David B. Nicodemus

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
David Nicodemus Los Alamos badge

David Bowman Nicodemus (1 July 1916 – 19 June 1999) was a physicist, Physics Professor and Administrator at Oregon State University, and part of the Manhattan Project team.

Life and times

David B. Nicodemus was born on 1 July 1916 in

missionaries
. The family sailed from
Vancouver, British Columbia. Residence in the U.S. was listed at Highland, Illinois.[1]

In 1922 at the age of 6, Nicodemus entered the U.S. again, this time at

S.S. President Pierce departing on 18 November 1922 and arriving at San Francisco in December 1922. The family listed their address in the U.S. at 1205 Main Street in Highland, Illinois.[2]

At the age of 14, on 8 July 1931, the family returned to the U.S. via

Manila, Philippines and sailed on the Empress of Canada.[3]

Education

In 1937, Nicodemus graduated from

Oregon State College. In 1951, he received an outstanding and inspirational teaching award.[4]

In 1946, he went back to Stanford University from Los Alamos to conduct physics research on the cyclotron and pursue studies for a Ph.D. in physics. In 1950, he completed his Ph.D. and was offered a faculty position in the physics department at

Oregon State.[5]

Los Alamos

Nicodemus was a physicist at the

atomic bomb). In 1945, he witnessed the initial detonation of a nuclear device at Trinity.[6]

Oregon State University

  • 1962, assistant dean, then acting dean, college of science
  • 1966, appointed dean of faculty, until retirement in 1986

Select students

At

Oregon State, Nicodemus was the doctoral advisor for Curtis Gordon Chezem, who conducted significant research on uranium metals.[8][9]

Resolution of Sympathy

  • President Williamson of Oregon State University (OSU) presented the following Resolution of Sympathy for approval before the Faculty Senate:

The Faculty Senate of Oregon State University wishes to recognize the long service of David Nicodemus who died this last June. Dave served as a faculty member in the Department of Physics and was known for his excellence in teaching. He served as Dean of the College of Science and as Dean of Faculty. It was through the leadership of Dean Nicodemus that the present system of faculty governance through a Faculty Senate was established. OSU remains deeply indebted to him for all that he gave to this institution over his nearly 50 years of service.[10]

Honors and awards

Awards

  • Loyd Carter Award for Outstanding and Inspirational Teaching in Science, 1951.[4][11]
  • Outstanding Teacher Award, 1956.[11]
  • Myrtlewood Gavel, Dean of Faculty Emeritus, 1986.[12]

Legacy

  • Nicodemus Memorial Scholarships in Physics Endowment Fund.[11]
  • Nicodemus Study Abroad Scholarship.[11]

Publications

  • Nicodemus, D. B. (1946). The Average X-Ray Energy Expended in Forming an Ion Pair in Argon. Thesis (Ph.D.) - Stanford University, 1946. Source: American Doctoral Dissertations, Source code: W1946. page: 0020.
  • Fleeman, Jerome, Nicodemus, D. B., & Staub, Hans H. (1949). Neutron Polarization. Physical Review. 76(12): 1774.
  • Meyerhof, W.E., Nicodemus, D.B., & Bloch, F. (January 1950). Polarization Effects of Scattered Neutrons. Physical Review. 80(1): 132.
  • Meyerhof, W. E., & Nicodemus, D. B. (1951). Neutron Depolarization on Scattering from Carbon, Paraffin, and Phosphorus. Physical Review. 82(1): 5.
  • Nicodemus, David B., & Staub, Hans H. (1953). Fission Neutron Spectrum of U 235. Physical Review. 89(6): 1288.
  • Coon, J. H., Davis, R. W., Felthauser, H. E., & Nicodemus, D. B. (1958). Scattering of 14.5-MeV Neutrons by Complex Nuclei. Physical Review. 111(1): 250.

References

  1. ^ Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1924. Database with images. David B Nicodemus, 1916. Citing Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries through the St. Albans, Vermont, District, 1895-1924. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
  2. ^ California, San Francisco Passenger Lists, 1893-1953. Database with images. David B Nicodemus, 1922. Citing San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
  3. ^ United States Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895-1956. Database. David Bowman Nicodemus, 08 Jul 1931; from "Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954. Database and images. Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: 2010). Citing Ship Empress of Canada, arrival port Victoria, British Columbia, Philippines. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C.
  4. ^ a b Editor. (30 May 1951). Professors in the News. David Nicodemus. The Stanford Daily. 119(67): 2.
  5. ^ Nicodemus, D. B. (1946). The Average X-Ray Energy Expended in Forming an Ion Pair in Argon. Thesis (Ph.D.) - Stanford University, 1946. Source: American Doctoral Dissertations, Source code: W1946. page: 0020.
  6. ^ Nicodemus, David Bowman. (July 1999). David B. Nicodemus Papers, 1945-1989. Oregon State University Archives. Corvallis, Oregon.
  7. ^ Nielsen, Melvin J. (1949). Neutron Polarization in a Single Iron Crystal. M.S. thesis. Stanford University. Advisor: D.B. Nicodemus.
  8. ^ Chezem, C. G. (1960). Neutron Flux Parameters of an Uranium Metal Exponential Experiment. Thesis (Ph.D.) – Oregon State University. 1960. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International. 21(03): 0654.
  9. ^ Chezem, C. G. (1960). A uranium-metal exponential experiment. Nuclear Science and Engineering. 8(6): 652-669.
  10. ^ Williamson, Kenneth. (7 October 1999). Faculty Senate Minutes. Faculty Senate. Oregon State University. Corvallis, Oregon. 1999 No. 550.
  11. ^ a b c d Abels, Maya. (April 2000). In Memory of: David Nicodemus, July 1, 1916 – June 19, 1999. Physics Newsletter. Oregon State University. Corvallis, Oregon.
  12. ^ Doler, Thurston. (11 December 1986). Staff Newsletter. Minutes of the Faculty Senate of Oregon State University. Corvallis, Oregon. 26(14): 1.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_B._Nicodemus&oldid=1168434508"