Philip Morrison

Philip Morrison, (November 7, 1915 – April 22, 2005), was institute Professor, Emeritus and Professor of Physics, Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned his B.S. in 1936 at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and in 1940 he earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1942 he joined the Manhattan Project as group leader and physicist at the laboratories of the University of Chicago and Los Alamos. He was also an eyewitness to the Trinity test, and helped to transport its plutonium core to the test site. After surveying the destruction left by the use of the atom bomb in Nagasaki, Morrison became a champion of nuclear nonproliferation.

Related Topics:
November 7 - 1915 - April 22 - 2005 - Professor - Physics - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 1936 - Carnegie Institute of Technology - 1940 - Theoretical physics - University of California, Berkeley - 1942 - Manhattan Project - Physicist - University of Chicago - Los Alamos - Trinity test - Plutonium - Nagasaki

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Morrison joined the Young Communist League in 1938 and the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) in 1939 while studying physics at the University of California Berkeley.

Related Topics:
Young Communist League - 1938 - Communist Party of the United States - 1939

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Morrison joined the physics faculty at Cornell University in 1946 and would move on to MIT in 1965. In 1959, Morrison and Giuseppe Cocconi published a paper proposing the potential of microwaves in the search for interstellar communications, a component of the modern SETI program.

Related Topics:
Physics - Cornell University - 1946 - MIT - 1965 - 1959 - Giuseppe Cocconi - Microwaves - SETI

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Morrison was also known for his numerous books and television programs, including "Powers of Ten" and the 1987 PBS series The Ring of Truth, which he also hosted. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific gave him the Klumpke-Roberts Award in 1992.

Related Topics:
Powers of Ten - 1987 - PBS - Astronomical Society of the Pacific - Klumpke-Roberts Award - 1992

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