text: robert brode robert bigham brode ( june 12 , 1900 – february 19 , 1986 ) was an american physicist , who during world war ii led the group at the manhattan project 's los alamos laboratory that developed the fuses used in the atomic bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki . a graduate of the california institute of technology , where he earned his doctorate in 1924 , brode attended oxford university on a rhodes scholarship and the university of göttingen on a national research council fellowship . during world war ii , brode worked at applied physics laboratory at johns hopkins university , where he helped develop the proximity fuse , and then as a group leader at the los alamos laboratory . in 1950 he was one of a dozen prominent scientists who petitioned president harry s. truman to declare that the united states would never be the first to use the hydrogen bomb . after the war , brode returned to teaching at berkeley . between 1930 and 1957 he supervised 37 graduate students . in addition to his research and teaching , he occupied a number of other positions . he was the academic assistant to two presidents of the university of california , and sat on numerous advisory panels and boards . early life and education robert bigham brode was born in walla walla , washington , on june 12 , 1900 , the son of howard s. brode , a professor of biology at whitman college , and his wife martha catherine née bigham . he was the second of a set of triplets , being born between his brothers wallace and malcolm . they also had an older brother , james stanley . all four attended whitman college , and went on to earn doctorates and have distinguished careers as scientists and academics . brode graduated from whitman college with his bachelor of science degree in 1921 , and then entered the california institute of technology . he was awarded his doctor of philosophy ( ph.d. ) in physics in 1924 , the first year in which awarded this degree , for his thesis on " the absorption coefficient for slow electrons in gases " . he showed that molecules with similar arrangements of their external electrons have similar cross sections for collisions with slow electrons . these results could not be readily explained with classical physics , and their importance would not be realised until 1966 . on graduation , brode became an associate physicist at the national bureau of standards . he was awarded a rhodes scholarship to study at oriel college , oxford , in england in 1924 and 1925 , and then a national research council fellowship , which he used to study at the university of göttingen in germany in 1925 and 1926 , and then at princeton university from 1926 to 1927 . on returning to the united states , he married bernice hedley bidwell on september 16 , 1926 . they had two sons . brode became an assistant professor of physics at the university of california , berkeley , in 1927 , and a full professor in 1932 . he was awarded a guggenheim fellowship , which enabled him to return to england and study at cambridge university and birkbeck college , university of london , in 1934 and 1935 . while there , he became friends with the british physicist p.m.s. blackett . he was impressed by blackett 's cloud chambers , and set his graduate students to work on projects using them , starting with dale r. corson . manhattan project in 1941 , after the start of world war ii , brode went to work at applied physics laboratory at johns hopkins university , where he helped develop the proximity fuse . in 1943 , he joined the manhattan project 's los alamos laboratory , where was appointed the leader of the e - 3 fusing group . this group consisted of 14 civilians , 12 military officers and 37 enlisted men of the special engineer detachment . its task was to develop a fuse that would detonate an atomic bomb at a specified height above the ground . normally , bombs are cheap and fuses are relatively expensive , but an atomic bomb is extremely expensive , and any failure of a triggering device is unacceptable . on the other hand , for the same reason , fuses can be employed that would be prohibitively expensive in a conventional bomb . brode 's e - 3 group were tasked to develop a fusing mechanism that would have less than one chance in 10 , 000 of failing to detonate within 200 feet ( 61 m ) of the required height . the required height was not initially known , as it depended on the yield , which was uncertain . the group investigated both radar proximity fuses and barometric altimeter fuses . testing was carried out at the naval proving ground in dahlgren , virginia in august 1943 and muroc army air field in march 1944 using dummy drops from barrage balloons . in the end , a modified aps - 13 monica tail warning radar known as " archie " was employed , and the fuses performed flawlessly in the atomic bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki . later life after the war , brode returned to teaching at berkeley . in 1950 he was one of a dozen prominent scientists who petitioned president harry s. truman to declare that the united states would never be the first to use the hydrogen bomb . in 1951 he returned to england for another year , this time at manchester university as a fulbright scholar . between 1930 and 1943 , 15 graduate students conducted their research under his direction . he supervised another 22 between 1946 and 1957 . the 37 students included corson , who became president of cornell university , and william b. , who was vice president of the university of california from 1978 to 1983 . in addition to his research and teaching , brode occupied a number of other positions . he was the academic assistant to two presidents of the university of california , clark kerr from 1960 to 1965 , and charles j. hitch from 1972 to 1973 , and to angus e. taylor , the vice - president for academic affairs , from 1967 to 1972 . he served on the selection panels for rhodes , fulbright and kennedy scholarships , and for awards from the state department , the atomic energy commission and the institute of international education . he was chairman of the advisory board of the naval ordnance test station from 1948 to 1955 , a member of the national research council committee on data for science and technology ( codata ) from 1951 to 1957 , and chairman of the american association of physics teachers and the american institute of physics ' committee on physics faculties in colleges from 1962 to 1965 . at various times brode was vice president of the international union for pure and applied physics and the american association of university professors , a member of the council of the american physical society , president of the pacific division of the american association for the advancement of science , chairman of the physics division of the national research council , associate director for research of the national science foundation , and the u.s. delegate to the international council of scientific unions . he was acting director of the berkeley space sciences laboratory from 1964 to 1965 and director of its education abroad program in the united kingdom from 1965 to 1967 . brode became a professor emeritus at berkeley in 1967 . he died at his home in berkeley on february 19 , 1986 . he was survived by his wife bernice and his son john . his papers are in the university of california 's bancroft library .