Rick, a retired nuclear engineer, will discuss the top-secret Manhattan Project that led to the development of the atomic bomb and the decisions that led to the sudden conclusion of World War II. He will start with the discovery of nuclear fission and trace the developments in nuclear physics, engineering, and politics that led to the development and deployment of the atomic bomb. Rick will also discuss the infiltration of the program and the theft of atomic secrets by the USSR.

Instructor: Rick Bigelow, Commander USNR (Ret.), researched the Korean War and WW II in the Pacific while affiliated with the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He has spoken on these topics at various academic and military venues throughout the U.S. He holds an M.S. in nuclear engineering and an MBA from Penn State, as well as a B.S. in math/physics from Wilkes College and a J.D. from UCONN Law. He is a nuclear engineer and patent attorney in private practice in Boalsburg and Nuangola, Pennsylvania.

Course dates are Wednesdays, May 15 and 22.