrence was the inventor of the cyclotron, an accelerator of subatomic par ...

in 1963. Other awards included the

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

and, in 2002, the Los Alamos National Laboratory medal."Louis Rosen", Nuclear Files, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
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Death

Dr. Rosen died of a

subdural hematoma A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a type of bleeding in which a Hematoma, collection of blood—usually but not always associated with a traumatic brain injury—gathers between the inner layer of the dura mater and the arachnoid mater of the meninges ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, on August 15, 2009, reported by his granddaughter Ambyr Hardy. He was survived by his brother, Bernard; two grandchildren; and four great grandchildren.

References

External links

2003 Video Interview with Louis Rosen by Atomic Heritage Foundation
Voices of the Manhattan Project * http://www.newsday.com/los-alamos-scientist-louis-rosen-dies-at-91-1.1390149 * http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=10979615&nav=abc0 * https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jj4yj37U9DWYfLMh8iNpt2MokknAD9A9Q8U00

''New York Times'', September 5, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosen, Louis 1918 births 2009 deaths Manhattan Project people Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel Neurological disease deaths in New Mexico Deaths from subdural hematoma