Emil Konopinski

Emil John (Jan) Konopinski (December 25, 1911 in Michigan City, Indiana - May 26, 1990 in Bloomington, Indiana) was an American nuclear scientist [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6D81739F93BA15756C0A966958260 Emil Konopinski, 78, Atomic Bomb Scientist] , New York Times] of Polish origin. His parents were Joseph and Sophia Sniegowska.

He was a professor of physics at Indiana University.During WW II he collaborated with Enrico Fermi on the first nuclear reactor at the University of Chicago. He also joined the Manhattan Project to develop the first nuclear weapon (atomic bomb).

He, together with C. Marvin and Edward Teller, showed that a thermonuclear explosion would not ignite the atmosphere and thereby destroy the earth [ E.J. Konopinski, C. Marvin, and E. Teller, Report LA-602, declassified Feb. 1973, [http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/docs1/00329010.pdf PDF] ] .

An Atomic Energy Commission consultant from 1946 to 1968, he wrote a book entitled "The Theory of Beta Radioactivity."

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