Last updated: July 31, 2020
Person
Dr. J. Ernest Wilkins Jr.
Photo Courtesy of Tuskegee Institute.
Quick Facts
Significance:
nuclear scientist, mechanical engineer and mathematician. who worked on the Manhattan Project in the Metallurgical Laboratory from 1944-1946.
Place of Birth:
Chicago, Illinois
Date of Birth:
November 27, 1923
Place of Death:
Fountain Hills, Arizona
Date of Death:
May 12, 2011
Place of Burial:
Cave Creek, Arizona
Cemetery Name:
National Memorial Cemetery
Dr. Wilkins entered the University of Chicago in 1936, at the age of 13 graduating with his A.B. in mathematics. He continued to study at Chicago until earning his Ph.D. in 1942, at the age of 19. After teaching for a short time at the Tuskegee Institute he returned to the University of Chicago to work on the Manhattan Project in the Metallurgical Laboratory in 1944, until 1946. In 1970, he was appointed to Howard University as Distinguished Professor of Applied Mathematical Physics. Dr. Wilkins received many awards for his work among them was the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal by the US Army, in 1980.