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Archival as SubjectPublished as SubjectTom Wilkerson Bonner
Dates
October 19, 1910 – December 6, 1961
Authorized Form of Name
Bonner, Tom Wilkerson, 1910-1961
Biography
Abstract
Tom Wilkerson Bonner made many contributions to physics including his invention of the neutron-counter-ratio technique for the determination of neutron-emission thresholds and his invention of the sphere-moderated neutron spectrometer. His institutional affiliations include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rice University.
Important Dates
October 19, 1910Birth, Greenville (Tex.).
1931Obtained BS, Southern Methodist University, Dallas (Tex.).
1932Obtained AM, Rice Institute (now Rice University), Houston (Tex.).
1934Obtained PhD in Physics, Rice Institute (now Rice University), Houston (Tex.).
1934 – 1936National Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology.
1936 – 1941Instructor in Physics (1936-1938) and Assistant Professor of Physics (1938-1941), Rice Institute (now Rice University), Houston (Tex.).
1938 – 1939Guggenheim Fellow, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University.
1941 – 1945Associate Head, Airborne Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Radiation Laboratory.
1945 – 1961Professor of Physics (1945-1961) and Chair, Department of Physics (1947-1961), Rice Institute (now Rice University), Houston (Tex.).
1948 – 1951Member, Fellowship Board, United States Atomic Energy Commission.
1951Associate Editor, Physical Review, American Physical Society.
1957Member, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics.
1959Member, National Academy of Sciences.
December 6, 1961Death, Houston (Tex.).
Occupation
Experimental nuclear physicist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Nuclear energy -- Measurement.
Relationships
People
Colleagues
Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Crane, H. R. (Horace Richard), 1907-2007
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Furry, W. H. (Wendell Hinkle), 1907-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Houston, W. V. (William Vermillion), 1900-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Neddermeyer, Seth H. (Seth Henry), 1907-1988
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Tolman, Richard C. (Richard Chace), 1881-1948
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Additional
Conner, Jerry
Low, Frank James
Oppenheimer, Frank, 1912-1985
Richards, Hugh T. (Hugh Taylor), 1918-2006
Wilson, Harold A. (Harold Albert), 1874-1964
Institutions
Major Positions
California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy
National Research Fellow.
Cavendish Laboratory (Cambridge, England)
Guggenheim fellow.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Radiation Laboratory
Associate Head, Airborne Division.
Rice University. Space Physics and Astronomy Department
Obtained AM in 1932 and PhD in 1934 (Physics). Instructor in Physics; Assistant Professor of Physics; Chair, Department of Physics; and Professor of Physics.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
American Nuclear Society
Fellow and Associate Editor, Physical Review. Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics named after him.
International Union of Pure and Applied Physics
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Nederlandse Natuurkundige Vereniging
Nihon Butsuri Gakkai
Physical Society (Great Britain)
Southern Methodist University
Obtained BS in 1931.
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Member, Fellowship Board.
Resources
Archival Resources
Subject
Oral history interview with Frank J. Low, 2000 January 25 and May 4.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Frank Oppenheimer, 1984 November 16.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Harold A. Wilson, 1964 March 3.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral History interview with Jerry Conner, 1984 April 24.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Response to 1981 History of Nuclear Physics Survey, 1990.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Tom Wilkerson Bonner: 1910-1961, Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences