Mark Oliphant

It’s the birthday of Mark Oliphant, who was born in 1901 in Adelaide, Australia. Oliphant completed his education at Cambridge University. Working with Ernest Rutherford, he fired deuterons at various atomic targets, which led to the discovery of helium-3. Oliphant remained in the UK to take up a professorship at Birmingham University. His experiments in nuclear physics there were interrupted by World War II, during which he made two key scientific contributions: he helped develop the cavity magnetron, which made microwave radar possible, and he worked on electromagnetic isotope separation for the Manhattan Project. Returning to Australia, Oliphant became the founding director of the research school of physical sciences and engineering at Australian National University. In his last position, he served as the governor of his home state, South Australia.

Date in History: 8 October 1901