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Table of Contents

Biography

AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjects

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as SubjectPublished as Subject

Tom Wilkerson Bonner

Photo

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

Greenville (Tex.)

Undergraduate Education

Dallas (Tex.)

Graduate Education

Houston (Tex.)

Employment

Houston (Tex.)

Death

Houston (Tex.)

Subjects

Neutrons.

Nuclear energy -- Measurement.

Nuclear physics.

Relationships

People

Colleagues

Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bateman, Harry, 1882-1946

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.

Duwez, Pol

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Fowler, William A.

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

American Physical 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

Published Resources

Subject

Tom W. Bonner Physics Today obituary.