Enrico Fermi - Chicago, IL - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Born in Rome, Italy, in 1901, Enrico Fermi showed an early interest in mathematics and science and eventually pursued physics academically, focusing on the relatively new fields of general relativity, quantum mechanics, and atomic physics. He received his ‘laurea’ (an Italian approximation of a PhD) in 1922 at the age of 20. Over the next several years, Fermi pursued additional academic courses and interacted with such notables as Max Born, Werner Heisenberg and Albert Einstein. It was around this time that Fermi was the first to point out that, theoretically, a tremendous amount of potential energy lie in the atomic nucleus, but could not fathom how to access it.

Enrico Fermi was as comfortable in the realm of theoretical physics as in experimental physics. While a professor of physics in Rome, he and his team produced several important papers and conducted many breakthrough experiments in the emerging field of nuclear physics. When hearing that elements bombarded by alpha particles produced radioactive isotopes, he decided to try the same experiment with the newly discovered neutron. He figured that the uncharged neutrons would be more easily absorbed into the nucleus than the charged alpha particles. Using his own radon-beryllium neutron source, he was able to induce radioactivity in aluminum, fluorine and 20 other elements. He also discovered that neutrons slowed by moderators such as paraffin or water were captured more easily than the fast-moving ones directly from the source. And, though he didn’t recognize it at the time, he had induced some nuclear fission in heavier elements like uranium and thorium. All this earned him the Nobel Prize for physics in 1938.

Because of an increasing antisemitism in Italy at that time, Enrico Fermi (whose wife was Jewish) took his entire family to Stockholm when he accepted his Nobel Prize. After the ceremonies, rather than returning to Italy, they traveled to the United States where he remained for the rest of his life. He immediately got a job teaching at Columbia University in New York City where he began working on neutron-induced nuclear fission experiments. Since certain isotopes of uranium (among others) produce two neutrons for every one they absorb (as well as producing a substantial amount of heat), the prospect of a nuclear chain reaction as an energy source became very attractive. With America’s involvement in World War II, this became an imperative as that energy could be harnessed into a bomb.

Fermi and his team were moved to the University of Chicago where they began work on a nuclear reactor nicknamed Chicago Pile-1. The massive ‘pile’ of uranium oxide blocks interspersed with graphite blocks went critical (i.e., achieved a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction) on December 2, 1942. This was the first successful nuclear reactor in the world. Fermi and his team at the Metallurgical Lab went on to design the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge, TN, which produced the first amounts of weapons-grade plutonium, and the even larger B Reactor at the Hanford Site in Washington. Fermi was on hand when both of these historic reactors were started. And, of course, he was at the Trinity Site when the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945.

Enrico Fermi died at the age of 53 from stomach cancer. He believed that undo exposure to radiation over the years had contributed to his early demise. Besides the Nobel Prize, Fermi received many other awards and accolades including having a chemical element named for him (Fermium) and appearing on postage stamps from the U.S., Italy, Romania, Monaco and others.
(Source: wikipedia.org)

Description: Enrico Fermi is buried in Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery, not far from the campus of the University of Chicago. Date of birth: 09/29/1901 Date of death: 11/28/1954 Area of notoriety: Science/Technology Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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