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William Penney, Baron Penney - Wikipedia
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class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">William Penney, Baron Penney</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 17 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-17" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">17 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%8C_%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A" title="وليام بيني، بارون بيني – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="وليام بيني، بارون بيني" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-azb mw-list-item"><a href="https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%AC_%D9%BE%D9%86%DB%8C" title="ویلیام جرج پنی – South Azerbaijani" lang="azb" hreflang="azb" data-title="ویلیام جرج پنی" data-language-autonym="تۆرکجه" data-language-local-name="South Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>تۆرکجه</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penney" title="William Penney – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="William Penney" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penney" title="William Penney – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="William Penney" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penney" title="William Penney – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="William Penney" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%AC_%D9%BE%D9%86%DB%8C" title="ویلیام جرج پنی – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="ویلیام جرج پنی" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penney" title="William Penney – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="William Penney" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penney,_Baron_Penney" title="William Penney, Baron Penney – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="William Penney, Baron Penney" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ht mw-list-item"><a href="https://ht.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Penney" title="Baron Penney – Haitian Creole" lang="ht" hreflang="ht" data-title="Baron Penney" data-language-autonym="Kreyòl ayisyen" data-language-local-name="Haitian Creole" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kreyòl ayisyen</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%85_%D9%BE%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%89" title="ويليام پينى – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="ويليام پينى" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A2%E3%83%A0%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9A%E3%83%8B%E3%83%BC" title="ウィリアム・ペニー – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="ウィリアム・ペニー" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_George_Penney" title="William George Penney – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="William George Penney" data-language-autonym="Norsk nynorsk" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Nynorsk" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk nynorsk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penney" title="William Penney – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="William Penney" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B8,_%D0%A3%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BC_%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B4%D0%B6" title="Пенни, Уильям Джордж – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Пенни, Уильям Джордж" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_George_Penney,_Baron_Penney" title="William George Penney, Baron Penney – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="William George Penney, Baron Penney" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0%D0%BC_%D0%8F%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%9F_%D0%9F%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8" title="Вилијам Џорџ Пени – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Вилијам Џорџ Пени" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penney" title="William Penney – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="William Penney" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li> 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Click here for more information." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/19px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png" decoding="async" width="19" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/29px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/39px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></a></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">English mathematician and physicist (1909–1991)</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"William Penney" redirects here. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/William_Penney_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="William Penney (disambiguation)">William Penney (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox biography vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div class="honorific-prefix" style="font-size: 77%; font-weight: normal;"><a href="/wiki/The_Right_Honourable" title="The Right Honourable">The Right Honourable</a></div><div class="fn">The Lord Penney</div><div class="honorific-suffix" style="font-size: 77%; font-weight: normal;"><span class="nobold noexcerpt nowraplinks" style="font-size:;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="/wiki/Member_of_the_Order_of_Merit" class="mw-redirect" title="Member of the Order of Merit">OM</a></span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="/wiki/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire">KBE</a></span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society" title="Fellow of the Royal Society">FRS</a></span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh" class="mw-redirect" title="Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh">FRSE</a></span></span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:William_Penney.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/William_Penney.jpg/220px-William_Penney.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="286" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/William_Penney.jpg/330px-William_Penney.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/William_Penney.jpg/440px-William_Penney.jpg 2x" data-file-width="493" data-file-height="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Born</th><td class="infobox-data"><div style="display:inline" class="nickname">William George Penney</div><br /><span style="display:none">(<span class="bday">1909-06-24</span>)</span>24 June 1909<br /><div style="display:inline" class="birthplace"><a href="/wiki/Gibraltar" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Died</th><td class="infobox-data">3 March 1991<span style="display:none">(1991-03-03)</span> (aged 81)<br /><div style="display:inline" class="deathplace"><a href="/wiki/East_Hendred" title="East Hendred">East Hendred</a>, Oxfordshire, England</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Nationality</th><td class="infobox-data category">British</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Alma mater</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Imperial_College_London" title="Imperial College London">Imperial College London</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/University_of_Cambridge" title="University of Cambridge">University of Cambridge</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison" title="University of Wisconsin–Madison">University of Wisconsin–Madison</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/University_of_London" title="University of London">University of London</a></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Known for</th><td class="infobox-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409" /><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/High_Explosive_Research" title="High Explosive Research">Britain's nuclear programme</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Effects_of_nuclear_explosions" title="Effects of nuclear explosions">damage effects of nuclear weapons</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Tube_Alloys" title="Tube Alloys">Tube Alloys</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Particle_in_a_one-dimensional_lattice" title="Particle in a one-dimensional lattice">Kronig-Penney model</a></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Awards</th><td class="infobox-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409" /><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Officer_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Officer of the Order of the British Empire">Officer of the Order of the British Empire</a> (1946)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire">Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire</a> (1952)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Life_peer" title="Life peer">Life peer</a> (1967)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Order_of_Merit" title="Order of Merit">Order of Merit</a> (1969)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Wilhelm_Exner_Medal" title="Wilhelm Exner Medal">Wilhelm Exner Medal</a> (1967)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Rumford_Medal" title="Rumford Medal">Rumford Medal</a> (1969)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Medal_of_Freedom" class="mw-redirect" title="Medal of Freedom">Medal of Freedom</a> (1946) (US)</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1257001546" /><b>Scientific career</b></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Fields</th><td class="infobox-data category">Mathematics</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Institutions</th><td class="infobox-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409" /><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Atomic_Weapons_Research_Establishment" class="mw-redirect" title="Atomic Weapons Research Establishment">Atomic Weapons Research Establishment</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_Atomic_Energy_Authority" title="United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority">UK Atomic Energy Authority</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Los_Alamos_Laboratory" class="mw-redirect" title="Los Alamos Laboratory">Los Alamos Laboratory</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Imperial_College_London" title="Imperial College London">Imperial College London</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/University_of_Oxford" title="University of Oxford">University of Oxford</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/University_of_Cambridge" title="University of Cambridge">University of Cambridge</a></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2"> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>William George Penney, Baron Penney</b>, <span class="nobold noexcerpt nowraplinks" style="font-size:;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="/wiki/Member_of_the_Order_of_Merit" class="mw-redirect" title="Member of the Order