Doctor Atomic: J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Man, the Manager, the Physicist

The opera Doctor Atomic revolves about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the pioneer in quantum mechanics and the key scientist behind the first atom bomb. Brilliant, driven and controversial, he lost his security clearance during the McCarthy hysteria of the early 1950s. At a 2008 symposium at CUNY, Historians Robert Crease and David Cassidy join physicist Jeremy Bernstein, a former student of Oppenheimer, to consider him as a scientist and as a man. NYU Professor Emeritus Benjamin Bederson moderates.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• DoctorAtomic
• Oppenheimer1
• 15
• 09

[howiewillie]

Oppenheimer was a great man who used his tallents to end the most terrible war ever conceived, The fact tha he felt terrible guilt for all the lives lost to "the bomb" is a testament to his character and genius. Howard Jenkyn

[Mwanza6]

a jew killer

[Deathrow50100]

hey man this is so cool. i am doing a history day project about the manhattan project! Do you know anyone who was involved? I need some interviews. Nice vid.

[VICTORGIRAFFE]

ick up at 35:00

[LoveMattersMost]

I truly enjoyed Profs. Crease and Cassidy's careful scholarship and anecdotes. But I was carried away with pleasure by Prof. Bernstein's color and personal recollections. He had the great advantage of actually knowing Oppenheimer personally, and as he thoughtfully mentioned..he liked the man. I've always been a fan of Prof. Bernstein's writing. And now after seeing him speak I know why-he has a wonderful "feel" for the emotional impact and tension of each encounter or story.