AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Terry M. Christensen for the Degree of Master of Science in History of Science presented on June 12, 2006 Title: Theoretical Physics Takes Root in America: John Archibald Wheeler as Student and Mentor Abstract approved: Signature redactedfor privacy. /\ U I Mary J0 Nye, Ph.D. John Archibald Wheeler (09 July 1911 ) is a familiar name to physicists and historians of physics alike. Among his many contributions to the corpus of knowledge, in 1939 John Wheeler and Niels Bohr co-authored the first paper on the generalized mechanism of nuclear fission. Beyond that seminal work, Wheeler was a key player in the production of the 'Fat Man' plutonium weapon in the Manhattan project, and later, in the development of the Hydrogen Bomb. Wheeler introduced the scattering matrix (or S-matrix) to account for all possible final quantum states of collisions between nucleons. After turning his attention to general relativity, Wheeler and his students made a number of significant contributions to cosmology and cosmology. In fact, John Wheeler coined the term "black hole," and developed the concepts of a "Planck Length," a Planck-time," "quantum foam," and "wormholes" in space-time. Outside the physics community however, considerably less is known about John Wheeler as a mentor of physicists. Mentoring is important because, while there can be no progress in physics without contributions to the corpus of knowledge, these contributions are, by their very nature additive. In contrast, the contributions of skilled mentors such as John Archibald Wheeler are multiplicative through a number of intellectual generations. Until quite recently, studies of mentoring in science were limited to 'laboratory' and/or 'field' disciplines such as chemistry and the life sciences. Clearly, mentoring styles are highly individualized. Nonetheless, a comprehensive census of elite mentors can offer considerable insight into the practice of mentoring in theoretical physics. This examination of the mentoring style and outcomes of John Archibald Wheeler traces his work as an apprentice under mentors Karl Herzfeld, Gregory Breit, and Niels Bohr, through Wheeler's career as a mentor in his own right at Princeton University during the years 1938-1 977. ©Copyright by Terry M. Christensen Defense Date 12 June 2006 All Rights Reserved Theoretical Physics Takes Root in America: John Archibald Wheeler as Student and Mentor by Terry M. Christensen A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Presented June 12, 2006 Commencement June 2007 Master of Science thesis of Terry M. Christensen presented on June 12, 2006 APPROVED: Signature redacted for privacy. Mary Jo Nye, reesening History of Science Signature redacted for privacy. Chair, Dpartme'nt History Signature redacted for privacy. Dean of th aduate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release ofmy thesis to any reader upon request. JI' Signature redacted for privacy. Terry tristenseAuthor ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Every thesis is, to some extent, a collaborative effort. Since as an author, I tend to verbally process the data at hand, this particular project owes a good deal to a good many individuals who have helped with generous amounts of assistance, counsel, and support. Here, I must begin with Dutton. Guide Dogs for the Blind has provided me with two exceptional guides, Shippey and Dutton. Shippey steered me through my first years of graduate education at Marylhurst University. As an example of the importance of a guide in my life, I would like the reader to know that three weeks after our 1996 graduation from Guide Dogs for the Blind, Shippey backed me out of the path of a vehicle that had failed to notice either the red light or a visually impaired man in the crosswalk. Although Dutton does not have a similarly dramatic intervention to his credit (at least as far as I know), his guide work is actually more crisp than that of Shippey. More to the point, any campus is a daunting navigational challenge for the visually impaired. Oregon State University is no exception. Without the support of Guide Dogs for the Blind in general, and the superlative guide work of Dutton in particular, this enterprise, indeed, graduate school would have been several orders of magnitude more difficult. For their timely doses of encouragement and coaching, the author wishes to acknowledge History of Science cohort members Nathan Boltseridge, Erik Ellis, Melinda Gormley, Erica Jensen, Kristen Johnson, Christopher Jolly, Rachel Koroloff, Tully Long, Leslie McCabe, Katie Morris, and Leandra Swanner; all of whom, often perhaps involuntarily, have done more than their fair share of sounding-board