ermi Award. The highest prize awarded by the Atomic Energy Commission; given to him by President Johnson. Oppenheimer was a smoker and after many years of this practice he contracted throat cancer and passed away on 18 February 1967. He was considered to be the father of the atomic bomb because he directed the group of scientist at the Los Alamos Laboratory, which developed the bomb. His influence and charisma allowed him to obtain some of the best scientist in the world for the project. He was considered a great teacher by many of his students. He attracted the best and brightest of them to where ever he taught. He was one of the foremost minds in theoretical physics. Despite the destruction that his development caused, it probably saved more lives than it took. He was later persecuted because of his communist dealings early in his career, but before that he was an enormous influence on the policy of nuclear energy. ...
