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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

James C. “Jim” Keck (1924-2010) was an American physicist.

Keck was considered such an outstanding student of physics at Cornell that he was drafted into the Army Special Engineering Detachment (SED), after his sophomore year. With the SED, Keck was sent to Los Alamos, where he would remain until the end of the war. He met his future wife, fellow physicist Margaret Ramsey, while stationed at Los Alamos.

After the war he became a notable nuclear physicist in his own right, becoming Deputy Director of the Avco Everett Research Laboratory.

James Keck’s Timeline
1924 Jun 11th Born in New York, NY.

1944 Drafted into the SED and sent to Los Alamos.

1947 Received a B.S. in nuclear physics from Cornell University.

1951 Received a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from Cornell University.

2010 Aug 9th Died in Haverhill, MA.

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