Luis Alvarez

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Luis Alvarez

• Scientists in the 20th century made huge
  contributions to the world of research. Dr. Luis
  Alvarez, a physicist of Spanish descent, worked
  on identifying subatomic particles and creating
  the atomic bomb. He won the Nobel prize for his
  work in 1968. How did he influence America?

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Dr. Luis Alvarez, whose family was of Spanish
descent, was a noted physicist in the 20th
century. His work included identifying subatomic
particles, creating the atomic bomb, and studying
the impact of asteroids on the earth. He won the
1968 Nobel Prize in Physics.
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Dr. Alvarez worked with Dr. Oppenheimer on
the Manhattan Project, the code name for the
secret project to develop an atomic bomb during
World War II. Roosevelt, F. (1943). Letter,
Franklin D. Roosevelt to J. Robert Oppenheimer
thanking the physicist and his colleagues for
their ongoing secret atomic research, 29 June
1943. Library of Congress American Memory, Words
and Deeds in American History Selected Documents
Celebrating the Manuscript Division's First 100
Years.
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With the help of his son Walter, a geologist,
Alvarez proved that asteroids colliding with the
earths surface were responsible for severe
climate changes 65 million years ago. These
climate changes had a number of effects on the
earth, including the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Unknown. (n.d.). Dinosaur exhibit at the Field
Museum, with the tail of the dinosaur at the
right of the image. Library of
Congress American Memory, Photographs from the
Chicago Daily News, 1902-1933.
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Alvarez spent most of his career working at the
University of California, Berkeley. Green, C.
(1909). Berkeley. Library of Congress American
Memory, Map Collections 1500-2004.
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Alvarez was also a Professor of Physics at other
universities.