Description
Los Alamos officially became a town in 1943 with the creation of the Manhattan Project and the secret science community. A 1945 snapshot of the theoretical division roster at Los Alamos reveals a leadership structure that is disproportionately of Jewish heritage. Of the roughly 80 individuals in the division, four (all Jewish) would go on to become Nobel Laureates. In this talk we meet members of this leadership team as well as some key Jewish scientists outside the theoretical division.
Jack Shlachter is a physicist who spent most of his career at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In parallel, Shlachter is an ordained rabbi. He has led congregations in Center Moriches, NY, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe, and he has also provided itinerant rabbinic support to far-flung Jewish communities, including those in Vienna, Austria, and Beijing, China.