Dr. Roger Freedman is on the faculty of the Department of Physics of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the co-author of four textbooks: University Physics (with the late Hugh D. Young), Universe (with Robert M. Geller and the late William J. Kaufmann), College Physics (with Todd Ruskell, Philip Kesten, and David Tauck), and College Physics for the AP Physics 1 Course (with Gay Stewart, Todd Ruskell, and Philip Kesten).
He’s also been a letterer for underground comics, worked on San Diego Comic-Con during its formative years in the 1970s, and appeared as a supervillain in DC Comics (Jimmy Olsen #144) and as a mad scientist in Marvel Comics (What If? #8).
Dr. Freedman’s talks and panel appearances will include the following:
The Hidden History of the Atomic Bomb
Description: 75 years after the first atomic weapons were used in World War II, there are still aspects of the science and technology behind the bomb that are little known to the public. In this nontechnical talk I’ll discuss the basic physics of nuclear fission; how Allied scientists got the physics right and how German scientists got it wrong; how a wartime issue of Astounding Science Fiction almost gave the atomic secrets away; and how plans to deliver the atomic bomb to targets in Japan contributed to one of the largest industrial projects in American history, the building of the Boeing B-29 bomber.