More Than a Genius: Richard Garwin’s Legacy for Science and Society
He advised presidents, challenged the Pentagon, and helped launch hundreds of technologies—while never losing his moral compass.
What do the hydrogen bomb, gravitational waves, magnetic resonance imaging, high-speed laser printers, and touch-screen monitors have in common? The mind, intellect, curiosity, persistence, and sheer genius of a most uncommon man. That man, Dr. Richard (Dick) Garwin, passed away at the age of 97 last week. I had the honor of knowing him and want to share a bit about him with SciLight readers.
His mentor, Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi, called him “the only true genius I have ever met.” Not an overstatement for a man who would fix his family’s appliances at the age of 5 and earn a doctoral degree in Physics at the young age of 21, scoring the highest marks on doctoral exams ever recorded by the University of Chicago. He went on to author over 500 scientific papers and many books. He also held 47 patents, including one for a shellfish washer for mussels!
A Few Other Factoids:
Dick was only 23 when he spent the summer at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico working with Dr. Edward Teller on the first hydrogen bomb. Garwin’s role in creating it was virtually unknown for decades. It was Dr. Teller himself who first publicly acknowledged the crucial role of the young prodigy.
He held faculty appointments at Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia.
He received the 2002 National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest award for science and engineering achievements, given by President George W. Bush.
He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, bestowed by President Barack Obama in 2016.
He served as an adviser to Presidents, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.
He was a longtime member and chair of JASON, the independent group of scientific advisors to the U.S. government on military issues
He was one of a select group of scientists to have been elected as a member of all three U.S. National Academies: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine.
He worked at I.B.M. for 40 years on pure and applied research projects yielding an astonishing array of patents, scientific papers and technological advances in computers, communications and medicine.
Speaking Out, Speaking Up
Dick was more than a distinguished scientist in an ivory tower. He used his knowledge in the public square as an advocate for arms control and a safer world. He was an outspoken critic of what he saw as misguided military choices made by the Pentagon, including the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative, known as the “Star Wars” missile defense program. He advocated strenuously for the United States to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which bans all nuclear explosive testing. He supported reductions of nuclear arsenals, including the 1979 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II), negotiated by President Carter and Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet premier.
Dick was a long-term member of the Board of Directors at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). That’s where and how I got to know him. With UCS, he advocated taking U.S. land-based nuclear weapons off “hair-trigger alert.” He also called on then President Biden to pledge that the U.S. would never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict. And, in the same letter with 700 scientists, he called for an end to the American practice of giving the president sole authority to order the use of nuclear weapons; a curb on that authority, they said, would be “an important safeguard against a possible future president who is unstable or who orders a reckless attack.” [I find their prescience and concern particularly relevant and noteworthy today.]
Dick was also one of the original signatories of the 2004 UCS statement on scientific integrity, written during the George W. Bush administration to oppose political interference and suppression of science in the federal government.
Some Memories
Dick engaged with and mentored many scientists at UCS over the years. He was generous with his time and ideas, to the great benefit of UCS. His sharp mind, precision, and attention to detail also demanded solid and careful preparation for any presentation made at UCS Board meetings. We knew to anticipate his thoughtful questioning and thus prepared our young staff members for the possibility of being “Garwinned” at the end of their presentation. Which simply meant “ expect questions, don’t get flustered, just be sure you know your stuff.”
I remember having dinner with Dick and Kurt Gottfried, who was Chair of the UCS Board of Directors at the time. I was in awe of Dick’s first-hand accounts of his time at Los Alamos, his relationships with Fermi and Teller, and his work with several U.S. Presidents. We also shared laughs and stories. He was fun and funny. Though it was many years ago, it was a most memorable evening, and I get a warm feeling whenever I think about it.
Bottom Line
Dick is a role model for today’s scientists. As he has shown us, there are many ways and opportunities beyond the bench and the classroom to advance science, along with the health, safety, peace, and security of our world. Here are a few suggestions; add yours in the comments.
Join, volunteer for, and help support science-based public interest and non-profit organizations.
Serve on government agency advisory committees.
Become or continue to be vocal advocates for science, scientific research, and science-based policy.
Participate in public hearings; provide comments or information for relevant proposed rulemaking processes.
Make your displeasure known when elected officials, political candidates, and policymakers are silent, oppose, or just plain speak nonsense about science-based issues, policies, and practices.
And if you want to learn more about Dr. Garwin, check out this book: “True Genius: The Life and Work of Richard Garwin, the Most Influential Scientist You’ve Never Heard Of” (2017), by Joel N. Shurkin. And read his NYT obit here.
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