The 2008 Romer Lecture
David Cassidy
Professor of Chemistry, Hofstra University

Tuesday, April 22^nd, 2008, 8:00 p.m. Hepburn Auditorium

"J. Robert Oppenheimer
and the Moral Complexity of Modern Science"

  J. Robert Oppenheimer led the team that built the atomic bomb, and he recommended its use on Japan. Yet, as the leading science advisor, he opposed the building of the hydrogen bomb on moral grounds. The product of the best of American culture and education, steeped in the Ethical Culture movement, how did he, like many others, become involved in the building and use of the bomb? How did he, and his colleagues, become opposed to the H-bomb? What do these differing reactions tell us about the moral complexities of issues in today's science?

  David Cassidy, Professor of Chemistry, Hofstra University, has written extensively on the history of the physical sciences in the U.S. and Germany. He also has served as an editor of the Einstein Papers, and has won awards for his science writing for a popular audience. This year's Romer Lecture draws from his 2005 book J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century.

  The public lecture is free and suitable for all ages. The Auditorium is located in Hepburn Hall (campus map). For more information, please contact the SLU Physics Deptartment (315) 229-5491.