of Merit">OM</a></span>, <span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="/wiki/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire">KBE</a></span>, <span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society" title="Fellow of the Royal Society">FRS</a></span>, <span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh" class="mw-redirect" title="Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh">FRSE</a></span></span> (24 June 1909 – 3 March 1991) was an English mathematician and professor of <a href="/wiki/Mathematical_physics" title="Mathematical physics">mathematical physics</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Imperial_College_London" title="Imperial College London">Imperial College London</a> and later the <a href="/wiki/Rector_of_Imperial_College_London" class="mw-redirect" title="Rector of Imperial College London">rector of Imperial College London</a>. He had a leading role in the development of <a href="/wiki/High_Explosive_Research" title="High Explosive Research">High Explosive Research</a>, Britain's clandestine nuclear programme that started in 1942 during the <a href="/wiki/Second_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second World War">Second World War</a> which produced the first British atomic bomb in 1952. </p><p>As the head of the <a href="/wiki/British_contribution_to_the_Manhattan_Project" title="British contribution to the Manhattan Project">British delegation</a> working on the <a href="/wiki/Manhattan_Project" title="Manhattan Project">Manhattan Project</a> at <a href="/wiki/Los_Alamos_Laboratory" class="mw-redirect" title="Los Alamos Laboratory">Los Alamos Laboratory</a>, Penney initially carried out <a href="/wiki/Mathematical_optimization" title="Mathematical optimization">calculations</a> to predict the <a href="/wiki/Effects_of_nuclear_explosions" title="Effects of nuclear explosions">damage effects</a> generated by the <a href="/wiki/Blast_wave" title="Blast wave">blast wave</a> of an <a href="/wiki/Atomic_bomb" class="mw-redirect" title="Atomic bomb">atomic bomb</a>. Upon returning home, Penney directed the British nuclear weapons directorate, codenamed <a href="/wiki/Tube_Alloys" title="Tube Alloys">Tube Alloys</a> and directed scientific research at the <a href="/wiki/Atomic_Weapons_Research_Establishment" class="mw-redirect" title="Atomic Weapons Research Establishment">Atomic Weapons Research Establishment</a> which resulted in the first <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_detonation" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear detonation">detonation</a> of a British <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_bomb" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear bomb">nuclear bomb</a> in <a href="/wiki/Operation_Hurricane" title="Operation Hurricane">Operation Hurricane</a> in 1952. After the test, Penney became chief advisor to the new <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_Atomic_Energy_Authority" title="United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority">United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority</a> (UKAEA). He was later chairman of the authority, which he used in international negotiations to control <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_testing" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear testing">nuclear testing</a> with the <a href="/wiki/Partial_Nuclear_Test_Ban_Treaty" title="Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty">Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty</a>. </p><p>Penney's notable scientific contributions included the mathematics for complex wave dynamics, both in <a href="/wiki/Shock_wave" title="Shock wave">shock</a> and <a href="/wiki/Gravity_wave" title="Gravity wave">gravity waves</a>, proposing <a href="/wiki/Optimization_(mathematics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Optimization (mathematics)">optimisation</a> problems and solutions in <a href="/wiki/Hydrodynamics" class="mw-redirect" title="Hydrodynamics">hydrodynamics</a> (which plays a major role in <a href="/wiki/Materials_science" title="Materials science">materials science</a> and <a href="/wiki/Metallurgical_engineering" class="mw-redirect" title="Metallurgical engineering">metallurgy</a>.) During his later years, Penney lectured in mathematics and physics; he was the Rector of Imperial College London 1967–1973. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Early_life_and_education">Early life and education</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Early life and education"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>William George Penney was born in <a href="/wiki/Gibraltar" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a> on 24 June 1909, the oldest child and only son of William Alfred Penney, a <a href="/wiki/Sergeant_Major" class="mw-redirect" title="Sergeant Major">sergeant-major</a> in the <a href="/wiki/British_Army" title="British Army">British Army</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Royal_Army_Ordnance_Corps" title="Royal Army Ordnance Corps">Ordnance Corps</a> who was then serving overseas, and Blanche Evelyn Johnson, who had worked as a cashier before her marriage.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> His parents moved about frequently, but Penney did not always accompany them. After the outbreak of the <a href="/wiki/First_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="First World War">First World War</a>, Penney, his mother and his sisters moved to <a href="/wiki/Sheerness" title="Sheerness">Sheerness</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kent" title="Kent">Kent</a>, where he went to primary school. He then attended a school near <a href="/wiki/Colchester" title="Colchester">Colchester</a>, and finally, was at Sheerness Technical School for Boys from 1924 to 1926, where he displayed a talent for science. He participated in <a href="/wiki/Boxing" title="Boxing">boxing</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sport_of_athletics" title="Sport of athletics">athletics</a>, winning the school's 100-yard (91 m) dash. He also played <a href="/wiki/Cricket" title="Cricket">cricket</a>, and he was <a href="/wiki/Centre-forward" class="mw-redirect" title="Centre-forward">centre-forward</a> on the school <a href="/wiki/Soccer" class="mw-redirect" title="Soccer">football</a> team.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994283_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994283-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1927, Penney's passion for science landed him in a local science laboratory where he worked for 10 shillings a week (equivalent to £38 in 2023) as a laboratory assistant.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994283_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994283-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This helped him to gain a Kent county scholarship and a royal scholarship to the <a href="/wiki/Royal_College_of_Science" title="Royal College of Science">Royal College of Science</a> (RCS), a constituent college of <a href="/wiki/Imperial_College_London" title="Imperial College London">Imperial College London</a>. He played centre-forward on the RCS soccer team. He was permitted to skip the first year of the course, and graduated in 1929, obtaining his <a href="/wiki/Bachelor_of_Science" title="Bachelor of Science">Bachelor of Science</a> degree in mathematics with <a href="/wiki/First_Class_Honours" class="mw-redirect" title="First Class Honours">First Class Honours</a> at age 20. His talent was recognised by the Governor's Prize for Mathematics from the faculty of science.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994284_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994284-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Penney was offered a research position at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_London" title="University of London">London University</a>, where he studied for a doctorate. He spent a term at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Groningen" title="University of Groningen">University of Groningen</a> in the Netherlands,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994284_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994284-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> where he worked with <a href="/wiki/Ralph_Kronig" title="Ralph Kronig">Ralph Kronig</a>. Together, they developed the <a href="/wiki/Kronig%E2%80%93Penney_model" class="mw-redirect" title="Kronig–Penney model">Kronig–Penney model</a>, which described the motions of <a href="/wiki/Electron" title="Electron">electrons</a> in periodic fields.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPeierls1991138–140_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPeierls1991138–140-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Penney was awarded his <a href="/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy" title="Doctor of Philosophy">Doctor of Philosophy</a> (PhD) in Mathematics in 1931.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994284_3-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994284-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He accepted a <a href="/wiki/Harkness_Fellow" class="mw-redirect" title="Harkness Fellow">Commonwealth Fund Fellowship</a> and travelled to the United States, where he became foreign research associate at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison" title="University of Wisconsin–Madison">University of Wisconsin–Madison</a>, studying under <a href="/wiki/John_H._Van_Vleck" class="mw-redirect" title="John H. Van Vleck">John H. Van Vleck</a>, and was awarded a <a href="/wiki/Master_of_Arts" title="Master of Arts">Master of Arts</a> degree.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994284_3-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994284-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> While in the United States he visited <a href="/wiki/Carl_David_Anderson" title="Carl David Anderson">Carl Anderson</a>'s laboratory at the <a href="/wiki/California_Institute_of_Technology" title="California Institute of Technology">California Institute of Technology</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ernest_Lawrence" title="Ernest Lawrence">Ernest Lawrence</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Lawrence_Berkeley_Laboratory" class="mw-redirect" title="Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory">Radiation Laboratory</a> at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_California,_Berkeley" title="University of California, Berkeley">University of California</a>. He was a guest at <a href="/wiki/Robert_Oppenheimer" class="mw-redirect" title="Robert Oppenheimer">Robert Oppenheimer</a>'s ranch in <a href="/wiki/New_Mexico" title="New Mexico">New Mexico</a>, saw <a href="/wiki/Babe_Ruth" title="Babe Ruth">Babe Ruth</a> play <a href="/wiki/Baseball" title="Baseball">baseball</a>, and was a spectator at the <a href="/wiki/1932_Los_Angeles_Olympics" class="mw-redirect" title="1932 Los Angeles Olympics">1932 Los Angeles Olympics</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On returning to England in 1933, Penney was granted the <a href="/wiki/1851_Exhibition_Scholarship" class="mw-redirect" title="1851 Exhibition Scholarship">1851 Exhibition Scholarship</a> to attend <a href="/wiki/Trinity_College,_Cambridge" title="Trinity College, Cambridge">Trinity College, Cambridge</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He changed his mathematical career to physics, and conducted a thorough research and theoretical investigation into the structure of metals and the magnetic properties of crystals with <a href="/wiki/John_Lennard-Jones" title="John Lennard-Jones">John Lennard-Jones</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPeierls1991138–140_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPeierls1991138–140-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1935, Penney submitted his final thesis, which contained the fundamental work in the applications of <a href="/wiki/Quantum_mechanics" title="Quantum mechanics">quantum mechanics</a> to the physics of crystals. The <a href="/wiki/University_of_Cambridge" title="University of Cambridge">University of Cambridge</a> awarded him a <a href="/wiki/PhD" class="mw-redirect" title="PhD">PhD</a> in 1935 and a <a href="/wiki/Doctor_of_Science" title="Doctor of Science">Doctor of Science</a> in <a href="/wiki/Mathematical_Physics" class="mw-redirect" title="Mathematical Physics">Mathematical Physics</a> in 1936.