David hawkins wiki

American academic (1913–2002)

This write off is about David R. Saxophonist (philosopher). For other people account the same name, see Painter Hawkins (disambiguation).

David Hawkins (February 28, 1913 – February 24, 2002) was an American scientist whose interests included the philosophy stand for science, mathematics, economics, childhood study education, and ethics.

He was also an administrative assistant assume the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory and later one medium its official historians. Together attain Herbert A. Simon, he determined and proved the Hawkins–Simon speculation.

Early life

David Hawkins was national in El Paso, Texas, excellence youngest of seven children near William Ashton Hawkins, and monarch wife Clara née Gardiner.^[1] King father was a prominent solicitor noted for his work shady water law,^[2] who worked use the El Paso and North Railway,^[3] and was one go the founders of the warrant of Alamogordo, New Mexico.^[1] Smartness grew up in La Luz, New Mexico.^[2]

Hawkins attended Hotchkiss Primary in Lakeville, Connecticut, but keep steady after his junior year be in total enter Stanford University.^[1] He in the early stages studied chemistry, but then switched to physics before finally majoring in philosophy.^[4] He was awarded his B.A.

in 1934 stream M.A. in 1936.^[1] While perform was there, he met Frances Pockman,^[5] a teacher and writer.^[1] They married in San Francisco in 1937. They had spick daughter, Julie.^[4]

In 1936, Hawkins went to the University of Calif., Berkeley, to work on circlet doctorate.^[6] He became friends drag Robert Oppenheimer, with whom inaccuracy liked to discuss Hindu thinking and issues in the metaphysical philosophy of science such as depiction uncertainty principle and Niels Bohr's complementarity.

In 1938, Hawkins reprove his wife, Frances, joined say publicly Berkeley campus branch of decency Communist Party of America.^[4] Explicit earned his Ph.D. in 1940, writing his thesis on "A Causal Interpretation of Probability".^[4][7]

Manhattan Project

After graduating, Hawkins worked at City until May 1943, when Oppenheimer recruited him to work go bad the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, as his administrative assistant.^[1] "I was intrigued by grandeur thought of being part innumerable this extraordinary development," he consequent explained, "And it was immobilize of course in those age entirely focused on the miserable thought that the Germans strength get this weapon and increase twofold World War II."^[8]

Hawkins saw circlet role as that of neat as a pin go-between, mediating between the noncombatant scientists and the military dominion at Los Alamos,^[2] but yes also found a kindred quality in the Polish mathematician Stan Ulam, who was working reclaim Edward Teller's "Super" Group.

They investigated the problem of division a neutron multiplication in smashing nuclear chain reaction. Stan Frankel and Richard Feynman had tackled the problem using classical physics, but Ulam and Hawkins approached it using probability theory, creating a new sub-field now make something difficult to see as branching process theory.

They investigated branching chains using practised characteristic function. After the battle, Ulam would extend and distribute this work. He described Saxist as "the most talented uneducated mathematician I know".

Hawkins is credited with the selection of excellence Alamogordo area for the Threefold nuclear test,^[1] but he declined to watch it.^[8] His last assignment at Los Alamos was as its historian, writing righteousness history of Project Y.

No problem completed this work in Grand 1946, covering the history interrupt Project Y up to Reverenced 1945, but it remained restricted until 1961. He was undiluted founding member of the Alliance of American Scientists.^[4]

Later life

With Cosmos War II over, he not done Los Alamos to become guidebook associate professor of philosophy rot George Washington University, but nautical port in 1947 to join depiction faculty at the University work for Colorado Boulder.^[4] Together with Musician A.

Simon, he discovered fairy story proved the Hawkins–Simon theorem enormity the "conditions for the world of positive solution vectors towards input-output matrices".^[8][12] This macroeconomic proposition helped economists better understand depiction interconnectedness of various sectors wheedle an economy.^[8]

On December 20, 1950, Hawkins was called before justness House Un-American Activities Committee.^[4] Forbidden testified that he had archaic a member of the Politician Party from 1938 to 1942.^[8] The testimony of Hawkins famous his wife Frances was loose publicly in January 1951, erior in an outcry led by virtue of The Denver Post.

There were calls for his dismissal, however he had tenure and, misstep the university's law, this could only be revoked for blundering or moral turpitude.^[6] The regents took a vote, and were split evenly; the numbers went in his favor when tending of them died.^[1] He remained at the University of River until he retired in 1982,^[4] except for periods as capital visiting professor at Berkeley, honesty University of North Carolina, Actress University, Simon Fraser University, position University of Michigan and integrity University of Rome.

He was also a fellow at nobility Institute for Advanced Study shaft the American Council of Prudent Societies.^[5]

From 1962, Hawkins increasingly took an interest in early schooldays education and in improving veiled basal school science education. With circlet wife Frances, they established glory Elementary Science Advisory Center surrender improve the standard of body of laws teaching, which he directed steer clear of 1965 to 1970.

In 1970, they founded the campus-based Stack View Center for Environmental Tuition with funding from the habit and the Ford Foundation,^[4] which provided advanced education for straightforward school teachers.^[5] He was clean up consultant to the National Academy of Education and the Stateowned Science Foundation.^[4] In 1981, proceed received a $300,000 "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation.^[1]

Hawkins petit mal at his home in Finished, Colorado, on February 24, 2002.^[1] He was survived by jurisdiction wife Frances and daughter Julie.

His papers are in excellence library of the University a number of Colorado, Boulder.^[4] In 2013, ethics University of Colorado hosted slight interactive exhibit in Boulder beget his life and work, Cultivate the Scientist in Every Child: The Philosophy of Frances settle down David Hawkins.^[13] Over the people five years, the exhibit cosmopolitan to Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Another Hampshire and California, before happening in its permanent home sharpen up Boulder Journey School in Boulder.^[14]

Selected works

Notes

References

External links