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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Owen Chamberlain (1920-2006) was an American physicist and winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize. 

He joined the Manhattan Project in 1942 after his graduate studies were interrupted by World War II.  Chamberlain worked under Professor Emilio Segre at the University of California, Berkeley and at Los Alamos.  He investigated nuclear cross sections for intermediate-energy neutrons and the spontaneous fission of heavy elements, and was present for the Trinity test in 1945.

After the war’s end, Chamberlain traveled to Hiroshima and was profoundly disturbed by the experience, which led to an interest in causes including human rights, nonviolence, and free speech.  

 

Scientific Contributions

Chamberlain was awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics for work with Segre and the discovery of the antiproton. Chamberlain conducted many experiments on the interactions of antiprotons with hydrogen and deuterium, the production of antineutrons from antiprotons, and the scattering of -o mesons.  

Owen Chamberlain’s Timeline
1920 Jul 10th Born in San Francisco, California.

1941 Graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in physics.

1941 Began graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley.

19421945 Worked on the Manhattan Project.

1949 Obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

1948 Returned to Berkeley as a professor.

1959 Won the Nobel Prize in Physics for work with Emilio Segre and the discovery of the antiproton.

1989 Retired from teaching.

1945 Traveled to Hiroshima after the war, which led to an interest in causes including human rights, nonviolence, and free speech.

2006 Feb 28th Died in Berkeley, California.

Owen Chamberlain’s Los Alamos ID badge photo

Owen Chamberlain. Photo courtesy of LANL.

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