Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

David M. Dennison

PhysicistWashington, DC

Scientist

David M. Dennison was an American physicist and a member of the Target Committee that was tasked with chossing specific targets for the atomic bombing of Japan.

Dennison received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan in 1924 and conducted research at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen. There he studied quantum mechanics and had associations with other visiting physicists such as Paul Dirac, Samuel Goudsmit, Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, and George Uhlenbeck.

Dennison returned to Michigan in 1927 and joined the physics department under Harrison McAllister Randall. When World War II broke out, Dennison was assigned to work on the VT radio proximity fuse. In 1945, he was selected to be part of the Target Committee established by General Leslie R. Groves to select specific targets for the atomic bombing of Japan.

After the war, Dennison returned to Michigan and continued his research on molecular structure until his retirement in 1970.

David M. Dennison’s Timeline
1900 Apr 26th Born in Oberlin, Ohio.

1924 Received Ph.D. in physics from the University of Michigan.

1945 Member of the Target Committee for the atomic bombing of Japan.

19451970 Professor at the University of Michigan.

1976 Apr 3rd Died in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Related Profiles

Marion Edward Cieslicki

Los Alamos, NM

Marion Edward Cieslicki was an Polish American metallurgist who worked on the Manhattan Project from 1944 to 1946 at the University of Chicago and at Los Alamos.

Alvin M. Weinberg

Oak Ridge, TN

Alvin Martin Weinberg (1915-2006) was an American nuclear physicist. Weinberg was born in Chicago. He received a B.

John Chipman

Chicago, IL

John Chipman was an American engineer. Chipman was born in 1897 in Tallahassee, Florida. He received B.

Leslie T. McClinton

Chicago, IL

Dr. Leslie T. McClinton was a research assistant at the University of Chicago Met Lab. After three months of working at the Met Lab, McClinton was transferred to Oak Ridge in 1943.