duty. I have also been blessed with friends who have shown an uncommon amount of patience with my endless ramblings as I verbally processed what I knew of John Wheeler. Specifically here, I am thinking of Terry Anderson, Stephen Bard, Steven Black, Peter Collier, Haakon Hofstad, Steve Lucker, Chuck Meitle, Ron Smith, and Michael Stewart. As with members of the OSU graduate cohort, these men have all provided timely doses of encouragement. As a visually impaired scholar, I have relied on the conscientious dedication and technical expertise of the leadership and staff of Services for Students with Disabilities and the Technology Access Program. Tracy Bently-Townlin, Ron Stewart, Wendy Trent, and Angela Tibbs have served this project with particular distinction. Services for Students with Disabilities student employees Yee-Ling (Caryn) Ong, Yee-Jin (Jessi) Ong, and Hans Gunadi have been most helpful. In this regard, I am also indebted to the staff of Valley Library. Jane Nichols in Research Consulting as well as Jeremy Belsher, Jessicca Tatom, and Sara Thompson. Then too, there are the former students of John Wheeler who have graciously shared their experiences and insights of Wheeler withme. Jacob Bekenstein, Larry Ford, Robert Geroch, B. Kent Harrison, James lsenberg, Bahram Mashoon, Allen Mills, Charles Misner, Daniel Rohrlich, Larry Shepley, J. Fred Singer, Daniel Sperber, Kip S. Thorne, J. Peter Vajk, Robert Wald, and Cheuk-Yin Wong have all contributed to this enterprise. One individual from this group deserves particular recognition. Kenneth W. Ford, a former Wheeler student who helped craft Wheeler's autobiography Geons, Black Holes and QUantum Foam: A Life in Physics, enthusiastically supported this enterprise almost from its inception. His insight into character of John Wheeler was invaluable. Moreover,as a former Executive Director of the American Institute of Physics, Kenneth Ford's perspectiveon Wheeler's place in the community of American theoretical physicists offered the projecta unique and perceptive frame of reference. The Department of History at Oregon State University includesa number of gifted, conscientious, and thoughtful faculty members whoare generous with their time and counsel. Among those who have helpedme shape my thinking of various aspects of mentoring and professional socialization, I wantto acknowledge Ben Mutschler, William Robbins, Lisa Sarasohn and Jeffrey Sklansky. A subset of this group, Ron Doel, Paul Farber, and Robert Nye, have been unsparing in the gift of their advice and counsel. A thesis on mentoring, of course, requiresa mentor, and Professor Mary Jo Nye served this author and this project in that capacity. In theprocess of completing two Master's thesis concerning mentors, I havecome to be an informed consumer of the mentoringprocess. Consequently, two aspects of Mary Jo's mentoring style are especially noteworthy. First of all, her constructive criticism, as well as her words of praise,are always thoughtful and exquisitely timed. Beyond that important skill, however, Mary Jo has shown herself to be unusually gifted asa mentor. It is one thing to see the full potential of a scholar, It is quite another to be able to extract that scholar's best work. Mary J0 has the combination of wisdom and skill to do both. In sum, I can unequivocally state that no scholar has profited more from an association with a mentor than I have in my apprenticeship with Professor Mary Jo Nye. Finally, over the course of my lifetime, it has beenmy great blessing to have associated with some remarkable role models and life-skill mentors. Among these I must include Professor David Scott Arnold, Warren and Verna Blakslee, Sidney and Carol Cadwallader, the Hon. Robert Chopping, Calvin Thorwald and Judith Christensen, Coach John Mafthla, Capt. Reino Mattila, Marc Pemberton, and Coach Fred 0. Wilson. This enterprise,as much a product of their faith as it is of my effort,was developed with their indomitable spirit in mind. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Overview I 1.2 An Underdeveloped Area of Scholarship 4 1.3 Delimiting the Discipline: Theoretical Physics 7 1.4 The Choice of Subject 10 1.5 The Role of Mentors: Molding the Scientific Elite 16 1.6 The Makings of a Mentor 21 1.7 Method, Strategy, and Tactics 25 1.8 Review 32 Chapter 2: The Nature and Nurture of a Mentor: John Archibald Wheeler as Student 34 2.1 Overview 34 2.2 Nature and Nurture: The Young Wheeler 36 2.3 Johns Hopkins and Karl Herzfeld 51 2.4 Gregory Breit 61 2.5 Niels Bohr 68 2.6 Einstein's Protégé 77 2.7 Review 87 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Paqe Chapter 3: Mentoring Theoretical Physics in America: John Archibald Wheeler at Princeton, 1938-1 977