Early in the movie 'Oppenheimer,' J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) visits the Berkeley laboratory where Ernest Lawrence is building a particle accelerator to study nuclear physics. The scene reminded me that the giant magnets from one of those accelerators later came to UC Davis, forming the core of the cyclotron at the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory on campus. It is one of several links between Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project and UC Davis.
Although diamonds are mostly thought of as jewelry, synthetic diamonds are being explored for semiconductors because of their unique properties. Structurally identical to diamonds, synthetic diamonds are produced by a controlled process, as compared to natural diamonds, which are created by geologic processes.
Even though little has changed since the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory opened in 1966, the lab has a bright future. This fall, the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences will begin managing the cyclotron and its machine shop, the first step in re-energizing research and teaching at the Crocker.
Tucked inside a modest building in the heart of the UC Davis campus, the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory opened in April 1966. Past and present employees recently gathered to celebrate the cyclotron’s five decades of discovery and innovation. During the event, historic photographs lined the walls of the lab’s tall cargo bay, and tours revealed atomic-era machinery still at work.
