J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr.
| J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. | |
|---|---|
Wilkins in 2007
|
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| Born | November 27, 1923 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | May 1, 2011 (aged 87) Fountain Hills, Arizona |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Fields | Mathematics and Physics |
| Institutions |
Metallurgical Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Known for | Work on multivariable calculus, algebra, nuclear physics and engineering |
| Influences |
J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. Arthur Holly Compton Enrico Fermi |
| Influenced | Numerous graduate students |
Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr. (November 27, 1923 – May 12, 2011) was an American nuclear scientist, mechanical engineer and mathematician. He attended the University of Chicago at the age of 13, becoming its youngest ever student. His intelligence led to him being referred to as a "negro genius" in the media.
As part of a widely varied and notable career, Wilkins contributed to the Manhattan Project during the Second World War. He also gained fame working in and conducting nuclear physics research in both academia and industry. He wrote numerous scientific papers, served in various important posts, earned several significant awards and helped recruit minority students into the sciences. His career spanned seven decades and included significant contributions to pure and applied mathematics, civil and nuclear engineering, and optics.
Despite his stature and fame during his various careers he was not unaffected by the prevalent racism that existed for much of his life.
In 1940 (at the age of 17) Wilkins completed his B.Sc. in math. In order to improve his rapport with the nuclear engineers reporting to him, Wilkins later received both bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from New York University in 1982 and 2001,[2][8] thus earning five science degrees during his life.
After initially failing to secure a research position at his alma mater in Chicago, Wilkins taught mathematics from 1943 to 1944 at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Tuskegee, Alabama.
In 1944 he returned to the University of Chicago where he served first as an associate mathematical physicist and then as a physicist in its Metallurgical Laboratory, as part of the Manhattan Project. Working under the direction of Arthur Holly Compton and Enrico Fermi, Wilkins researched the extraction of fissionable nuclear materials, but was not told of the research group's ultimate goal until after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Wilkins was the codiscoverer or discoverer of a number of phenomena in physics such as the Wilkins Effect, plus the Wigner-Wilkins and Wilkins Spectra.
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