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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as SubjectLawrence Hafstad
Dates
June 18, 1904 – October 12, 1993
Authorized Form of Name
Hafstad, Lawrence, 1904-
Additional Forms of Names
Hafstad, Lawrence Randolph, 1904-
Biography
Abstract
Lawrence Hafstad was Vice President, Research Laboratories at General Motors Company (1955-1969). Other institutional affiliations included Chase Manhattan Bank and the United States Atomic Energy Commission. His research interests included proximity fuses and the development of nuclear power.
Important Dates
June 18, 1904Birth, Minneapolis (Minn.).
1920 – 1928Engineer, Northwestern Bell Telephone Company.
1926Obtained BSc, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (Minn.).
1928 – 1945Associate Physicist (1928-1933) and Physicist (1933-1945), Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington (D.C.).
1933Obtained PhD in Physics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (Md.).
1942 – 1949Research Physicist, Applied Physics Laboratory (1942-1946); Director, Applied Physics Laboratory (1946-1947); and Director, Institute for Cooperative Research (1947-1949), Johns Hopkins University, Laurel (Md.).
1947 – 1949Executive Secretary, Research and Development Board, United States Department of Defense.
1949 – 1955Director, Nuclear Reactor Development Division, United States Atomic Energy Commission, Washington (D.C.).
1955Director, Atomic Energy Division, Chase Manhattan Bank.
1955 – 1969Vice President, Research Laboratories, General Motors Company.
1962 – 1968Member (1962-1968) and Chair (1964-1968), General Advisory Committee, United States Atomic Energy Commission.
1969 – 1972Chair, Committee on Undersea Warfare, National Research Council.
October 12, 1993Death, Oldwick (N.J.).
Occupation
Nuclear physicist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Nuclear energy -- Political aspects.
Relationships
People
Family
Hafstad, Mary
Wife.
Hafstad, William
Son.
Advisors & Collaborators
Dahl, Odd, 1898-1994
Collaborated on work leading to development of million-volt vacuum tube.
Collaborated on work leading to development of million-volt vacuum tube. Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Colleagues
Berkner, Lloyd V. (Lloyd Viel), 1905-1967
Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Both employed at Johns Hopkins University.
Fleming, J. A. (John Adam), 1877-1956
Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Herzfeld, Karl F. (Karl Ferdinand), 1892-
Both employed at Johns Hopkins University.
Van Allen, James A. (James Alfred), 1914-2006
Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington and Johns Hopkins University.
Vestine, E. H. (Ernest Harry), 1906-1968
Both employed at Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Additional
Alpher, Ralph, 1921-2007
Larson, Clarence E. (Clarence Edward), 1909-
Strauss, Lewis L.
Institutions
Major Positions
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
Associate Physicist and Physicist.
Chase Manhattan Bank
Director, Atomic Energy Division.
General Motors Corporation
Vice President, Research Laboratories.
Johns Hopkins University. Applied Physics Laboratory
Obtained PhD in Physics (1933). Research Physicist, Applied Physics Laboratory; Director, Applied Physics Laboratory; and Director, Institute for Cooperative Research.
Northwestern Bell Telephone Company
Engineer.
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Director, Nuclear Reactor Development Division and Member and Chair, General Advisory Committee.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Carnegie Institution of Washington
National Research Council (U.S.)
Chair.
United States. Department of Defense. Research and Development Board
Executive Secretary.
University of Minnesota. Department of Physics and Astronomy
Obtained BSc (1926).
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Lawrence Hafstad papers, 1939-1975.
Harry S. Truman Library
Independence, MO 64050, USA
Lawrence Hafstad papers, 1939-1976.
St. Olaf College
Norwegian-American Historical Association
Northfield, MN 55057, USA
Oral history interview with Lawrence Hafstad, 1984 June 4.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Subject
Clarence E. Larson science and technology oral history collection, 1983-1993.
Special Collections & Archives
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444, USA
Lewis L. Strauss papers, 1914-1974.
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
West Branch, IA 52358, USA
Merle Antony Tuve papers, 1901-1982 (bulk 1941-1966).
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
Oral history interview with Merle Antony Tuve, 1967 March 30.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Merle Antony Tuve, 1982 January 13 and February 5.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA