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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Norman Goldstein was a junior physicist at the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory (“Met Lab”) during the Manhattan Project.

Goldstein began working at the Met Lab in 1943. Goldstein was one of seventy scientists and workers to sign the Szilard Petition, a document written by physicist Leo Szilard petitioning President Truman to avoid dropping the atomic bombs on Japan.

 

Early Years

In 1922, Norman Goldstein was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Northwestern High in 1939. Although he initially went to study at Wayne University in Detroit, he ended up transferring to the University of Chicago.

Goldstein earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from the University of Chicago in 1943. 

 

Later Years

In 1948, he taught physics laboratory classes at Wayne University. Goldstein worked at the Bureau of Standards in Washington, DC in 1949. In the same year, Goldstein was awarded a patent he co-authored for a radiation exposure meter. 

During the fall of 1951, he began studying at the University of California at Berkeley toward a Ph.D. in Geophysics. In 1953, he began working at the Air Force Cambridge Center in Boston, MA because he wanted to travel to the Arctic as a geophysicist and measure three ice floes (T-3).

Goldstein took his first Arctic trip in January of 1954. He took two other Arctic trips between 1955 and 1957. Goldstein got married on January 9, 1958. He and his wife Easter had five children. In the summer of 1961, Goldstein and his family moved back to Berkeley, where they lived until 2007.

In 1961, Goldstein began working at the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory in San Francisco. At the laboratory, he developed techniques for measuring high-energy particles. After the laboratory closed in 1969, he began to work at Physics International in San Leandro, where he measured high energy flash X-rays.

During the 1970s, Goldstein consulted for Radiation Detection Company (RDC) in Sunnyvale and Physics International. 

In 2016, Norman Goldstein passed away in San Diego, California.

 

For more information about Norman Goldstein, please see the following reference:

Norman Goldstein's Timeline
1922 Born in Detroit, Michigan.
1943 Earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from the University of Chicago.
19431947 Worked at the Met Lab.
1948 Taught physics laboratory classes at Wayne University in Detroit, MI.
1949 Worked at the Bureau of Standards in Washington, DC.
1949 Awarded one of his three patents. His patent was for a radiation exposure meter.
19511953 Pursued his Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of California at Berkeley.
1953 Began working at the Air Force Cambridge Center in Boston, MA.
1954 Jan Took his first trip to the Arctic.
1958 Jan 9th Got married to Easter.
1961 Moved back to Berkeley, CA.
19611969 Worked at the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory in San Francisco.
1969 Began working at Physics International in San Leandro, CA.
2016 Passed away in San Diego, CA.

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