Hydrogen bomb

In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Richard Garwin. AIP has several interviews with Garwin already on record; the discussion here focuses on Garwin’s interest and work in recent years. Garwin describes his involvement in pandemic research generally and the Covid-19 crisis specifically. He discusses his involvement in advising on bioterrorism, and he reflects on the import of his research in the realm of national policy. Garwin describes the strength of the United States today in the world arena relative to earlier parts of his career, and he describes his involvement in the creation of the hydrogen bomb. He discusses the current status of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, and he discusses the prospects for ongoing nuclear security in the face of threats from Iran and other U.S. adversaries. Garwin offers his views on the ongoing threats from climate change and terrorism and the challenges facing America’s energy future. He describes his work for the JASON national security advisory work, and he reflects on some of the individuals that he considers heroes. At the end of the interview, Garwin reflects on the singular genius of Feynman, and he reflects on the life of his wife, Lois, who died in 2018.

In this interview Herbert York discusses topics such as: Richard Garwin, Edward Teller, hydrogen bomb, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, nuclear weapons, Antiballistic Missiles (ABM), JASON, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC), Permissive Action Links (PAL), command and control system, Harold Brown, satellites, global positioning system (GPS), nuclear test ban treaty. York's wife, Sybil York, occasionally participates in the interview as well.This interview is part of a collection of interviews on the life and work of Richard Garwin. To see all associated interviews, click here.

In this interview Jack Ruina discusses topics such as: Richard Garwin,  hydrogen bomb, Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM), Soviet-American Disarmament Studies group (SADS), Paul Doty, Henry Kissinger, JASON, Herb York, the New Yorker. Edith Ruina, Jack's wife, also participates in the interview.This interview is part of a collection of interviews on the life and work of Richard Garwin. To see all associated interviews, click here.

In this interview Jeffrey Garwin discusses topics such as: his father Richard Garwin, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, hydrogen bomb, summers in Los Alamos (New Mexico), Judaism, JASON, Harold Agnew, Bernd Matthias, Edward Garwin (Richard's brother).This interview is part of a collection of interviews on the life and work of Richard Garwin. To see all associated interviews, click here.

In this interview Conrad Longmire discusses topics such as: Richard Garwin, Edward Teller, hydrogen bomb.This interview is part of a collection of interviews on the life and work of Richard Garwin. To see all associated interviews, click here.

In this interview Richard Garwin discusses topics such as: low-temperature physics, cryogenics, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, hydrogen bomb, International Business Machines (IBM), superconductivity, nuclear magnetic resonance, John Tukey, fast Fourier transforms, computers, Erwin Hahn, patents and licenses, lasers.This interview is part of a collection of interviews on the life and work of Richard Garwin. To see all associated interviews, click here.

In this interview Richard Garwin discusses topics such as: hydrogen bombs,  Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Enrico Fermi, nuclear weapons, uranium enrichment, nuclear reactions, Edward Teller, thermonuclear burning, Greenhouse George, Stanislaw Ulam, Soviet Union, Richard Rhodes, Marshall Rosenbluth, International Business Machines (IBM), IBM Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory, Project Lamplight.This interview is part of a collection of interviews on the life and work of Richard Garwin. To see all associated interviews, click here.

In this interview Lois Garwin discusses topics such as: how she and husband Richard Garwin met, Richard Garwin in school, growing up in Cleveland, Judaism and antisemitism, Richard Garwin's parents, University of Chicago, Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, the hydrogen bomb, Jay Keyworth, IBM, the Garwin children.This interview is part of a collection of interviews on the life and work of Richard Garwin. To see all associated interviews, click here. 

In this interview Ray Kidder discusses topics such as: Atomic Energy Commission; Lawrence Livermore Laboratory; California Institute of Technology (Caltech); Manhattan Project; serving in the navy as a technician during World War II; finishing his undergraduate degree at Ohio State University; hydrogen bombs; nuclear weapons; laser fusion; underground nuclear testing facilities; Richard Rhodes; Theodore Maiman; Keith Brueckner; Edward Teller; Los Alamos National Laboratory; Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA); Hans Bethe; KMS Fusion.

Focused interview deals with Garwin's childhood and schooling at Case and University of Chicago; his time at Chicago and interaction with Fermi. Majority of interview is on Garwin's work in designing the H-bomb and consulting work at Los Alamos in 1950-51. Recollections interspersed with technical details of design and apparatus. Discussion of recent 'discovery' of interview with Edward Teller in 1979 by George Keyworth that gives credit for H-bomb design to Garwin; Teller and Ulam's relation. Last part of the interview deals with Garwin's work in conjunction with Leon Lederman to confirm the non-conservation of parity in late 1956-early 1957.