Sam Weissman (1912-2007) was an American chemist.
Weissman was born in South Bend, Indiana. He received a B.S. and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Weissman then went to the University of California at Berkeley to work under chemist Gilbert Lewis at the Radiation Laboratory. During his time there, Weissman researched methods of uranium isotope separation.
In 1943, Weissman went to Los Alamos to work on the Manhattan Project. He was assigned to work on the implosion mechanism for the “Fat Man” plutonium bomb. Weissman reportedly missed the Trinity Test, citing “a psychogenic bellyache.” After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Weissman had mixed feelings about his role in the Manhattan Project. He later wrote, “I think we would all have been relieved if it had been demonstrated that it couldn’t possibly work.”
After the war, Weissman went to teach at Washington University in St. Louis. Along with five other Manhattan Project chemists, Weissman helped to found the university’s Department of Chemistry. During his tenure, Weissman’s primary research focused on electron spin resonance in chemistry. He retired as an emeritus professor in 1980. Weissman was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Sam Weissman died on June 12, 2007 in St. Louis.