Oppenheimer’s Hamburgers
When the U.S. government scouted out scientists to coordinate the Manhattan Project, they had to choose the best of the best. They needed a leader who knew the science and could lead a large team of equally brilliant minds. There was no question of Oppenheimer’s skills in physics. But he had some strikes against him. He was young, he was a theorist not experienced in applied physics and engineering and never before oversaw a project of that magnitude. As one colleague said during the vetting process, Oppenheimer “couldn’t run a hamburger stand.” But Oppenheimer had latent skill in administration. He understood the need to establish Los Alamos as a research center, and the lab would need to become a community, providing for the families. This ensured Los Alamos was more than an academic center. It would be a home. He ran that “hamburger stand” through solid leadership.