Rubby Sherr facts for kids

Rubby Sherr (born September 14, 1913 – died July 8, 2013) was an American nuclear physicist. He helped create an important part of the very first nuclear weapon. This happened during the secret Manhattan Project in the Second World War. Dr. Sherr worked as a scientist for almost 80 years. He spent nearly 40 of those years at Princeton University.

Early Life and Learning

Rubby Sherr was born in 1913 in Long Branch, New Jersey. His parents were immigrants from Lithuania. After finishing Lakewood High School, he went to New York University. His mother wanted him to go there.

He earned a bachelor's degree in physics in 1934. Then, he continued his studies at Princeton University. In 1938, he received his doctorate degree in physics.

Working on the Manhattan Project

In 1942, Dr. Sherr joined the MIT Radiation Laboratory. There, he helped create new radar systems for airplanes. In 1944, he became part of the Manhattan Project. This was a top-secret project to build the first nuclear weapon.

Dr. Sherr worked with another scientist named Klaus Fuchs. Together, they developed a key part of the bomb's trigger. It was called the Fuchs–Sherr polonium-beryllium modulated neutron initiator.

On July 16, 1945, Dr. Sherr was at the Trinity nuclear test in New Mexico. This was the first time a nuclear weapon was exploded. He later said he thought, "This is the greatest scientific experiment of all time." He also felt relief that the atmosphere hadn't caught fire, which some people had worried about.

A Career in Science

In 1946, Dr. Sherr became a physics professor at Princeton University. He became a full professor in 1955. In 1953, he showed experimental proof of Fermi's interaction. This was a theory about how beta decay works.

From 1955 to 1971, he led a nuclear research project. This project was funded by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. He also helped develop Princeton's AVF cyclotron in 1970. A cyclotron is a machine that speeds up tiny particles.

Dr. Sherr retired from Princeton in 1982. But he kept doing research for the rest of his life. He wrote over 100 articles for scientific journals during his long career.

His Personal Life

Rubby Sherr was married to Rita "Pat" Sherr. They had two daughters together. After his wife passed away in 1998, he moved to a retirement community. This was in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

In his free time, Dr. Sherr loved fly fishing. He was also a keen birdwatcher and enjoyed folk music. He was friends with the music expert Alan Lomax. Dr. Sherr died on July 8, 2013, at the age of 99. His daughters and granddaughter survived him.