Background
Edward Uhler Condon was born on March 2, 1902 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States. He was the son of William Edward Condon, a civil engineer who developed sites for railroad expansion, and Caroline Barr Uhler, a sometime grocer.
(A seminal work in physics. From the Preface: "This book a...)
A seminal work in physics. From the Preface: "This book aims to give an account of some of the leading developments in our knowledge of atomic structure and interpretation of spectroscopic and electronic phenomena which have been made in the past four years. "
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Edward Uhler Condon was born on March 2, 1902 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States. He was the son of William Edward Condon, a civil engineer who developed sites for railroad expansion, and Caroline Barr Uhler, a sometime grocer.
After graduating from a high school in Oakland, Calif. , in 1918, Condon worked as a newspaper reporter in Oakland and San Francisco before entering the University of California at Berkeley in 1921. He received a B. A. with highest honors in 1924. Condon continued as a graduate student at Berkeley, receiving his Ph. D. in 1926.
Initially an astronomy major, Condon continued his newspaper reporting. Condon switched to physics, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. His thesis extended the work of James Franck. Condon's research on subatomic particles led to a fundamental and widely applicable concept known as the Franck-Condon principle. This was a period of lively ferment and rapid growth in theoretical physics. Max Planck had introduced the concept of quantum mechanics in 1900. Werner Heisenberg and Max Born developed nuclear physics at the University of Göttingen. Condon received an International Education Board Fellowship to study at Göttingen in 1926, then in Munich with Professor Arnold Sommerfeld. Returning to the United States in 1927, Condon worked in public relations for Bell Telephone Laboratories, combining his newspaper experience and knowledge of scientific research. Theoretical physics exercised a greater attraction, however, and he lectured in physics at Columbia University in the spring of 1928. In the fall of 1928, Condon became assistant professor of physics at Princeton University. He left in 1929 and returned in 1930 as an associate professor, remaining until 1937. His 1929 book Quantum Mechanics, coauthored with P. M. Morse, was the first English-language text on the subject. In 1935, Condon published, with George Shortly, The Theory of Atomic Spectra, which remained for decades the authoritative volume in its field. Condon's research in molecular and nuclear physics led to many published papers on such topics as infrared spectroscopy as well as optical rotatory power and the interaction of subatomic particles in relation to electromagnetic charge. Condon's investigation of the wave mechanics of radioactive decay established a major concept explaining nuclear fission. Condon's research did not detract from his success as a teacher of both graduate students and undergraduates. He inspired and nurtured many who became successful physicists and many others who appreciated his enthusiasm, clarity, and wit. In 1937, Condon moved to Pittsburgh and became associate director of research at Westinghouse Electric Corporation. He established research fellowships that enabled ten scholars annually to pursue research projects of their own choosing. He also collaborated with the University of Pittsburgh to build the first industrial cyclotron in the United States. Condon then turned his attention to a mathematical game called "nim, " which was played by many mathematicians and engineers at Westinghouse. Under his supervision they built the world's first electronic digital computer to play the game against human challengers. The computer, called the Nimatron, beat all comers at the New York World's Fair. In the 1940's, government-sponsored defense research began to dominate programs at Westinghouse and elsewhere. Condon's research focused on the development of airborne microwave radar, and he was a key consultant on many projects. He joined the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) in 1941 and served on its secret S-1 committee to study the control of nuclear fission. Condon was also one of the founding group of the Radiation Laboratory at MIT. J. Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, appointed Condon associate director in 1943 to further the Manhattan District Project, which was developing the atomic bomb. At its Los Alamos, N. Mexico, facility, Condon contributed to staffing and organizational needs, and he solved an important isotope separation problem by applying electromagnetic principles. The power and importance of nuclear energy held the world's attention in 1945, and Condon publicly expressed his opinion that nuclear energy should remain under civilian control. This position was vigorously opposed by certain military and political factions. When Condon was nominated as director of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) he was confirmed by a comfortable margin, but the debates that surfaced hinted at the developing bitter controversy. Condon also became adviser to the Senate Committee on Atomic Energy that year. The committee was considering bills to establish a national system for the control of civilian and military uses of nuclear energy. Condon and Senator Brien McMahon supported legislation that established civilian control under the Atomic Energy Commission. The following year, Condon became president of the American Physical Society. In 1948, the House Un-American Activities Committee chaired by J. Parnell Thomas released a report calling Condon a security risk. Administration hearings found no basis for doubts about Condon's loyalty but congressional enemies of the administration did not retract their accusations. Condon's requests for a congressional hearing to reply to accusations against him went unanswered. When President Harry Truman addressed the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in September 1948, he defended the role of independent scientists in shaping government policy and decried the current atmosphere of suspicion and vilification. Condon survived the challenges of his loyalty and remained at the NBS. While there, he established an applied mathematics division that worked on the development of electronic digital computers. Condon became Director of Research at Corning Glass Works in 1951 and served as president of the AAAS in 1953. Corning Glass Works held contracts for government defense research, and the issue of Condon's security clearance resurfaced, perhaps because of administration changes in Washington. After Condon's clearance was renewed in 1954 by the Eastern Industrial Security Board, Secretary of the Navy Charles Thomas requested that the decision be reconsidered. Thomas reportedly acted on the request of Vice-President Richard Nixon. Condon, doubting the possibility of fair treatment, withdrew his application for clearance, resigned his position at Corning and sought work free of political controversy. After teaching at Oberlin College and the University of Pennsylvania Condon became, in 1956, professor and chairman of physics at Washington University in St. Louis. He was editor of the Reviews of Modern Physics from 1957 to 1968. Condon edited, with Hugh Odishaw, the Handbook of Physics in 1958. In 1963, he moved to the University of Colorado as professor of physics and fellow of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics. In 1966, the University of Colorado named Condon head of a project for the U. S. Air Force to study unidentified flying objects. The final report in 1969 concluded that there was insufficient objective evidence to justify further effort and expense on investigating phenomena that were largely explained by natural causes and by fraud. Condon was elected president of the American Association of Physics Teachers in 1964 and president of the Society for Social Responsibility in Science in 1968 and 1969. He retired in 1970 and died in Boulder, Colorado.
(A seminal work in physics. From the Preface: "This book a...)
He married Emilie Honzik on November 9, 1922; they had three children.