Edward Ulher Condon

Edward Uhler Condon was born on 2 March 1902 in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Condon grew up in the San Francisco area. He studied physics at the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1926. After doing postdoctoral work in Europe and teaching briefly at Columbia University, Condon joined the faculty of Princeton University in 1928. In 1937, Condon left Princeton and became associate director of research at Westinghouse Electric Company, where he established research programs in nuclear physics, solid-state physics, mass spectroscopy and microwave radar.

In 1940, Condon became a consultant to the National Defense Research Committee. He helped to organize the radiation laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which pursued the development of radar. In 1943, Condon joined the Manhattan Project as J. Robert Oppenheimer's assistant director. However, he resigned after only six weeks due to repeated conflicts with the project's military leader, General Leslie R. Groves. Condon continued contributing to the Manhattan Project as a part-time consultant on uranium separation at

University of California, Berkeley.

At the end of World War II, Condon remained involved with the government and became director of the National Bureau of Standards. At the same time, Condon became a leading figure in the atomic scientists' movement started by former Manhattan Project researchers, working actively to educate the public on issues of atomic energy and security, and to lobby for sound public policy in these areas. Condon argued strongly against military control of atomic energy and the strict secrecy requirements that accompanied it.

Condon was harassed for many years by the House Committee on Un-American Activies because of his activism on nuclear arms control issues and his interests in international cooperation during the Cold War anti-communist hysteria.

Condon is also known by many for his role in a US Air Force study on UFO issues. The "Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects," also known as "The Condon Report," was published in 1968. The report concluded that there was little scientific reason to pursue extensive study of UFOs, causing dismay among many UFO enthusiasts.

Edward Uhler Condon died in 1974.