Tom Scolman arrived in Los Alamos shortly after receiving his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Minnesota under renowned physicist Alfred Nier. At Los Alamos, Scolman worked in the Weapons Division with a team of physicists to help assemble and test explosives that would be used in nuclear devices. After the war, Scolman worked for the Los Alamos National Laboratory and presided over hundreds of nuclear tests in the South Pacific, Nevada, and Amchitka. Scolman was also a member of a group that responded to nuclear weapon accidents and helped recover atomic weapons from several planes that crashed but luckily did not explode.
Tom Scolman
PhysicistLos Alamos, NM
Marshall Islands
Hydrogen BombManhattan Project VeteranPacific Nuclear TestsPostwar Nuclear ProgramScientist
Listen to Tom Scolman’s Oral History on Voices of the Manhattan Project
Tom Scolman’s Timeline
1926 Oct 27th Born in Duluth, Minnesota.
19431945 Arrived at Los Alamos and joined the Weapons Division, where he tested and assembled explosive devices.
1958 Presided over nuclear tests at Eniwetok Atoll.
19631988 Joined the Sandia Corporation as Test Director.