FIRST SESSION
(March 23, 1953)
The Committees met in executive session at 9:35 a.m,
All members,
the Secretary, and Mr. Tomei were present.
A period was devoted to reading the documents which had been forwarded
to the Committee and to informal discussions.
The Committee was interested in the matter of Mr. Christophilos and
the invention of the strong focussing principle, reviewed by Dr. Rabi.
Mr.
Christophilos
There was a general feeling that a person who had worked out this important
principle prior to its discovery in this country would be a valuable man at
any of several laboratories, and that Brookhaven should grow no moss in its
efforts to employ him.
Dr. Buckley and Dr, Fisk said that the patent
question should give no real difficulty, provided the patent applications
were filed before his émployment.
Dr. .Rabi asked about developments on Dr. von Neumann's suggestion of
Weapon
Summer
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Study
a summer study on long-range weapon possibilities,
Mr., Whitman said that
Dr. Bradbury had seemed lukewarm to the suggestion, on the ground that such
a study was essentially already going on between Los Alamos and Sandia.
Mr. Quarles had seemed open-minded about it.
Mr. Whitman felt that the
proposal needed a presentation by Dr. von Neumann and Dr. Fisk.
It had not
yet been possible to do anything from the DOD; action in Washington would
be facilitated by evidence of enthusiasm in New Mexico.
It was mentioned
that the idea had not been for Los Alamos to sponsor the work but for the
DOD to do it with Los Alamos cooperation.
It was suggested that the RDB's
Atomic Energy Comnittee might take the matter up, and ask Dr. von Neumann
to discuss it with them.
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