Giovanni Rossi Lomanitz
Encyclopedia
Ross Lomanitz was an American
physicist
.
He was born in Bryan, Texas
and grew up in Oklahoma
. His father was an agricultural chemist and named his son after the Italian socialist Giovanni Rossi, who had founded an agricultural commune
in Brazil in the 1890s. Lomanitz graduated from high school at age 14 and went on to earn his bachelor of science degree in physics from the University of Oklahoma
and his doctorate in theoretical physics from Cornell University
. He was the first graduate student of Richard Feynman
.
In the early 1940s Lomanitz started graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley
. While there, he became a protégé of the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Lomanitz worked at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory
on a new method of electromagnetic
separation of isotopes. Lomanitz's graduate research was cut short when he was drafted into the Army during World War II
.
During the period 1942-45 Oppenheimer was responsible for the employment on the atomic bomb
project of Lomanitz. Oppenheimer urged him to work on the Manhattan Project
, although Oppenheimer later told government security personnel that he knew Lomanitz had been very much of a "red
" when he first came to the University of California. Oppenheimer said he told Lomanitz that he must forgo all political activity if he came onto the project. In August 1943, Oppenheimer protested against the termination of Lomanitz's military deferment and requested that he be returned to the project after his entry into the military service.
While at the Radiation Laboratory, Lomanitz was active in attempts to establish a local of the Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians (FAECT), a small white-collar CIO union.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
had placed a listening device in the residence of Communist Party activist Steve Nelson
, and in October 1942 overheard a man referred to as "Joe", whom the FBI suspected of being Lomanitz's close friend Joe Weinberg, describing to Nelson the significance and technical outlines of the secret nuclear research done at Berkeley
. Future spying
for the Soviet Union
was implied. This led the United States Government to push Weinberg, Lomanitz, and David Bohm
out of the program. For Lomanitz, this process of removal involved the termination of his draft deferment. He was drafted and served in the Pacific. After the war he returned for a time to Berkeley and then moved to Cornell, where he completed his PhD under Richard Feynman.
After the war Lomanitz was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee
. He adamantly asserted his loyalty to the United States and invoked the Fifth Amendment
, and declined to name others involved with Communist activities.
The Atomic Energy Commission
Personnel Security Board (PSB) found in 1954 that Oppenheimer had stated in 1943 that he did not want anybody working on the project who was a member of the Communist Party
, since "one always had a question of divided loyalty" and the discipline of the Communist Party was very severe and not compatible with complete loyalty to the project. Oppenheimer, however, did not identify former members of the Communist Party who were working on the project to appropriate authorities.
Lomanitz then worked at several jobs, including as a railroad maintenance worker.
In 1962 he began working at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
and later became department chairman, before retiring in 1991. He later moved to Hawaii and died of cancer there in 2003.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
He was born in Bryan, Texas
Bryan, Texas
Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...
and grew up in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. His father was an agricultural chemist and named his son after the Italian socialist Giovanni Rossi, who had founded an agricultural commune
Agricultural commune
-Karl Marx:In his 1881 letter to Vera Zasulich, Karl Marx wrote that historically the "agricultural commune" is the most recent type of archaic forms of societies...
in Brazil in the 1890s. Lomanitz graduated from high school at age 14 and went on to earn his bachelor of science degree in physics from the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
and his doctorate in theoretical physics from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. He was the first graduate student of Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
.
In the early 1940s Lomanitz started graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. While there, he became a protégé of the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Lomanitz worked at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory
Radiation Laboratory
The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts and functioned from October 1940 until December 31, 1945...
on a new method of electromagnetic
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
separation of isotopes. Lomanitz's graduate research was cut short when he was drafted into the Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
During the period 1942-45 Oppenheimer was responsible for the employment on the atomic bomb
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
project of Lomanitz. Oppenheimer urged him to work on the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
, although Oppenheimer later told government security personnel that he knew Lomanitz had been very much of a "red
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
" when he first came to the University of California. Oppenheimer said he told Lomanitz that he must forgo all political activity if he came onto the project. In August 1943, Oppenheimer protested against the termination of Lomanitz's military deferment and requested that he be returned to the project after his entry into the military service.
While at the Radiation Laboratory, Lomanitz was active in attempts to establish a local of the Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians (FAECT), a small white-collar CIO union.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
had placed a listening device in the residence of Communist Party activist Steve Nelson
Steve Nelson (activist)
Stjepan Mesaros, best known as Steve Nelson was a Croatian-born American political activist. Nelson achieved public notoriety as the political commissar of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War and a leading functionary of the Communist Party, USA...
, and in October 1942 overheard a man referred to as "Joe", whom the FBI suspected of being Lomanitz's close friend Joe Weinberg, describing to Nelson the significance and technical outlines of the secret nuclear research done at Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Future spying
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was implied. This led the United States Government to push Weinberg, Lomanitz, and David Bohm
David Bohm
David Joseph Bohm FRS was an American-born British quantum physicist who contributed to theoretical physics, philosophy, neuropsychology, and the Manhattan Project.-Youth and college:...
out of the program. For Lomanitz, this process of removal involved the termination of his draft deferment. He was drafted and served in the Pacific. After the war he returned for a time to Berkeley and then moved to Cornell, where he completed his PhD under Richard Feynman.
After the war Lomanitz was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
. He adamantly asserted his loyalty to the United States and invoked the Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
, and declined to name others involved with Communist activities.
The Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
Personnel Security Board (PSB) found in 1954 that Oppenheimer had stated in 1943 that he did not want anybody working on the project who was a member of the Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
, since "one always had a question of divided loyalty" and the discipline of the Communist Party was very severe and not compatible with complete loyalty to the project. Oppenheimer, however, did not identify former members of the Communist Party who were working on the project to appropriate authorities.
Lomanitz then worked at several jobs, including as a railroad maintenance worker.
In 1962 he began working at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is a university located in Socorro, New Mexico....
and later became department chairman, before retiring in 1991. He later moved to Hawaii and died of cancer there in 2003.