“There must be no barriers to the freedom of inquiry. There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, must be free to ask any questions, to doubt any assertion, to seek any evidence and to correct any errors. Our political life is also predicated on openness. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it; is to be free to inquire. And we know that as long as we are free to ask what we must, free to think what we will, free to say what we think, free to think what we will, freedom can never be lost, and science will never regress.” Father of the Atomic Bomb, also known as Julius Robert Oppenheimer, was an American theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project’s Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II.  

J.Robert Oppenheimer is an exceptional scientist because he had a passion for learning ever since he was a young child. Throughout his early years, Oppenheimer was a well-known precocious student who enjoyed the study of minerals and poetry. He was inspired by the ancient scriptures of Hinduism and its preachings known as the Bhagavad Gita. The American-born theoretical physicist believed that the Gita itself is the most beautiful philosophical song existing in any of the affluent tongues. When Oppenheimer attended the Ethical Culture School in New York, his astute mind attracted the attention of many professors who were pleased by his success in mathematics and other academic subjects. The way Oppenheimer achieved the admiration of his professors in all the academic subjects truly portrayed his brilliance and passion for learning in his formative years. 

Through his teaching and knowledge of open-mindedness, Oppenheimer developed the ‘aura of intelligence’ with a well-rounded study of the structure of crystals and polarized light. Oppenheimer was never constant with one subject, because he was wondered by all the academic subjects in general. Throughout his life, Oppenheimer was drawn to his literature. Even while he was analyzing and studying formulas, he made time as a small gesture to read poetry. This also represented his extensive thinking and open-mindedness towards the ideas of other people showing that he can not only understand the mindsets of physicists or chemists, but of 17th century poets also.... 

          Oppenheimer’s advancement and maturity was not only a coming-of-age phase, but it was one of the only matters that remained constant in his life. By age nine, he attained ‘the brain of utmost nirvana,’ by speaking six languages such as Greek, Latin, French, German, Dutch and Sanskrit. Oppenheimer estimated IQ scores ranged from 160-310, meaning he was highly gifted. And few words that Oppenheimer uttered to Einstein was, “I believe we did.” He made significant contributions to theoretical physics, including achievements in quantum mechanics and nuclear physics such as the Born-Oppenheimer approximation for molecular wave functions, and work on theory of electrons and positrons. The Oppenheimer-Philips process in nuclear fusion, and early work on quantum tunneling. With his students, he also made contributions to the theory of neutron stars and black-holes, quantum field theory, and interactions of cosmic stars. Oppenheimer in his younger years was subjected to extreme bullying children his age presented him for his bookish hobbies, while in his college years, Oppenheimer was looked above highly. Finally, Oppenheimer’s intelligence was the reason for being a grand Prometheus of the 20th century. 

Oppenheimer’s patience and understanding of a particular situation was outstanding. President Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan project, which was a covert military program designed to make the Atomic Bomb under the code name “Trinity”. While he appointed Dr. Leslie Groves for the trial period, Groves was bewondered by Oppenheimer’s charismatic personality and decided to recruit him in turn for the project itself, despite his nefarious affairs and political dilemmas. Oppenheimer, for one, faced many difficulties in his new position, while he had to secretly sub rosa many scientists who were pompous and full of ego. This certain circumstance not only delineated his patience, but it also showed his ability to understand the value of a certain situation. 

An enthralling, ravenous for knowledge and ingenious gentleman. People who have seen his greatness often fell into two classifications; those who reverenced his intellect, or those who saw him as nothing but an ostentatious poser. Oppenheimer was a man of moral courage and strength, who despite being the Father of the Atomic Bomb, was deeply opposed to the idea of using nuclear weapons and spoke out against it after World War II. An aristocratic man, erudite yet pretentious is one of the greatest personalities molded during the 1900s. These are the many reasons as to why I have venerated Oppenheimer as my hero.