In three years Oppenheimer graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor's degree in physics. This was in 1925, only 21 years after the great physicists birth in New York City. Less than one year later, he published his first paper with the title On the Quantum Theory of Vibration-Rotation Bands. This was a study of frequencies and intensities of molecular band spectra derived from the new mechanics, discovered by Paul Adrian Maurice Dirac, Erwin Schrodinger, and Werner Karl Heisenberg only one year earlier. Indeed, Oppenheimer was quick to pick up new ideas in theoretical physics. In 1929, he accepted academic positions both at UC Berkeley and at Cal Tech. From then to 1942 he divided his time between the two institutions, and his long list of papers gives proof to his achievemnets during this period. He had a keen sense for what was the next step that needed to be taken in nuclear physics. He was also a great teacher; his infuence on his pupils was enhanced by his perceptive interest in people. It was this interest in personal relationships that helped him become a good leader for the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In March 1943, Oppenheimer was assigned to the scientific directorship of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, but in reality, he had been working on this project for some time before this was official. When word came from Niels Bohr about nuclear fission, Oppenheimer started thinking about the practical release of nuclear energy. At that time in 1942, there were many universities in the United States that were working on the fission problem. Oppenheimer organized a conference in Berkeley attended by many first rate theoreticians, including Edward Teller, who, during the conference, first suggested the possibility of a nuclear bomb. A theoretical group led by Oppenheimer proceeded to work on the potential of an atomic bomb. When the United States government brought the atomic energy work under the auspices of the army and put Ge...