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1936, he was elected to the <a href="/wiki/George_Gabriel_Stokes" class="mw-redirect" title="George Gabriel Stokes">Stokes</a> studentship at <a href="/wiki/Pembroke_College,_Cambridge" title="Pembroke College, Cambridge">Pembroke College, Cambridge</a>, but in the same year he returned to London and was appointed <a href="/wiki/Lecturer" title="Lecturer">Reader</a> in Mathematics at Imperial College London, a post he held from 1936 to 1945.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 27 July 1935, Penney married Adele Minnie Elms, a university student from Kent he had known since his days in Sheerness. They had two sons, Martin, who was born in 1938, and Christopher, who was born in 1941.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994288_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994288-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Second_World_War">Second World War</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Second World War"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Physex">Physex</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Physex"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Penney registered himself as available for scientific war work, but heard nothing for several months after the outbreak of the <a href="/wiki/Second_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second World War">Second World War</a> in September 1939. He was then approached by <a href="/wiki/G._I._Taylor" title="G. I. Taylor">Geoffrey Taylor</a>. Taylor was an expert on <a href="/wiki/Fluid_dynamics" title="Fluid dynamics">fluid dynamics</a>, and was dealing with more questions from government departments regarding the effects of explosions than he had time to answer. He asked Penney if he could investigate the behaviour of an underwater explosion. Penney became a member of the Physics of Explosives Committee (Physex), and reported his results to another committee, Undex, which was run by the <a href="/wiki/Admiralty_(United_Kingdom)" title="Admiralty (United Kingdom)">Admiralty</a> and was interested in underwater explosions such as those created by <a href="/wiki/Naval_mine" title="Naval mine">mines</a>, <a href="/wiki/Torpedo" title="Torpedo">torpedoes</a> and <a href="/wiki/Depth_charge" title="Depth charge">depth charges</a>, and their effects on the hulls of ships and <a href="/wiki/Submarine" title="Submarine">submarines</a>. Most of the data on underwater explosions was from the First World War.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199530–31_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199530–31-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>With <a href="/wiki/Royal_Navy" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a> <a href="/wiki/Engineer_Officer_(Royal_Navy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Engineer Officer (Royal Navy)">engineer officers</a> Penney designed and supervised development of <a href="/wiki/Bombardon_breakwater" class="mw-redirect" title="Bombardon breakwater">Bombardon breakwaters</a>, steel structures that formed part of the <a href="/wiki/Mulberry_harbour" class="mw-redirect" title="Mulberry harbour">Mulberry harbours</a> that were placed off the <a href="/wiki/Normandy" title="Normandy">Normandy</a> beaches after the <a href="/wiki/D-Day" class="mw-redirect" title="D-Day">D-Day</a> invasion. These mobile breakwaters protected landing craft and troops from the Atlantic rollers. Penney's job was to calculate the effects of waves on the Bombardons and devise the most efficient arrangement of them.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199530–31_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199530–31-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Manhattan_Project">Manhattan Project</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Manhattan Project"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/British_contribution_to_the_Manhattan_Project" title="British contribution to the Manhattan Project">British contribution to the Manhattan Project</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:William_G._Penney_Los_Alamos_badge_photo.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/William_G._Penney_Los_Alamos_badge_photo.jpg/220px-William_G._Penney_Los_Alamos_badge_photo.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="295" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/William_G._Penney_Los_Alamos_badge_photo.jpg/330px-William_G._Penney_Los_Alamos_badge_photo.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/William_G._Penney_Los_Alamos_badge_photo.jpg/440px-William_G._Penney_Los_Alamos_badge_photo.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3239" data-file-height="4347" /></a><figcaption>Penney's ID badge photo from <a href="/wiki/Los_Alamos_National_Laboratory" title="Los Alamos National Laboratory">Los Alamos National Laboratory</a> of the United States.</figcaption></figure><p> The August 1943 <a href="/wiki/Quebec_Agreement" title="Quebec Agreement">Quebec Agreement</a> provided for British support of the American <a href="/wiki/Manhattan_Project" title="Manhattan Project">Manhattan Project</a>, which aimed to develop <a href="/wiki/Atomic_bomb" class="mw-redirect" title="Atomic bomb">atomic bombs</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowing1964164–171_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowing1964164–171-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Over the objections of the Admiralty and Imperial College, Penney was sent to join the team of British scientists at the Manhattan Project's <a href="/wiki/Los_Alamos_Laboratory" class="mw-redirect" title="Los Alamos Laboratory">Los Alamos Laboratory</a> in New Mexico, where expertise on explosions and their effects was in demand.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowing1964265_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowing1964265-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At Los Alamos Penney gained recognition for his scientific talents, and also for his leadership qualities and ability to work in harmony with others. Within a few weeks of his arrival he was added to the core group of scientists making key decisions in the direction of the programme.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994285_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994285-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Major_General_(United_States)" class="mw-redirect" title="Major General (United States)">Major General</a> <a href="/wiki/Leslie_Groves" title="Leslie Groves">Leslie Groves</a>, the director of the Manhattan Project, later wrote:<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style></p><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>Throughout the life of the project, vital decisions were reached only after the most careful consideration and discussion with the men I thought were able to offer the soundest advice. Generally, for this operation, they were Oppenheimer, <a href="/wiki/John_von_Neumann" title="John von Neumann">Von Neumann</a>, Penney, <a href="/wiki/William_Sterling_Parsons" title="William Sterling Parsons">Parsons</a> and <a href="/wiki/Norman_F._Ramsey" class="mw-redirect" title="Norman F. Ramsey">Ramsey</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGroves1962343_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGroves1962343-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p></blockquote><p> One of Penney's assignments at Los Alamos was to predict the damage effects from the blast wave of an atomic bomb. Soon after he arrived at Los Alamos, he gave a talk on the subject. Fellow Manhattan Project scientist <a href="/wiki/Rudolf_Peierls" title="Rudolf Peierls">Rudolf Peierls</a> recalled that:<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712" /></p><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>Soon after his arrival he gave a talk about the effect of blast waves on people, including many gruesome details to which his American audience was not accustomed. He presented all this with his usual cheerful manner, and so acquired for a time the sobriquet "the smiling killer."<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPeierls1991138–140_4-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPeierls1991138–140-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p></blockquote> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Project_Alberta.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Project_Alberta.jpg/220px-Project_Alberta.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="177" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Project_Alberta.jpg/330px-Project_Alberta.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Project_Alberta.jpg/440px-Project_Alberta.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2870" data-file-height="2309" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Project_Alberta" title="Project Alberta">Project Alberta</a>. Penney is in the second row from the front, third from the left</figcaption></figure> <p>Penney's wife never recovered from <a href="/wiki/Post-natal_depression" class="mw-redirect" title="Post-natal depression">post-natal depression</a> after Christopher's birth, and died on 18 April 1945. He arranged for Joan Quennell, a nurse, to look after the boys.