Speakers at the event will discuss significant aspects of Bethe's life as a physicist and his contributions to the nation's weapons program. The presentations will be followed by a roundtable discussion about the legacy Bethe left in Los Alamos.
"The purpose of the symposium is to remember one of the Laboratory's most prominent founding fathers, a giant of 20th century physics. The contributions Bethe made while at the Laboratory in its early years have profoundly changed the world," said Mikkel Johnson, one of the coordinators of the symposium. "Over the course of his career, he returned for yearly visits of a week or two, actively engaging staff and generously offering his enormous talent throughout the Laboratory. He thus brought breadth, perspective and balance essential to maintaining the exciting intellectual climate that has been a key to Laboratory success and that has made Los Alamos such an attractive destination for generations of outstanding scientists and engineers."
For more information on attending the event, call the Laboratory's Public Affairs Office at 667-7000.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.