Enrico Fermi Biography

Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist who made major contributions to the development of nuclear energy. He is counted amongst the men who are often referred to as the “father of the atomic bomb”. Even as a youngster Fermi displayed a keen interest in physics and his understanding of the subject allowed him to enter the graduate school at the University of Pisa directly when he was only 17 years old and four years later, he was awarded his doctorate. Fermi made his first major contribution to nuclear physics during the early 1930s. By this time, James Chadwick, another notable physicist, had discovered that atomic nuclei contained neutrons as well as protons. Even though there had been previous attempts to disrupt the nucleus using positively charged helium nuclei, it was Fermi who discovered neutrons with a neutral charge. Fermi and his colleagues successfully created isotopes for many known elements. He also discovered that the rate at which neutrons were injected into the nucleus played a role in the outcome. For these important discoveries, Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1938. Later on he and his family moved to the United States concerned over the rise of anti-Semitism in Italy. He continued his research in nuclear physics first at Columbia University then at the University of Chicago.