Ted was a nuclear physicist who designed bombs during the Cold War, but later became convinced that nuclear weapons ought to be abolished and spent the rest of his life working toward that end. He was known by his peers for his creative and imaginative designs. Freeman Dyson remarked that his bomb designs "were the smallest, the most elegant and the most efficient. He was able to draw his designs freehand, without elaborate calculations. When they were built and tested, they worked."
In response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, he worked with others on a project at General Atomics to design a spaceship called Orion that would be propelled by nuclear bombs. He led the project which he hoped would allow mankind to explore the solar system while reducing nuclear stockpiles. Although the project was technically promising, it was politically hopeless and came to an end when the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty made testing impossible, thus ending his dream that nuclear bombs could be used for a better purpose than killing people.
From 1964 to 1966, he was deputy director of the Defense Atomic Support Agency of the Department of Defense, responsible for the care and maintenance of the nuclear stockpile. He resigned from the government in 1966 and for the next two years served as a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, hoping to establish safeguards to protect nuclear materials from being diverted to clandestine weapons programs. He served as a visiting professor at Princeton and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He co-authored three books: The Restoration of the Earth, Nuclear Theft: Risks and Safeguards, and Nuclear Proliferation: Motivations, Capabilities and Strategies for Control. He served on the President's Commission to investigate the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. John McPhee's 1974 book, The Curve of Binding Energy, is based on Ted Taylor.
Ted was raised in Cuernavaca south of Mexico City, where his father was director of the YMCA. His maternal grandparents had been missionaries. He attended the American School in Mexico City. He was a very bright student and especially loved chemistry especially its explosive possibilities when he discovered the bang made by the right mix of potassium chlorate and sulphur. He received a bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology and pursued graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley and at Cornell University. He received his doctorate in theoretical physics from Cornell in 1954.
He was on active duty with the Navy from 1943 to 1946. He continued in the Naval Researves until 1954.
Ted was survived by three sons and two daughters. He loved music (Bach especially) and the outdoors which fostered his belief that it was his duty to care for the environment.
In response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, he worked with others on a project at General Atomics to design a spaceship called Orion that would be propelled by nuclear bombs. He led the project which he hoped would allow mankind to explore the solar system while reducing nuclear stockpiles. Although the project was technically promising, it was politically hopeless and came to an end when the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty made testing impossible, thus ending his dream that nuclear bombs could be used for a better purpose than killing people.
From 1964 to 1966, he was deputy director of the Defense Atomic Support Agency of the Department of Defense, responsible for the care and maintenance of the nuclear stockpile. He resigned from the government in 1966 and for the next two years served as a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, hoping to establish safeguards to protect nuclear materials from being diverted to clandestine weapons programs. He served as a visiting professor at Princeton and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He co-authored three books: The Restoration of the Earth, Nuclear Theft: Risks and Safeguards, and Nuclear Proliferation: Motivations, Capabilities and Strategies for Control. He served on the President's Commission to investigate the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. John McPhee's 1974 book, The Curve of Binding Energy, is based on Ted Taylor.
Ted was raised in Cuernavaca south of Mexico City, where his father was director of the YMCA. His maternal grandparents had been missionaries. He attended the American School in Mexico City. He was a very bright student and especially loved chemistry especially its explosive possibilities when he discovered the bang made by the right mix of potassium chlorate and sulphur. He received a bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology and pursued graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley and at Cornell University. He received his doctorate in theoretical physics from Cornell in 1954.
He was on active duty with the Navy from 1943 to 1946. He continued in the Naval Researves until 1954.
Ted was survived by three sons and two daughters. He loved music (Bach especially) and the outdoors which fostered his belief that it was his duty to care for the environment.
Ted was a nuclear physicist who designed bombs during the Cold War, but later became convinced that nuclear weapons ought to be abolished and spent the rest of his life working toward that end. He was known by his peers for his creative and imaginative designs. Freeman Dyson remarked that his bomb designs "were the smallest, the most elegant and the most efficient. He was able to draw his designs freehand, without elaborate calculations. When they were built and tested, they worked."
In response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, he worked with others on a project at General Atomics to design a spaceship called Orion that would be propelled by nuclear bombs. He led the project which he hoped would allow mankind to explore the solar system while reducing nuclear stockpiles. Although the project was technically promising, it was politically hopeless and came to an end when the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty made testing impossible, thus ending his dream that nuclear bombs could be used for a better purpose than killing people.
From 1964 to 1966, he was deputy director of the Defense Atomic Support Agency of the Department of Defense, responsible for the care and maintenance of the nuclear stockpile. He resigned from the government in 1966 and for the next two years served as a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, hoping to establish safeguards to protect nuclear materials from being diverted to clandestine weapons programs. He served as a visiting professor at Princeton and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He co-authored three books: The Restoration of the Earth, Nuclear Theft: Risks and Safeguards, and Nuclear Proliferation: Motivations, Capabilities and Strategies for Control. He served on the President's Commission to investigate the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. John McPhee's 1974 book, The Curve of Binding Energy, is based on Ted Taylor.
Ted was raised in Cuernavaca south of Mexico City, where his father was director of the YMCA. His maternal grandparents had been missionaries. He attended the American School in Mexico City. He was a very bright student and especially loved chemistry especially its explosive possibilities when he discovered the bang made by the right mix of potassium chlorate and sulphur. He received a bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology and pursued graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley and at Cornell University. He received his doctorate in theoretical physics from Cornell in 1954.
He was on active duty with the Navy from 1943 to 1946. He continued in the Naval Researves until 1954.
Ted was survived by three sons and two daughters. He loved music (Bach especially) and the outdoors which fostered his belief that it was his duty to care for the environment.
In response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, he worked with others on a project at General Atomics to design a spaceship called Orion that would be propelled by nuclear bombs. He led the project which he hoped would allow mankind to explore the solar system while reducing nuclear stockpiles. Although the project was technically promising, it was politically hopeless and came to an end when the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty made testing impossible, thus ending his dream that nuclear bombs could be used for a better purpose than killing people.
From 1964 to 1966, he was deputy director of the Defense Atomic Support Agency of the Department of Defense, responsible for the care and maintenance of the nuclear stockpile. He resigned from the government in 1966 and for the next two years served as a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, hoping to establish safeguards to protect nuclear materials from being diverted to clandestine weapons programs. He served as a visiting professor at Princeton and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He co-authored three books: The Restoration of the Earth, Nuclear Theft: Risks and Safeguards, and Nuclear Proliferation: Motivations, Capabilities and Strategies for Control. He served on the President's Commission to investigate the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. John McPhee's 1974 book, The Curve of Binding Energy, is based on Ted Taylor.
Ted was raised in Cuernavaca south of Mexico City, where his father was director of the YMCA. His maternal grandparents had been missionaries. He attended the American School in Mexico City. He was a very bright student and especially loved chemistry especially its explosive possibilities when he discovered the bang made by the right mix of potassium chlorate and sulphur. He received a bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology and pursued graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley and at Cornell University. He received his doctorate in theoretical physics from Cornell in 1954.
He was on active duty with the Navy from 1943 to 1946. He continued in the Naval Researves until 1954.
Ted was survived by three sons and two daughters. He loved music (Bach especially) and the outdoors which fostered his belief that it was his duty to care for the environment.
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