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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Edward F. “Ed” Hammel was an American chemist.

Hammel had just completed his Ph.D. at Princeton University when he joined a Canadian heavy water project sponsored by the school in 1941. In June of 1944, Hammel relocated to Los Alamos, where he would become one of the site’s foremost experts on plutonium. 

After the war, Hammel would remain in Los Alamos. There, he was the leader of CMF-9, the Low Temperature Physics and Cryogenics Group, for several years. 

He also gained scientific repute after the war for his work as part of the first team to liquefy pure helium. 
 

Ed Hammel's Timeline
1918 Jan 6th Born in New York, NY.
1941 Received Ph.D. from Princeton University.
1941 May Began working on heavy water in Canada.
1944 Jun Moved to Los Alamos and began working on plutonium.
19451970 Served as Group Leader of CMF-9, The Low Temperature Physics and Cryogenics Groups.
1948 His team became the first in history to liquefy pure helium.
2013 Jun 8th Died in Los Alamos, NM.

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