Hugh Bradner | |
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 Bradner's identification badge photo from Los Alamos | |
| Born | (1915-11-05)November 5, 1915 Tonopah, Nevada, US |
| Died | May 5, 2008(2008-05-05) (aged 92) |
| Other names | Brad |
| Alma mater | Miami University - A.B. (1937) California Institute of Technology - Ph.D. (1941) |
| Awards | Miami University Medal (1960) Sc.D. (Honorary), Miami University (1961) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Engineering,physics, andgeophysics |
| Institutions | Champion Paper & Fiber Co. (1936–1937) California Institute of Technology (1938–1941) US Naval Ordnance Laboratory (1941–1943) University of Chicago (1943–1943) Los Alamos National Laboratory (1943–1946) University of California, Berkeley (1946–1961) University of California, San Diego (1961–1980) |
| Doctoral advisor | William Vermillion Houston |
Hugh Bradner (November 5, 1915 – May 5, 2008) was an Americanphysicist at theUniversity of California who is credited with inventing theneoprenewetsuit, which helped to revolutionizescuba diving andsurfing.
A graduate of Ohio'sMiami University, he received his doctorate fromCalifornia Institute of Technology inPasadena, California, in 1941. He worked at theUS Naval Ordnance Laboratory duringWorld War II, where he researchednaval mines. In 1943, he was recruited byRobert Oppenheimer to join theManhattan Project at theLos Alamos Laboratory. There, he worked with scientists includingLuis Alvarez,John von Neumann andGeorge Kistiakowsky on the development of thehigh explosives andexploding-bridgewire detonators required byatomic bombs.
After the war, Bradner took a position studyinghigh-energy physics at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, underLuis Alvarez. Bradner investigated the problems encountered byfrogmen staying in cold water for long periods of time. He developed aneoprene suit which could trap the water between the body and the neoprene, and thereby keep them warm. He became known as the "father of the wetsuit."[1]
Bradner worked on the 1951Operation Greenhouse nuclear test series onEnewetak Atoll in theMarshall Islands. He joined the Scripps Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics as ageophysicist in 1961. He remained there for the rest of his career, becoming a full professor in 1963, and retiring in 1980. In retirement, continued to work both on oceanographic research, as well as on theDUMAND deep ocean neutrino astronomy project.
Hugh Bradner was born inTonopah, Nevada, on November 5, 1915,[2] but he was raised inFindlay, Ohio.[1] His father, Donald Byal Bradner, was briefly director of the Chemical Warfare Service atMaryland'sEdgewood Arsenal. His mother was Agnes Claire Bradner née Mead. He had an older brother, Mead Bradner.[3] Bradner graduated from Ohio'sMiami University in 1936 and later received his doctorate fromCalifornia Institute of Technology inPasadena, California, in 1941,[1] writing his thesis on "Electron-optical studies of the photoelectric effect" under the supervision ofWilliam Vermillion Houston.[4]
After receiving his doctorate from Caltech, Bradner worked at theUS Naval Ordnance Laboratory where he researchednaval mines until 1943. He was recruited byRobert Oppenheimer to join theManhattan Project in 1943 at theLos Alamos Laboratory inNew Mexico, which helped to develop the firstatomic bomb. Bradner helped to develop a wide range of technology needed for the bomb, including research on thehigh explosives andexploding-bridgewire detonators needed to implode the atomic bomb, developed the bomb's triggering mechanism, and even helped design the new town around thelaboratory. He worked closely with some of the most prominent scientists includingLuis Alvarez,John von Neumann andGeorge Kistiakowsky. He witnessed theTrinity test, the firstnuclear weapons test, atAlamogordo on July 16, 1945.[1][2]
Bradner met his future wife, Marjorie Hall Bradner, who was also working as a secretary on the Manhattan Project at the Los Alamos Laboratory. The couple were married in Los Alamos in 1943. Security at thetop secret facility was so tight that neither Bradner's nor Hall's parents were allowed to attend the ceremony, though Oppenheimer was among thewedding guests.[2] The couple remained together for over 65 years until she died on April 10, 2008, at the age of 89.[1]
After the war, Bradner took a position studyinghigh-energy physics at theUniversity of California, Berkeley underLuis Alvarez, whom he had worked with at the Manhattan Project. He remained at the university until 1961. He worked on the 1951 atomic bombing test onEnewetak Atoll in theMarshall Islands, which was part of theOperation Greenhouse nuclear test series.[2]
Bradner's job at Berkeley required him to do a number of underwater dives. He had previously talked toUnited States Navyfrogmen duringWorld War II concerning the problems of staying in cold water for long periods of time, which causes the diver to lose large amounts of body heat quickly. He worked on developing a new suit that would counter this in the basement of his family's home on Scenic Avenue inBerkeley, California,[1] and researched the newwetsuit at a conference inCoronado, California, in December 1951.[2] According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the wetsuit was invented in 1952.[1] Bradner and other engineers founded the Engineering Development Company (EDCO) in order to develop it.[2] He and his colleagues tested several versions andprototypes of the wetsuit at theScripps Institution of Oceanography inLa Jolla, California.[1] Scripps scientist andengineerWillard Bascom advised Bradner to useneoprene for the suit material, which proved successful.[2] He found that it "would trap the water between the body and the neoprene, and the water would heat up to body temperature and keep you warm".[1]
A 1951 letter showed that Bradner clearly understood that the insulation in such a suit was not provided by the water between the suit and the skin, but rather that this layer of water next to the skin, if trapped, would quickly heat to skin temperature, if the material in the suit were insulative. Thus, the suit only needed to limit purging by fresh cold water, and it did not need to be dry to work.[5] He applied for aU.S. patent for the wetsuit, but his patent application was turned down due to its similar design with theflight suit. The United States Navy also did not adopt the new wetsuits because of worries that the neoprene in the wetsuits might make its swimmers easier to spot by underwatersonar and, thus, could not exclusively profit from his invention.[2]
Bradner and his company, EDCO, tried to sell his wetsuits in theconsumer market. However, he failed to successfully penetrate the wetsuit market, unlike, for exampleBob Meistrell andBill Meistrell, the founders ofBody Glove, andJack O'Neill. Various claims have been made over the years that it was O'Neill or the Meistrell brothers who actually invented the wetsuit instead of Bradner, but recent researchers have concluded that it was Bradner who created the original wetsuit, and not his competitors. In 2005 theLos Angeles Times concluded that Bradner was the "father of the wetsuit",[1][2] and a research paper published by Carolyn Rainey at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1998 provided corroborating evidence.[1]
Bradner joined the Scripps Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics as ageophysicist in 1961.[2]He became a full professor in 1963 and retired in 1980.[1] He remained interested inoceanography,scuba diving, seashell collecting and the outdoors throughout his later years,[1] and continued to work both on oceanographic research, as well as on theDUMAND deep ocean neutrino astronomy project, which combined his two careers in physics and oceanography.[6][7]
Hugh Bradner died at the age of 92 at his home inSan Diego, California, on May 5, 2008, from complications ofpneumonia.[1]
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