Lawrence R. Hafstad papers, 1919-1977

History/Biography:

Lawrence Randolph Hafstad was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1904 to two Norwegian Immigrants. He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1926. In 1933, he received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins in physics. Hafstad died on October 12, 1993.

In 1931, he earned the American Association for the Advancement of Science Prize for his research with Merle A. Tuve and Odd Dahl.He was a research scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1938-1941. During the war he was part of a scientific team at the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University which developed the proximity fuse for use in anti-aircraft weaponry. This development marked a significant improvement in ordnance for the Army and Navy. 

He was awarded the Medal of Merit from the United States Navy and the King's Medal in Defense of Freedom from the British Government in 1946. Among other positions, he was Executive Secretary of the Joint Research Development Board, Office of Defense, of the Secretary of the Navy, 1947-1949; Director of Reactor Development, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1949-1955; Director of Atomic Energy Division, Chase Manhattan Bank, 1955; vice president of General Motors Corporation in charge of research laboratories, 1955-1969. He traveled to Europe and Asia in 1955 on behalf of the Fund for Peaceful Atomic Development. He received the Distinguished Service Award of the United States in 1954 and the Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement from the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1956. 

Scope and Content: 

The collection contains reports, clippings, pamphlets, articles, photographs, and correspondence.Hafstad’s articles discuss various topics regarding atoms and nuclear energy, lectures on missiles, and more. His correspondence includes personal with his mother, and professional correspondence regarding Joint Research and Development Board, U.S. Department of Defense, and Naval Ordnance Laboratory. Travel documents regarding Peaceful Atomic Development in Japan, Australia, Philippines, India, Pakistan and Germany, also includes various photographs of his travels.