Lawrence Johnston | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Johnston on Tinian in 1945 | |
| Born | February 11, 1918 |
| Died | December 4, 2011 (aged 93) Moscow, Idaho, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley, B.S. 1940, Ph.D. 1950 |
| Spouse | Mildred (Millie) Hillis Johnston |
| Children | 1 son, 4 daughters |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Los Alamos Laboratory University of Minnesota The Aerospace Corporation Stanford Linear Accelerator Center University of Idaho |
| Doctoral advisor | Luis Walter Alvarez |
Lawrence Harding Johnston (February 11, 1918 – December 4, 2011) was an American physicist, a young contributor to the Manhattan Project. He was the only man to witness all three atomic explosions in 1945: the Trinity nuclear test in New Mexico and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.[1][2][3][4][5]
During World War II, Johnston worked at the MIT Radiation Laboratory where he invented ground-controlled approach radar. In 1944, he went to the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, where he co-invented the exploding-bridgewire detonator.[1]
After the war, Johnston completed his Ph.D. thesis in 1950, and became an associate professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He later worked at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center as head of the electronics department, and was a professor at the University of Idaho in Moscow,[6][7] where he taught until his retirement.
- ^ a b Abas, Bryan (March 5, 1979). "Meet the man who helped build the bomb". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 7A.
- ^ Crane, Mark (February 6, 1979). "Idaho physicist aided, witnessed birth of bomb". Argonaut. (Moscow, Idaho). (University of Idaho). p. 1.
- ^ Roskams, Jane (September 20, 1983). "The man behind the trigger". Argonaut. (Moscow, Idaho). (University of Idaho). p. 1.
- ^ Lee, Sandra L. Lee (November 19, 2011). "Idaho man witness to 3 atomic blasts". Missoulian. Montana. (Lewiston Tribune). Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Hensley, Nicole (December 6, 2011). "Former colleagues remember Manhattan Project scientist". Pullman-Moscow News. (KXLY Spokane). Archived from the original on October 25, 2014.
- ^ "UI professors change rank". Spokane Daily Chronicle. July 7, 1971. p. b3.
- ^ "Idaho's lifeblood: research". Gem of the Mountains. (University of Idaho yearbook). 1983. p. 106.