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994288_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994288-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He wanted to return home, but Groves told <a href="/wiki/James_Chadwick" title="James Chadwick">James Chadwick</a>, the British liaison to Manhattan Project in <a href="/wiki/Washington,_D.C." title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a>, that Penney was too important to the project to be released. On 27 April 1945 Penney went to Washington for a target selection meeting. He gave advice regarding the height of the detonation which would ensure optimum destructive effects, whilst ensuring the fireball did not touch the earth, thereby avoiding permanent radiation contamination on the ground. The committee selected four cities from a list of seventeen. Penney attempted to forecast casualties and damage effects, but this was difficult because the exact energy of the bombs was not known.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199534–36_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199534–36-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This was answered by the <a href="/wiki/Trinity_test" class="mw-redirect" title="Trinity test">Trinity test</a> detonation on 16 July 1945. Penney was assigned as an observer on an aircraft, but the flight was cancelled due to bad weather, and he did not witness the test.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESzasz199263–64_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESzasz199263–64-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Five days later, Penney gave a presentation on the results of the test, during which he predicted that the bomb would level a city of three or four hundred thousand people.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERhodes1986677–678_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTERhodes1986677–678-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The following month Penney went to <a href="/wiki/Tinian_Island" class="mw-redirect" title="Tinian Island">Tinian Island</a> as part of <a href="/wiki/Project_Alberta" title="Project Alberta">Project Alberta</a>, the group of scientists and military personnel that assembled the atomic bombs. Along with <a href="/wiki/Royal_Air_Force" title="Royal Air Force">Royal Air Force</a> (RAF) <a href="/wiki/Group_Captain" class="mw-redirect" title="Group Captain">Group Captain</a> <a href="/wiki/Leonard_Cheshire" title="Leonard Cheshire">Leonard Cheshire</a> from the <a href="/wiki/British_Joint_Staff_Mission" class="mw-redirect" title="British Joint Staff Mission">British Joint Staff Mission</a> in Washington, he represented the United Kingdom. The American authorities stopped them observing the <a href="/wiki/Bombing_of_Hiroshima" class="mw-redirect" title="Bombing of Hiroshima">bombing of Hiroshima</a> but, after an appeal to Chadwick, they were permitted to accompany the second mission. On 9 August 1945 Penney witnessed the bombing of Nagasaki, flying with Cheshire in the <a href="/wiki/B-29" class="mw-redirect" title="B-29">B-29</a> observation plane <i><a href="/wiki/Big_Stink_(B-29)" class="mw-redirect" title="Big Stink (B-29)">Big Stink</a></i>. <i>Big Stink</i> missed its rendezvous with the bomber <i><a href="/wiki/Bockscar" title="Bockscar">Bockscar</a></i>, so they witnessed the flash of the Nagasaki detonation from the air at too great a distance to photograph the fireball and the target was obscured by clouds.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowing1964179–180_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowing1964179–180-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> As the leading expert on the effects of explosions, Penney was a member of the team of scientists and military analysts who entered Hiroshima and Nagasaki following the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945 to assess the effects of nuclear weapons.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199538–39_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199538–39-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Penney returned to the United Kingdom on a civilian flight from the United States in September 1945. He brought artefacts from Hiroshima and Nagasaki with him, and was charged £450 (equivalent to £25,000 in 2023) for excess baggage.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199538–39_15-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199538–39-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He married Joan Quennell on 3 November 1945.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Penney returned to Imperial College, where he wrote a report on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He estimated that the bomb dropped on the former had a <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_yield" title="Nuclear weapon yield">yield</a> of 10 kilotons of TNT (42 TJ) and that of the Nagasaki bomb of about 30 kilotons of TNT (130 TJ). He wanted to return to academic life, and he was offered a chair of mathematics at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Oxford" title="University of Oxford">University of Oxford</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994288_5-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994288-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="British_Nuclear_Weapons_Programme">British Nuclear Weapons Programme</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: British Nuclear Weapons Programme"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/High_Explosive_Research" title="High Explosive Research">High Explosive Research</a></div> <p>At the end of the war the British government, now under the <a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(United_Kingdom)" class="mw-redirect" title="Labour Party (United Kingdom)">Labour</a> <a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a>, <a href="/wiki/Clement_Attlee" title="Clement Attlee">Clement Attlee</a>, believed that America would share the technology that British leaders saw as a joint discovery under the terms of the 1943 Quebec Agreement and the 1944 <a href="/wiki/Hyde_Park_Agreement" class="mw-redirect" title="Hyde Park Agreement">Hyde Park Agreement</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGoldberg1964410_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGoldberg1964410-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In December 1945, Attlee ordered the construction of an atomic pile to produce plutonium and requested a report to detail requirements for Britain's atomic bombs.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a165–168_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a165–168-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Penney was approached by <a href="/wiki/C._P._Snow" title="C. P. Snow">C. P. Snow</a> and asked to take up post as Chief Superintendent Armament Research (CSAR, called "Caesar") at <a href="/wiki/Fort_Halstead" title="Fort Halstead">Fort Halstead</a> in Kent, as he suspected Britain was going to build an atomic bomb of its own and he wanted Penney in this job. As CSAR he was responsible for all types of armaments research.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199539–40_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199539–40-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1946, at the request of Groves and the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Navy" title="United States Navy">United States Navy</a>, Penney returned to the United States where he was put in charge of the blast effects studies for <a href="/wiki/Operation_Crossroads" title="Operation Crossroads">Operation Crossroads</a> at <a href="/wiki/Bikini_Atoll" title="Bikini Atoll">Bikini Atoll</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Marshall_Islands" title="Marshall Islands">Marshall Islands</a> in July 1946.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a165–168_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a165–168-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He wrote the after action reports on the effects of the two nuclear detonations. His reputation was further enhanced when, after the sophisticated test gauges failed in the Able test due to the bomb missing the intended target, he was able to determine the yield using observations from simple devices made from petrol tins. The second test, Baker, was an underwater test, and it impressed Penney greatly. He speculated on the possible effects if an atomic bomb was exploded near a port city in the UK.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199543–44_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199543–44-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The passage of the <a href="/wiki/McMahon_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="McMahon Act">McMahon Act</a> (Atomic Energy Act) in August 1946 made it clear that Britain would no longer be allowed access to US atomic research. Penney left the United States and returned to the United Kingdom where he drew up plans for an atomic weapons section in his department, submitting them to the Controller of Production, Atomic Energy, <a href="/wiki/Marshal_of_the_Royal_Air_Force" title="Marshal of the Royal Air Force">Marshal of the Royal Air Force</a> <a href="/wiki/Charles_Portal,_1st_Viscount_Portal_of_Hungerford" title="Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford">Lord Portal</a>, in November 1946.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a180–181_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a180–181-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In January 1947, Penney went to the United States to attend a symposium on the Crossroads tests. With almost all other aspects of atomic co-operation between the countries at an end, his personal role was seen as keeping the contact alive between the parties. He returned to the UK at the end of February 1947.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199546–47_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199546–47-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Penney_and_Torlesse_during_Operation_Hurricane.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Penney_and_Torlesse_during_Operation_Hurricane.jpg/220px-Penney_and_Torlesse_during_Operation_Hurricane.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="141" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Penney_and_Torlesse_during_Operation_Hurricane.jpg/330px-Penney_and_Torlesse_during_Operation_Hurricane.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Penney_and_Torlesse_during_Operation_Hurricane.jpg/440px-Penney_and_Torlesse_during_Operation_Hurricane.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2314" data-file-height="1478" /></a><figcaption>Penney (right) watches the <a href="/wiki/Operation_Hurricane" title="Operation Hurricane">Operation Hurricane</a> nuclear test after the initial flash. With him is <a href="/wiki/Rear_Admiral_(Royal_Navy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Rear Admiral (Royal Navy)">Rear Admiral</a> <a href="/wiki/Arthur_David_Torlesse" title="Arthur David Torlesse">Arthur David Torlesse</a>, the task force commander.</figcaption></figure> <p>Attlee's government decided that Britain required the atomic bomb to maintain its <a href="/wiki/Great_power" title="Great power">great power</a> status.