Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Peter Vandervoort is an American astrophysicist and professor emeritus in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.

Vandervoort received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1960. Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was his mentor. During his career at UChicago, Vandervoort studied or worked with numerous Manhattan Project veterans on the physics faculty, including Samuel Allison, Robert Mulliken, and Maria Goeppert-Mayer.

His current research focuses on stellar dynamics. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Adler Planetarium.

Related Profiles

Sara B. Chettkow

Chicago, IL

Sara B. Chettkow was a laboratory technician in the Health Division of the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory (“Met Lab”) during the Manhattan Project.

George Maronde

Chicago, IL

George Maronde was a security guard at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Lab. He stood guard outside Stagg Field when Chicago Pile-1 went critical on December 2, 1942.

Shirley Nyden

Chicago, IL

Shirley Nyden was a laboratory technician in the Chemistry Division at the University of Chicago Met Lab between June and December of 1944.

Andrew M. Stehney

Chicago, IL

Andrew Stehney was a research assistant at the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago during the Manhattan Project.