Jerrold Reinach Zacharias (January 23, 1905 – July 16, 1986) was an American physicist and
institute professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, as well as an education reformer. His scientific work was in the area of nuclear physics.
Biography
Jerrold Zacharias was born on January 23, 1905, in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
.
He went to
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, where physicist
I. I. Rabi became his mentor.
He earned his B.A. from
Columbia College in 1926 and his Ph.D. from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1931.
During World War II, Zacharias was involved in both the
Radiation Laboratory at MIT and 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 ...
. In the former he helped develop practical radar uses for 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 ...
and in the latter he was head of an engineering division at
Los Alamos Laboratory.
He helped build the MIT physics department after the war, and was responsible for recruiting
Bruno Rossi and
Victor Weisskopf to the Institute. During the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
he was the head of a number of defense-related studies hosted at MIT, such as
Project Hartwell,
Project Charles, and
Project Lamp Light. The Danish-American physicist
Charles Lauritsen was also part of some of these projects.
In 1952 at the
MIT Lincoln Laboratory, which had recently been founded to study issues of air defense, the
Lincoln Summer Study Group took place, where physicist
J. Robert Oppenheimer other scientists urged that resources be allocated to air defense in preference to large retaliatory nuclear strike capabilities.
This stance was objected to by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
, and in 1953 an anonymous, Air Force-sponsored article was published in ''
Fortune'' that made the baseless accusation that Zacharias was part of a cabal of dissident physicists known as "ZORC" (''Z''acharias, ''O''ppenheimer, ''R''abi, ''C''harles Lauritsen) that was attempting to do damage to U.S. national security.
The subject of this non-existent cabal again came up during the
Oppenheimer security hearing of 1954 when Zacharias denied a witness's claim to having seen the initials written on an MIT blackboard.
Zacharias developed the first practical version of the
cesium-beam clock, often called an "
atomic clock
An atomic clock is a clock that measures time by monitoring the resonant frequency of atoms. It is based on atoms having different energy levels. Electron states in an atom are associated with different energy levels, and in transitions betwee ...
". Developed in 1956, it later became the internationally accepted standard for timekeeping.
Concerned that traditional physics education at the secondary school level failed to convey a sense of excitement and inquiry, and a way of thinking about physics beyond rote memorization of equations, Zacharias both founded and ran the
Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC).
Begun in 1956, it gained additional funding and emphasis in the wake of the
Sputnik crisis
The Sputnik crisis was a period of public fear and anxiety in Western nations about the perceived technological gap between the United States and Soviet Union caused by the Soviets' launch of '' Sputnik 1'', the world's first artificial sate ...
of 1957, and within ten years half of the country's high school physics students were using the PSSC curriculum of textbooks and experiments.
He was awarded the
Oersted Medal in 1961 for contributions to the teaching of physics. President
John F. Kennedy said that year that Zacharias had "started a revolution in science teaching in the United States."
During the
Lyndon B. Johnson administration, Zacharias worked for the
White House's Office of Science and Technology. In the mid 1960s he hosted a series of lectures at
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
which acted as the spark for the formation of the pioneering artists-in-the-schools organization
Teachers & Writers Collaborative.
[Hechinger, Fred M. "About Education: An Experiment in 'Activism,'" ''New York Times'' (Dec. 4, 1979).] Zacharias continued to push for educational reform throughout the 1960s and 1970s through such projects as Elementary Science Study and the educational TV series ''Infinity Factory''. He was also the founder of Education Development Center, a global nonprofit that develops science and math curricula.
Zacharias died in 1986 at age 81.
Zacharias' wife,
Leona Zacharias was a scientist, researcher, and lecturer at
Massachusetts Eye and Ear.
Katie Hafner is their granddaughter.
See also
*
Physical Science Study Committee
References
Notes
Sources consulted
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacharias, Jerrold R.
20th-century American educators
20th-century American physicists
American nuclear physicists
Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
Manhattan Project people
1986 deaths
1905 births
Jewish American physicists
20th-century American Jews
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni