Robert Serber

Robert Serber
Serber in February 1948
Born(1909-03-14)March 14, 1909
DiedJune 1, 1997(1997-06-01) (aged 88)
New York City, U.S.
Alma mater
  • Central High School
  • Lehigh University
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison
Known for
  • Manhattan Project
  • High-energy physics
Spouses
Charlotte Leof
(m. 1933; died 1967)
Fiona St. Clair
(m. 1979)
Scientific career
Fields
  • Nuclear physics
  • Particle Physics
Institutions
  • University of California, Berkley
  • University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign
  • Columbia University
Doctoral advisorJohn Hasbrouck Van Vleck
Doctoral students

Robert Serber (March 14, 1909 – June 1, 1997) was an American theoretical physicist who contributed to multiple branches of physics and who served as a bridge between theorists and experimentalists. As a key participant of the Manhattan Project, Serber gave lectures explaining the basic principles and goals of the project, which were printed and supplied to all incoming scientific staff. These became known as The Los Alamos Primer. The New York Times called him "the intellectual midwife at the birth of the atomic bomb."