Bernard Waldman (October 12, 1913 – November 1, 1986) was an American physicist who flew on the
Hiroshima atomic bombing mission as a cameraman during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
A graduate of
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, joined the faculty of the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
in 1938. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
as an engineering officer. He headed a group that conducted blast measurements for the
Trinity nuclear test, and served on
Tinian
Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...
with
Project Alberta.
After the war he returned to Notre Dame. He was director of the
Midwestern Universities Research Association Laboratory from 1960 to 1964, dean of its
Notre Dame College of Science at Notre Dame from 1967 to 1979, and associate director of the
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory
The National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), located on the campus of Michigan State University was a rare isotope research facility in the United States.Bruns, Adam (January 2009How Are You Helping Companies Grow?''Site Selection ...
from 1979 to 1983.
Early life and education
Bernard Waldman was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on October 12, 1913. He attended
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, from which he received Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
His thesis, on "The Resonance Processes in the Disintegration of Boron by Protons", formed the basis of a paper published in the ''
Physical Review
''Physical Review'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The journal was established in 1893 by Edward Nichols. It publishes original research as well as scientific and literature reviews on all aspects of physics. It is published by the Ame ...
''. His research supported the estimates of
J. Robert Oppenheimer
J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World ...
and
Robert Serber
Robert Serber (March 14, 1909 – June 1, 1997) was an American physicist who participated in the Manhattan Project. Serber's lectures explaining the basic principles and goals of the project were printed and supplied to all incoming scientific st ...
.
Although he was a
Congregationalist, Waldman joined the faculty of the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
in 1938. He became an
assistant professor
Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea.
Overview
This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...
in 1941.
Manhattan Project
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Waldman served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
as an engineering officer, and was involved in construction and extension of naval bases in the United States. He took a leave of absence from Notre Dame and joined Oppenheimer and Serber at the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada.
From 1942 to 1946, the ...
's
Los Alamos Laboratory
The Los Alamos Laboratory, also known as Project Y, was a secret scientific laboratory established by the Manhattan Project and overseen by the University of California during World War II. It was operated in partnership with the United State ...
in 1943.
He was assigned to
Norman F. Ramsey's E-7 Group, which was part of the Ordnance (O) Division responsible for "integration of design and delivery". Most of the work involved preparing and checking instrumentation from drop tests involving dummy bombs.

Waldman was the head of Group TR-6 (Airborne Measurements) for the
Trinity nuclear test in July 1945. He developed microphones that were dropped by parachute to measure the effect of the blast. He was then assigned to
Project Alberta, the part of the Manhattan Project that oversaw the preparation of facilities to test and deploy nuclear weapons, and support their use during the actual missions.
As such, he participated in the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima, as a camera operator on the
observation aircraft
Surveillance aircraft are aircraft used for surveillance. They are primarily operated by military forces and government agencies in roles including intelligence gathering, maritime patrol, battlefield and airspace surveillance, observation (e ...
. He was equipped with a special high-speed Fastax movie camera with six seconds of film in order to record the blast. Sources vary on how it came to be that there is no film of the event, with theories stating that Waldman forgot to take the lens off of the camera or that the footage was unusable or destroyed due to circumstances outside of his control.
Later life
After the war ended, Waldman returned to Notre Dame, where he continued his research into the
photodisintegration
Photodisintegration (also called phototransmutation, or a photonuclear reaction) is a nuclear process in which an atomic nucleus absorbs a high-energy gamma ray, enters an excited state, and immediately decays by emitting a subatomic particle. The ...
of
deuterium
Deuterium (hydrogen-2, symbol H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen; the other is protium, or hydrogen-1, H. The deuterium nucleus (deuteron) contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more c ...
and
beryllium
Beryllium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, hard, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with ...
. For a time he was in charge of a 3-million volt
particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel electric charge, charged particles to very high speeds and energies to contain them in well-defined particle beam, beams. Small accelerators are used for fundamental ...
that was the world`s second most powerful source of
X-rays
An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
in 1949.
In 1960, Waldman took a sabbatical from Notre Dame to become director of the
Midwestern Universities Research Association (MURP) Laboratory. He set about fixing problems with the 50 MeV accelerator. These were resolved, but the Federal Government declined to fund MURP's activities, and Walden returned to Notre Dame in 1964. Waldman was appointed dean of Notre Dame's College of Science in 1967. He held this position August, 1979, when he retired at the age of 65. He then became as associate director of the
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory
The National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), located on the campus of Michigan State University was a rare isotope research facility in the United States.Bruns, Adam (January 2009How Are You Helping Companies Grow?''Site Selection ...
at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
, a position he held until 1983.
Waldman died in a hospital in
Sanford, North Carolina
Sanford is a city in Lee County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 30,261 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lee County. The geographic center of North Carolina is located northwest of the city, in Chatham County.
His ...
, where he was being treated for cancer, on November 1, 1986. He was survived by his wife, Glenna and three daughters.
A funeral service was held at the
Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, and he was interred in its Cedar Grove Cemetery.
His papers are in the University of Notre Dame Archives.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldman, Bernard
1913 births
1986 deaths
20th-century American physicists
Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel
Manhattan Project people
Scientists from New York City
American Congregationalists
New York University College of Arts & Science alumni
University of Notre Dame faculty
Fellows of the American Physical Society
New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni
Crew dropping the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki