[Prepared by Jose Alonso] On Jan. 18, famed Lab scientist Ed Lofgren celebrated his 100th birthday. He started at the Rad Lab in 1938 with a summer job at the 37-inch cyclotron. In 1940, E.O. Lawrence hired Lofgren, a grad student at Cal, to help adapt the 37-inch for isotope separation. He moved to Los Alamos during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. Upon returning to Berkeley in 1948, he became deeply involved in studies for the Bevatron. When it was commissioned in 1954, Lofgren became its first director, overseeing its operation when the anti-proton was discovered. He became the first director of the new Accelerator Division and served until his retirement in 1982. He returned to perform the ceremony of shutting down the Bevatron for the last time.
Happy 100th Birthday to Ed Lofgren, First Director of the Bevatron
January 29, 2014