way february december american physicist best known work world war worked manhattan_project chicago professor education early life born pennsylvania second child lawyer wife older brother younger sister originally named catherine later changed friends colleagues generally knew mother died years old father married ear throat specialist provided role model career woman way educated miss boarding school new_jersey connecticut entered forced drop years ill suspected tuberculosis new_york attended couple studied columbia_university interest mathematics authored way published academic paper finally graduated went stimulated interest nuclear physics phd student jobs hard come great depression stayed graduate student completing requirements phd research fellow allowed receive phd thesis nuclear physics cross section subsequently took teaching position assistant professor conference new_york way presented paper nuclear magnetic moments examined spinning atomic nucleus models including liquid drop model followed closer examination liquid drop model paper entitled liquid drop model nuclear moments showed resulting cigar shaped nucleus unstable later recalled day came reported gave solution case sufficiently great angular velocity clear case kind instability took discovery recognize nature instability nuclear analysis higher order terms energy predict advance discovery difficulty mathematics difficulty model failed right right trends nuclear magnetic moments manhattan_project recruited way work manhattan_project chicago working physicist way analyzed data early nuclear designs possible create self sustaining nuclear chain reaction calculations use construction chicago examined problem nuclear poisoning certain products physicist developed way product decay apart working manhattan_project chicago way visited moved tennessee continued research nuclear decay began collection organization nuclear data edited new_york_times bestseller world report public meaning atomic bomb book included essays sold copies later life way moved washington went work years later persuaded establish organization special responsibility gathering nuclear data leadership moved way remained head beginning published journal information gathered joined following year second journal persuaded editors add subject articles facilitate cross referencing way left professor durham north_carolina continued editor later life interested health problems seniors lobbied improved health care way married died chapel hill north_carolina december
Katharine Way