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a184_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a184-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBaylisStoddart201533_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaylisStoddart201533-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the words of the <a href="/wiki/Foreign_Secretary_(United_Kingdom)" title="Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)">Foreign Secretary</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ernest_Bevin" title="Ernest Bevin">Ernest Bevin</a>, "We've got to have this thing over here, whatever it costs ... We've got to have the bloody <a href="/wiki/Union_Jack" title="Union Jack">Union Jack</a> flying on top of it."<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBaylisStoddart201532_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaylisStoddart201532-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199521_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199521-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Officially, the decision to proceed with the British atomic bomb project was made in January 1947. The government also endorsed Portal's proposal to place Penney in charge of the bomb development effort.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a181–184_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a181–184-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The project was based at the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Arsenal" title="Royal Arsenal">Royal Arsenal</a>, <a href="/wiki/Woolwich" title="Woolwich">Woolwich</a>, and was code-named "High Explosive Research" (HER).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199548–49_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199548–49-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In May 1947, Penney was officially named to head the HER project.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a181–184_26-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974a181–184-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The following month he began assembling teams of scientists and engineers to work on the new technologies that had to be developed. He gathered 34 senior members of his fledgling team in the library at the Royal Arsenal and gave a two-hour talk on the principles of how to build an atomic bomb.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199548–49_27-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199548–49-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By mid-1948, it was clear that Penney's initial estimate that he would require 220 staff was wide of the mark, and that he would need nearly 500. This meant not only taking personnel from other projects, but scrapping some entirely.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199560–61_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199560–61-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In October 1948, he submitted a request for developing a new, separate site for HER on grounds of safety, security and economy.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b443–444_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b443–444-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This was approved, but it took another six months to locate a suitable site. A former airbase, <a href="/wiki/RAF_Aldermaston" title="RAF Aldermaston">RAF Aldermaston</a>, was selected.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199596_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199596-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>At the same time, it was decided to separate HER from the Armaments Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE). This resulted in a painful bureaucratic battle over personnel whose expertise was wanted for research on both nuclear weapons and <a href="/wiki/Guided_missile" class="mw-redirect" title="Guided missile">guided missiles</a>. In the end, HER kept 25 of the 30 key personnel that AWRE wanted. The site was taken over on 1 April 1950. Penney became Chief Superintendent High Explosive Research (CSHER).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b450_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b450-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The first stage of work at Aldermaston was completed in December 1951, but the plutonium processing building was only handed over in April 1952, the month that the first plutonium was due to arrive from <a href="/wiki/Windscale" class="mw-redirect" title="Windscale">Windscale</a>. At the peak of construction in 1953, over 4,000 personnel were working on the site.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b194–196_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b194–196-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 3 October 1952, under the code-name "<a href="/wiki/Operation_Hurricane" title="Operation Hurricane">Operation Hurricane</a>", the first British nuclear device was successfully detonated off the west coast of Australia in the <a href="/wiki/Monte_Bello_Islands" class="mw-redirect" title="Monte Bello Islands">Monte Bello Islands</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart1995253_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart1995253-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="British_hydrogen_bomb">British hydrogen bomb</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: British hydrogen bomb"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/British_hydrogen_bomb_programme" title="British hydrogen bomb programme">British hydrogen bomb programme</a></div> <p>Hurricane was but the first series of British <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_tests_in_Australia" title="Nuclear weapons tests in Australia">nuclear weapons tests in Australia</a>. Further tests required a site on land, so Penney visited Australia and chose a site at <a href="/wiki/Emu_Field" class="mw-redirect" title="Emu Field">Emu Field</a> in <a href="/wiki/South_Australia" title="South Australia">South Australia</a> for the <a href="/wiki/Operation_Totem" title="Operation Totem">Operation Totem</a> test series in 1953.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESymonds1985117–118_34-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESymonds1985117–118-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Emu Field proved too remote, so Penney selected a more accessible site at <a href="/wiki/Maralinga" title="Maralinga">Maralinga</a>. The decision to develop a British <a href="/wiki/Hydrogen_bomb" class="mw-redirect" title="Hydrogen bomb">hydrogen bomb</a> meant that certain scientific information was urgently required and Maralinga was not yet ready, so a second series of tests, <a href="/wiki/Operation_Mosaic" title="Operation Mosaic">Operation Mosaic</a>, was conducted in the Monte Bello Islands in 1956.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEArnoldSmith2006106–110_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArnoldSmith2006106–110-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The subsequent <a href="/wiki/British_nuclear_tests_at_Maralinga#Operation_Buffalo" title="British nuclear tests at Maralinga">Operation Buffalo</a> tests were carried out at Maralinga in September and October 1956.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEArnoldSmith2006156–166_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArnoldSmith2006156–166-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Penney personally supervised the Totem and Buffalo tests.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994290_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994290-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Penney was aware of the public relations issues associated with the tests, and made clear-speaking presentations to the Australian press. Before one series of tests, <a href="/wiki/Lord_Carrington" class="mw-redirect" title="Lord Carrington">Lord Carrington</a>, the <a href="/wiki/List_of_High_Commissioners_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_Australia" class="mw-redirect" title="List of High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Australia">High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Australia</a>, described Penney's press presence: "Sir William Penney has established in Australia a reputation which is quite unique: his appearance, his obvious sincerity and honesty, and the general impression he gives that he would rather be digging his garden – and would be, but for the essential nature of his work – have made him a public figure of some magnitude in Australian eyes".<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEArnold1992447_38-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArnold1992447-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEArnoldSmith2006194_39-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArnoldSmith2006194-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Britain felt the need to quickly develop <a href="/wiki/TNT_equivalent" title="TNT equivalent">megaton</a>-class weapons because it seemed that atmospheric testing could soon be outlawed by treaty. As a result, the UK wanted to demonstrate its ability to manufacture megaton-class weapons by proof-testing them before any legal prohibitions were in place. The Prime Minister, <a href="/wiki/Harold_Macmillan" title="Harold Macmillan">Harold Macmillan</a>, hoped to convince the US to change the McMahon Act, which prohibited sharing information even with the British, by demonstrating that the UK had the technology to make a thermonuclear weapon (an H-bomb), and he put Penney in charge of developing this bomb. The <a href="/wiki/Orange_Herald" title="Orange Herald">Orange Herald</a> bomb was developed and was passed off as a <a href="/wiki/Thermonuclear" class="mw-redirect" title="Thermonuclear">thermonuclear</a> bomb, when in fact it was a <a href="/wiki/Boosted_fission_weapon" title="Boosted fission weapon">boosted fission weapon</a> in which little of the energy came from fusion.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPearce201742–43_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPearce201742–43-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The reports were unlikely to have fooled the American observers.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBaylis1994171_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaylis1994171-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The subsequent successful development of British thermonuclear weapons, which coincided with the <a href="/wiki/Sputnik_crisis" title="Sputnik crisis">Sputnik crisis</a> led to the amendment of the McMahon Act, and the re-establishment of the nuclear <a href="/wiki/Special_Relationship" title="Special Relationship">Special Relationship</a> with the United States.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBotti1987199–201_42-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBotti1987199–201-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the late 1950s there was domestic and international pressure to discontinue atmospheric nuclear testing. Penney headed the UK delegation at a conference convened in Geneva on 1 July 1958. Macmillan took Penney along as an advisor to the conference in Bermuda in December 1961, where Macmillan met with President <a href="/wiki/John_F._Kennedy" title="John F. Kennedy">John F. Kennedy</a> and concluded the <a href="/wiki/Nassau_Agreement" title="Nassau Agreement">Nassau Agreement</a>. Penney continued as the government's advisor on arms control and participated in the preliminary discussion leading up to, and the signing of, the <a href="/wiki/Partial_Test_Ban_Treaty" class="mw-redirect" title="Partial Test Ban Treaty">Partial Test Ban Treaty</a> in Moscow in July 1963.