Frank Oppenheimer

Frank Oppenheimer
Frank Oppenheimer (1912–1985)
Born	Frank Friedman Oppenheimer (1912-08-14)August 14, 1912 New York City, New York, United States
Died	February 3, 1985(1985-02-03) (aged 72) Sausalito, California, United States
Residence	Sausalito, California
Citizenship	American
Nationality	American
Fields	Particle physicist. Science educator
Institutions	Arcetri Observatory Manhattan Project Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory University of Minnesota University of Colorado
Alma mater	Johns Hopkins University California Institute of Technology
Known for	Target of McCarthyism Uranium enrichment Founder and director (1969-1985) of the Exploratorium
Influenced	J. Robert Oppenheimer, K.C. Cole
Notable awards	Guggenheim Fellowship (1965) Oersted Medal (1984)
Spouses	Jaquenette Yvonne "Jackie" Quann (m. 1936), Mildred "Millie" Danielson (m. 1982),

Jaquenette Yvonne "Jackie" Quann (m. 1936),

Frank Friedman Oppenheimer (August 14, 1912 – February 3, 1985) was an American particle physicist, cattle rancher, professor of physics at the University of Colorado, and the founder of the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

A younger brother of renowned physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, Frank Oppenheimer conducted research on aspects of nuclear physics during the time of the Manhattan Project, and made contributions to uranium enrichment. After the war, Oppenheimer's earlier involvement with the American Communist Party placed him under scrutiny, and he resigned from his physics position at the University of Minnesota. Oppenheimer was a target of McCarthyism and was blacklisted from finding any physics teaching position in the United States until 1957, when he was allowed to teach science at a high school in Colorado. This rehabilitation allowed him to gain a position at the University of Colorado teaching physics. In 1969, Oppenheimer founded the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and he served as its first director until his death in 1985.

Frank Friedman Oppenheimer was born in 1912 in New York City. During his childhood, he studied painting. He also studied the flute under nationally-known teacher George Barrera, becoming competent enough at the instrument to consider a career as a flautist.

Frank eventually followed the advice of his older brother Robert, and became a professional physicist. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University in 1933, Frank studied for a year and a half at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England. In 1935, he worked on the development of nuclear particle counters at the Institute di Arcetri in Florence, Italy.