Alvin C. Graves
Encyclopedia
Alvin C. Graves was an atomic physicist and director of U.S. nuclear weapons testing for many years.
Graves was born in 1909 in Washington, DC, the youngest of six children. He graduated at the top of his class from the University of Virginia
in 1931 with a bachelors degree in electrical engineering and later earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago
.
In 1942 Graves was an assistant professor of physics at the University of Texas when he was invited to the University of Chicago to help build the first nuclear reactor there. He moved to Site Y in Los Alamos, New Mexico
, in 1943, the year it opened and two years later headed the Test Division at Los Alamos. Graves was badly injured in a 1946 laboratory radiation accident in Los Alamos that killed Dr. Louis Slotin
. The accident left him temporarily sterile and caused permanent loss to his vision.
Graves later served as test director for most of the Nevada Test Site
shots during the 1950s. Graves received a great deal of later criticism for his handling of the nuclear tests which exposed many people to radiation. These included the infamous tests in which U.S. troops were close to the blast site, and the Marshall Islands
tests that irradiated many Marshallese. He appeared in Operation Cue, a U.S. Civil Defense Administration movie about the effects of nuclear blasts.
He died of a heart attack in 1965. A follow-up study in 1978 suggested that his death was caused by complications resulting from his radiation exposure.
Graves was born in 1909 in Washington, DC, the youngest of six children. He graduated at the top of his class from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1931 with a bachelors degree in electrical engineering and later earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
In 1942 Graves was an assistant professor of physics at the University of Texas when he was invited to the University of Chicago to help build the first nuclear reactor there. He moved to Site Y in Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...
, in 1943, the year it opened and two years later headed the Test Division at Los Alamos. Graves was badly injured in a 1946 laboratory radiation accident in Los Alamos that killed Dr. Louis Slotin
Louis Slotin
Louis Alexander Slotin was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took part in the Manhattan Project, the secret US program during World War II that developed the atomic bomb....
. The accident left him temporarily sterile and caused permanent loss to his vision.
Graves later served as test director for most of the Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
shots during the 1950s. Graves received a great deal of later criticism for his handling of the nuclear tests which exposed many people to radiation. These included the infamous tests in which U.S. troops were close to the blast site, and the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
tests that irradiated many Marshallese. He appeared in Operation Cue, a U.S. Civil Defense Administration movie about the effects of nuclear blasts.
He died of a heart attack in 1965. A follow-up study in 1978 suggested that his death was caused by complications resulting from his radiation exposure.