J. Ernest Wilkins Jr.
University of Chicago
Mathematics
Year of Ph.D. or highest degree: 1942
nuclear physics, mathematical physics
Thermodynamics, Nuclear Physics, Mathematical Physics, Statistical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, Advanced Laboratory Techniques
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Ernest_Wilkins_Jr
UGLD , UGUD
Scientist Biography
Biographical information
Born in 1923, J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr. entered the University of Chicago at age 13, and received his Ph.D. at age 19. His first job was teaching mathematics at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). He co-discovered the Wigner-Wilkins approach for estimating the distribution of neutron energies in nuclear reactors in 1944 (declassified in 1948). He worked with Fermi and Compton on the Manhattan Project (without knowing the ultimate goal of the work until after the atomic bomb was dropped) in the early 1940s. Distinguished Professor of Applied Mathematical Physics at Howard University in 1970. He was the second African American to be elected to the National Academy of Engineers in 1976. He published more than 100 papers on differential geometry, linear differential equations, integrals, nuclear engineering, gamma radiation shielding, and optics. He passed away at age 87 in 2011.
Relevant Concepts
Thermodynamics, Maxwell-Boltzmann distributionResearch Areas:
nuclear physics, mathematical physicsKey Contributions
Developed mathematical models to explain gamma radiation, which was critical to the development of shielding against gamma radiation emitted by nuclear sources and the sun and thus key to the design of safe nuclear reactors and space probes.
In a nuclear reactor, energy is released when uranium atoms fission, or split, after being hit by a neutron. Each fission also releases additional neutrons, which bounce around within the reactor at a variety of energies. Wigner and Wilkins' work on determining the energy distribution of such neutrons is a foundation of nuclear physics, still cited by researchers today. Those neutrons go on to initiate more fissions, producing a chain reaction, so understanding their energies is crucial for designing reactors.