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994292–293_43-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994292–293-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Nuclear development was transferred from the <a href="/wiki/Ministry_of_Supply_(United_Kingdom)" class="mw-redirect" title="Ministry of Supply (United Kingdom)">Ministry of Supply</a> (MoS) to the newly formed <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_Atomic_Energy_Authority" title="United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority">United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority</a> (UKAEA).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESimpson198696–97_44-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESimpson198696–97-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Penney became a member of the UKAEA Board in 1954,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994294_45-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994294-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and he chaired its official inquiry in the 1957 <a href="/wiki/Windscale_fire" title="Windscale fire">Windscale fire</a>. When Sir <a href="/wiki/John_Cockcroft" title="John Cockcroft">John Cockcroft</a> left in 1959 to become the master of <a href="/wiki/Churchill_College,_Cambridge" title="Churchill College, Cambridge">Churchill College, Cambridge</a>, Penney succeeded him as the Member for Scientific Research. He became deputy chairman in 1961 and chairman in 1964.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEArnold1992447_38-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArnold1992447-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The UKAEA had a difficult working relationship with the <a href="/wiki/Central_Electricity_Generating_Board" title="Central Electricity Generating Board">Central Electricity Generating Board</a> (CEGB). Penney's management style was to avoid confrontation and seek consensus whenever possible, and the role of the UKAEA in the nuclear power industry was an advisory one. He endorsed the CEGB's 1966 decision to develop the <a href="/wiki/Advanced_Gas-cooled_Reactor" class="mw-redirect" title="Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor">Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor</a>. He took the decision to proceed with the <a href="/wiki/Dounreay#Prototype_Fast_Reactor_(PFR)" title="Dounreay">Prototype Fast Reactor</a> at <a href="/wiki/Dounreay" title="Dounreay">Dounreay</a> and to upgrade the <a href="/wiki/Uranium_enrichment" class="mw-redirect" title="Uranium enrichment">uranium enrichment</a> plant at <a href="/wiki/Capenhurst" title="Capenhurst">Capenhurst</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994294–295_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994294–295-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Imperial_College">Imperial College</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Imperial College"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Penney was <a href="/wiki/Rector_of_Imperial_College" class="mw-redirect" title="Rector of Imperial College">Rector of Imperial College</a> London from 1967 to 1973. The job was far more trying than he anticipated, and there was no time for personal research. The university sector had expanded rapidly in the 1960s, and there were many personnel and financial difficulties to contend with. There was staff and student unrest that he had to deal with. Penney agreed to have student observers on the Board of Studies, and he brokered deals with the <a href="/wiki/Association_of_University_Teachers" title="Association of University Teachers">Association of University Teachers</a>. Imperial College now had direct access to <a href="/wiki/University_Grants_Committee_(United_Kingdom)" title="University Grants Committee (United Kingdom)">University Grants Committee</a> funding and was no longer dependent on the University of London but money was still tight. Careful financial management created a surplus of income over expenditure.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994295–296_47-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994295–296-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The college named the William Penney Laboratory at the <a href="/wiki/South_Kensington" title="South Kensington">South Kensington</a> campus, which opened in 1988, in his honour.<sup id="cite_ref-ic_48-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ic-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He served as the first chairman of the UK's Standing Committee on Structural Safety from 1976 to 1982.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Honours_and_awards">Honours and awards</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Honours and awards"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:William_Penney,_Otto_Frisch,_Rudolf_Peierls_and_John_Cockroft.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/William_Penney%2C_Otto_Frisch%2C_Rudolf_Peierls_and_John_Cockroft.jpg/220px-William_Penney%2C_Otto_Frisch%2C_Rudolf_Peierls_and_John_Cockroft.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="162" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/William_Penney%2C_Otto_Frisch%2C_Rudolf_Peierls_and_John_Cockroft.jpg/330px-William_Penney%2C_Otto_Frisch%2C_Rudolf_Peierls_and_John_Cockroft.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/William_Penney%2C_Otto_Frisch%2C_Rudolf_Peierls_and_John_Cockroft.jpg/440px-William_Penney%2C_Otto_Frisch%2C_Rudolf_Peierls_and_John_Cockroft.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="885" /></a><figcaption>Penney (left) with <a href="/wiki/Otto_Frisch" class="mw-redirect" title="Otto Frisch">Otto Frisch</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rudolf_Peierls" title="Rudolf Peierls">Rudolf Peierls</a> and <a href="/wiki/John_Cockcroft" title="John Cockcroft">John Cockcroft</a> after receiving their American <a href="/wiki/Medal_of_Freedom" class="mw-redirect" title="Medal of Freedom">Medals of Freedom</a> in 1946.</figcaption></figure> <p>Penney was made a <a href="/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society" title="Fellow of the Royal Society">Fellow of the Royal Society</a> in 1946. He was its treasurer from 1956 to 1960 and vice-president from 1958 to 1969.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994294_45-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994294-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He became a member of the United States <a href="/wiki/National_Academy_of_Sciences" title="National Academy of Sciences">National Academy of Sciences</a> in 1962,<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> a Fellow of the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh" title="Royal Society of Edinburgh">Royal Society of Edinburgh</a> in 1970,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994298_51-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994298-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and a member of the <a href="/wiki/American_Philosophical_Society" title="American Philosophical Society">American Philosophical Society</a> in 1973.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He received the <a href="/wiki/Wilhelm_Exner_Medal" title="Wilhelm Exner Medal">Wilhelm Exner Medal</a> in 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Among the honours he received in 1969 was the <a href="/wiki/Rumford_Medal" title="Rumford Medal">Rumford Medal</a> by the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Society" title="Royal Society">Royal Society</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Glazebrook_Medal_and_Prize" class="mw-redirect" title="Glazebrook Medal and Prize">Glazebrook Medal and Prize</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Institute_of_Physics" title="Institute of Physics">Institute of Physics</a> and the <a href="/wiki/James_Alfred_Ewing_Medal" title="James Alfred Ewing Medal">James Alfred Ewing Medal</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Institution_of_Civil_Engineers" title="Institution of Civil Engineers">Institution of Civil Engineers</a>, and he was awarded the <a href="/wiki/Kelvin_Gold_Medal" title="Kelvin Gold Medal">Kelvin Gold Medal</a> the following year.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994298_51-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994298-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He was awarded an honorary degree by the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Melbourne" title="University of Melbourne">University of Melbourne</a> in 1956, the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Durham" class="mw-redirect" title="University of Durham">University of Durham</a> in 1957, the University of Oxford in 1959, the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Bath" title="University of Bath">University of Bath</a> in 1966 and by the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Reading" title="University of Reading">University of Reading</a> in 1970.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994298_51-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994298-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For his services to the United States, he was awarded the <a href="/wiki/Medal_of_Freedom_(1945)" title="Medal of Freedom (1945)">Medal of Freedom</a> in 1946.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESzasz199298_54-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESzasz199298-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Penney was appointed an <a href="/wiki/Officer_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Officer of the Order of the British Empire">Officer of the Order of the British Empire</a> in 1946,<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and was raised to Knight Commander of the order in 1952.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He was made a <a href="/wiki/Life_peerage" class="mw-redirect" title="Life peerage">life peer</a>, taking the title <b>Baron Penney</b>, of <a href="/wiki/East_Hendred" title="East Hendred">East Hendred</a> in the Royal County of <a href="/wiki/Berkshire" title="Berkshire">Berkshire</a> on 7 July 1967,<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>57<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and was awarded the <a href="/wiki/Order_of_Merit" title="Order of Merit">Order of Merit</a> in 1969.<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>58<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> As a life peer he was entitled to sit in the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>, but did so only twelve times between 1967 and 1973, and voted for only three bills: for sanctions on <a href="/wiki/Rhodesia" title="Rhodesia">Rhodesia</a> in 1968, for an amendment to the redistribution bill in 1969, and for the <a href="/wiki/Accession_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_the_European_Communities" title="Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities">accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities</a> in 1970.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994290_37-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994290-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Death_and_legacy">Death and legacy</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Death and legacy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In later years he admitted to qualms about his work but felt it was necessary. When aggressively questioned by the <a href="/wiki/McClelland_Royal_Commission" title="McClelland Royal Commission">McClelland Royal Commission</a> investigating the test programmes at Monte Bello and Maralinga in 1985, he acknowledged that at least one of the twelve tests had unsafe levels of fallout. However, he maintained that due care was taken and that the tests conformed to the internationally accepted safety standards of the time.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEArnold1992447_38-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEArnold1992447-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Jim_McClelland" title="Jim McClelland">Jim McClelland</a> broadly accepted Penney's view but anecdotal evidence to the contrary received wide coverage in the press. By promoting a more Australian nationalist view, then current in the government of <a href="/wiki/Bob_Hawke" title="Bob Hawke">Bob Hawke</a>, McClelland had also identified "villains" in the previous Australian and British administrations. As a senior witness Penney bore the brunt of the allegations, and his health was badly affected by the experience. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1991, and died on 3 March 1991 at his home in the village of East Hendred, aged 81.<sup id="cite_ref-odnb_1-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-odnb-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994297_59-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994297-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>59<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He burned his personal papers before he died.<sup id="cite_ref-ic_48-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ic-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In Penney's obituary in the <i><a href="/wiki/New_York_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="New York Times">New York Times</a></i> he was credited as the "father of the British bomb".<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_60-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nyt-60"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>60<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Guardian" title="The Guardian">The Guardian</a></i> described him as its "guiding light" and his scientific and administrative leadership was said to be crucial in its successful and timely creation.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>61<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> His leadership of the team that exploded the first British hydrogen bomb at <a href="/wiki/Kiritimati" title="Kiritimati">Christmas Island</a> was instrumental in restoring the exchange of nuclear technology between Britain and the US in 1958,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPearce201742–43_40-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPearce201742–43-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and he was credited as playing a leading part in the negotiations which led to the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESherfield1994291–293_62-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTESherfield1994291–293-62"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>62<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> His <a href="/wiki/Particle_in_a_one-dimensional_lattice" title="Particle in a one-dimensional lattice">Kronig-Penney</a> model for the behaviour of an electron in a periodic potential is still taught and used today in solid-state physics and is used to explain the origin of <a href="/wiki/Band_gap" title="Band gap">band gaps</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPatterson2010148_63-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPatterson2010148-63"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>63<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output 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a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFCathcart" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Cathcart, Brian. "Penney, William George, Baron Penney (1909–1991)". <i><a href="/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography" title="Dictionary of National Biography">Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</a></i> (online ed.). Oxford University Press. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F49920">10.1093/ref:odnb/49920</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Penney%2C+William+George%2C+Baron+Penney+%281909%E2%80%931991%29&rft.btitle=Oxford+Dictionary+of+National+Biography&rft.edition=online&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F49920&rft.aulast=Cathcart&rft.aufirst=Brian&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span> <span style="font-size:0.95em; font-size:95%; color: var( --color-subtle, #555 )">(Subscription or <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public">UK public library membership</a> required.)</span></span> </li> <li 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href="#CITEREFCathcart1995">Cathcart 1995</a>, pp. 48–49.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199560–61-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199560–61_28-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFCathcart1995">Cathcart 1995</a>, pp. 60–61.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b443–444-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b443–444_29-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFGowingArnold1974b">Gowing & Arnold 1974b</a>, pp. 443–444.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTECathcart199596-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECathcart199596_30-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFCathcart1995">Cathcart 1995</a>, p. 96.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEGowingArnold1974b450-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a 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href="#cite_ref-ic_48-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/about/introducing-imperial/our-people/our-leaders/the-rt-hon-lord-penney/">"Rectors of Imperial College (1908– )"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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New York: Greenwood Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-313-25902-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-313-25902-9"><bdi>978-0-313-25902-9</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/464084495">464084495</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Long+Wait%3A+the+Forging+of+the+Anglo-American+Nuclear+Alliance%2C+1945%E2%80%9358&rft.place=New+York&rft.series=Contributions+in+Military+Studies&rft.pub=Greenwood+Press&rft.date=1987&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F464084495&rft.isbn=978-0-313-25902-9&rft.aulast=Botti&rft.aufirst=Timothy+J.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFCathcart1995" class="citation book cs1">Cathcart, Brian (1995). <i>Test of Greatness: Britain's Struggle for the Atom Bomb</i>. London: John Murray. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7195-5225-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-7195-5225-7"><bdi>0-7195-5225-7</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/31241690">31241690</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Test+of+Greatness%3A+Britain%27s+Struggle+for+the+Atom+Bomb&rft.place=London&rft.pub=John+Murray&rft.date=1995&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F31241690&rft.isbn=0-7195-5225-7&rft.aulast=Cathcart&rft.aufirst=Brian&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGoldberg1964" class="citation journal cs1">Goldberg, Alfred (July 1964). "The Atomic Origins of the British Nuclear Deterrent". <i>International Affairs</i>. <b>40</b> (3): <span class="nowrap">409–</span>429. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2610825">10.2307/2610825</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0020-5850">0020-5850</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2610825">2610825</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=International+Affairs&rft.atitle=The+Atomic+Origins+of+the+British+Nuclear+Deterrent&rft.volume=40&rft.issue=3&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E409-%3C%2Fspan%3E429&rft.date=1964-07&rft.issn=0020-5850&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F2610825%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F2610825&rft.aulast=Goldberg&rft.aufirst=Alfred&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGowing1964" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Gowing" title="Margaret Gowing">Gowing, Margaret</a> (1964). <i>Britain and Atomic Energy 1939–1945</i>. London: Macmillan. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/3195209">3195209</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Britain+and+Atomic+Energy+1939%E2%80%931945&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Macmillan&rft.date=1964&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F3195209&rft.aulast=Gowing&rft.aufirst=Margaret&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGowingArnold1974a" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Gowing" title="Margaret Gowing">Gowing, Margaret</a>; <a href="/wiki/Lorna_Arnold" title="Lorna Arnold">Arnold, Lorna</a> (1974a). <i>Independence and Deterrence: Britain and Atomic Energy, 1945–1952, Volume 1, Policy Making</i>. London: Macmillan. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-333-15781-8" title="Special:BookSources/0-333-15781-8"><bdi>0-333-15781-8</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/611555258">611555258</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Independence+and+Deterrence%3A+Britain+and+Atomic+Energy%2C+1945%E2%80%931952%2C+Volume+1%2C+Policy+Making&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Macmillan&rft.date=1974&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F611555258&rft.isbn=0-333-15781-8&rft.aulast=Gowing&rft.aufirst=Margaret&rft.au=Arnold%2C+Lorna&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGowingArnold1974b" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Gowing" title="Margaret Gowing">Gowing, Margaret</a>; <a href="/wiki/Lorna_Arnold" title="Lorna Arnold">Arnold, Lorna</a> (1974b). <i>Independence and Deterrence: Britain and Atomic Energy, 1945–1952, Volume 2, Policy and Execution</i>. London: Palgrave Macmillan. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-333-16695-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-333-16695-7"><bdi>0-333-16695-7</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/946341039">946341039</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Independence+and+Deterrence%3A+Britain+and+Atomic+Energy%2C+1945%E2%80%931952%2C+Volume+2%2C+Policy+and+Execution&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Palgrave+Macmillan&rft.date=1974&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F946341039&rft.isbn=0-333-16695-7&rft.aulast=Gowing&rft.aufirst=Margaret&rft.au=Arnold%2C+Lorna&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFGroves1962" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Leslie_Groves" title="Leslie Groves">Groves, Leslie</a> (1983) [1962]. <i>Now it Can be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project</i>. New York: Da Capo Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-306-80189-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-306-80189-1"><bdi>978-0-306-80189-1</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/932666584">932666584</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Now+it+Can+be+Told%3A+The+Story+of+the+Manhattan+Project&rft.place=New+York&rft.pub=Da+Capo+Press&rft.date=1983&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F932666584&rft.isbn=978-0-306-80189-1&rft.aulast=Groves&rft.aufirst=Leslie&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFPatterson2010" class="citation book cs1">Patterson, James (2010). <i>Solid-State Physics: Introduction to the Theory</i> (2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-642-02588-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-3-642-02588-4"><bdi>978-3-642-02588-4</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1049589349">1049589349</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Solid-State+Physics%3A+Introduction+to+the+Theory&rft.place=Berlin&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Springer&rft.date=2010&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F1049589349&rft.isbn=978-3-642-02588-4&rft.aulast=Patterson&rft.aufirst=James&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFPearce2017" class="citation magazine cs1">Pearce, Fred (14 October 2017). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23631470-900-the-blushing-englishman-who-stole-nuclear-secrets-from-the-us">"Atomic Briton who brought home the bomb"</a>. <i>New Scientist</i>. Vol. 236, no. 3147. pp. <span class="nowrap">42–</span>43. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017NewSc.236...42P">2017NewSc.236...42P</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0262-4079%2817%2932025-0">10.1016/S0262-4079(17)32025-0</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=New+Scientist&rft.atitle=Atomic+Briton+who+brought+home+the+bomb&rft.volume=236&rft.issue=3147&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E42-%3C%2Fspan%3E43&rft.date=2017-10-14&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2FS0262-4079%2817%2932025-0&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2017NewSc.236...42P&rft.aulast=Pearce&rft.aufirst=Fred&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2Fmg23631470-900-the-blushing-englishman-who-stole-nuclear-secrets-from-the-us&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFPeierls1991" class="citation journal cs1"><a href="/wiki/Rudolf_Peierls" title="Rudolf Peierls">Peierls, Rudolf</a> (October 1991). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.2810303">"Obituary: William George Penney"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Physics_Today" title="Physics Today">Physics Today</a></i>. <b>44</b> (10): <span class="nowrap">138–</span>142. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1991PhT....44j.138P">1991PhT....44j.138P</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.2810303">10.1063/1.2810303</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0031-9228">0031-9228</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Physics+Today&rft.atitle=Obituary%3A+William+George+Penney&rft.volume=44&rft.issue=10&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E138-%3C%2Fspan%3E142&rft.date=1991-10&rft.issn=0031-9228&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1063%2F1.2810303&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1991PhT....44j.138P&rft.aulast=Peierls&rft.aufirst=Rudolf&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1063%252F1.2810303&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFRhodes1986" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Richard_Rhodes" title="Richard Rhodes">Rhodes, Richard</a> (1986). <a href="/wiki/The_Making_of_the_Atomic_Bomb" title="The Making of the Atomic Bomb"><i>The Making of the Atomic Bomb</i></a>. New York: Simon & Schuster. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-671-44133-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-671-44133-3"><bdi>978-0-671-44133-3</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/13793436">13793436</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Making+of+the+Atomic+Bomb&rft.place=New+York&rft.pub=Simon+%26+Schuster&rft.date=1986&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F13793436&rft.isbn=978-0-671-44133-3&rft.aulast=Rhodes&rft.aufirst=Richard&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSherfield1994" class="citation journal cs1">Sherfield, L. (1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1994.0017">"William George Penney, O.M., K.B.E. Baron Penney of East Hendred. 24 June 1909 – 3 March 1991"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Biographical_Memoirs_of_Fellows_of_the_Royal_Society" title="Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society">Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society</a></i>. <b>39</b>: <span class="nowrap">282–</span>302. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1994.0017">10.1098/rsbm.1994.0017</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0080-4606">0080-4606</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Biographical+Memoirs+of+Fellows+of+the+Royal+Society&rft.atitle=William+George+Penney%2C+O.M.%2C+K.B.E.+Baron+Penney+of+East+Hendred.+24+June+1909+%E2%80%93+3+March+1991&rft.volume=39&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E282-%3C%2Fspan%3E302&rft.date=1994&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1098%2Frsbm.1994.0017&rft.issn=0080-4606&rft.aulast=Sherfield&rft.aufirst=L.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1098%252Frsbm.1994.0017&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSimpson1986" class="citation book cs1">Simpson, John (1986). <i>The Independent Nuclear State: The United States, Britain and the Military Atom</i>. Basingstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-333-38661-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-333-38661-3"><bdi>978-0-333-38661-3</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/851286126">851286126</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Independent+Nuclear+State%3A+The+United+States%2C+Britain+and+the+Military+Atom&rft.place=Basingstoke%2C+Hampshire&rft.pub=MacMillan&rft.date=1986&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F851286126&rft.isbn=978-0-333-38661-3&rft.aulast=Simpson&rft.aufirst=John&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSymonds1985" class="citation book cs1">Symonds, J. L. (1985). <i>A History of British Atomic Tests in Australia</i>. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-644-04118-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-644-04118-8"><bdi>978-0-644-04118-8</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/18084438">18084438</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+History+of+British+Atomic+Tests+in+Australia&rft.place=Canberra&rft.pub=Australian+Government+Publishing+Service&rft.date=1985&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F18084438&rft.isbn=978-0-644-04118-8&rft.aulast=Symonds&rft.aufirst=J.+L.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSzasz1992" class="citation book cs1">Szasz, Ferenc Morton (1992). <i>British Scientists and the Manhattan Project: the Los Alamos Years</i>. New York: St. Martin's Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-312-06167-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-312-06167-8"><bdi>978-0-312-06167-8</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/23901666">23901666</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=British+Scientists+and+the+Manhattan+Project%3A+the+Los+Alamos+Years&rft.place=New+York&rft.pub=St.+Martin%27s+Press&rft.date=1992&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F23901666&rft.isbn=978-0-312-06167-8&rft.aulast=Szasz&rft.aufirst=Ferenc+Morton&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWilliam+Penney%2C+Baron+Penney" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=William_Penney,_Baron_Penney&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://88.80.13.160/wiki/United_Kingdom_atomic_weapons_program:_The_full_Penney_Report_%281947%29">The Penney Report (1947)</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120725142651/http://88.80.13.160/wiki/United_Kingdom_atomic_weapons_program:_The_full_Penney_Report_(1947)">Archived</a> 25 July 2012 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>; <a href="/wiki/WikiLeaks" title="WikiLeaks">WikiLeaks</a>.</li></ul> <table class="wikitable succession-box noprint" style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:small;clear:both;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #DAA520;">Academic offices </th></tr> <tr style="text-align:center;"> <td style="width:30%;" rowspan="1">Preceded by<div style="font-weight: bold"><a href="/wiki/Owen_Saunders" title="Owen Saunders">Owen Saunders</a></div> </td> <td style="width: 40%; text-align: center;" rowspan="1"><b> <a href="/wiki/Rector_of_Imperial_College_London" class="mw-redirect" title="Rector of Imperial College London">Rector of Imperial College London</a> </b><br />1967–1973 </td> <td style="width: 30%; text-align: center;" rowspan="1">Succeeded by<div style="font-weight: bold"><a href="/wiki/Brian_Flowers,_Baron_Flowers" title="Brian Flowers, Baron Flowers">Brian Flowers</a></div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output 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id="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q336759#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata1835" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q336759#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, 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style="width:1%">National</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/1055353526">Germany</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/no2007130650">United States</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.ndl.go.jp/auth/ndlna/00525069">Japan</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://data.bibliotheken.nl/id/thes/p217409512">Netherlands</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nli.org.il/en/authorities/987012798463205171">Israel</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Academics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" 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