Dr. Stan Ulam...My Brush With Greatness

Dr. Ulam

I'm not exactly sure when it happened. It may have been as early as second grade when I contracted a series of childhood illnesses that finally resulted in Rheumatic Fever. Reportedly, I suffered high fevers and was very ill...missing almost a year of school. I recall never feeling quite the same as I had before I was sick...and I know that after this I had some difficulties with things academic...math being the biggest and most perplexing problem. I would avoid most things mathematical for years after... numbers frustrated and perplexed me.

Fast forward through the years and I find myself attending the University of Colorado at Boulder and working as a student assistant in the Mathematics Department. The irony did not escape me...what did escape me at the time was that I was working in the office of a truly brilliant mathematician. I worked for his Administrative Assistant and was aware at the time that he was a "famous" man, I did not realize how famous. Dr. Ulam was one of the scientists that worked on the Manhattan Project.

When I worked in his office I was only aware that he was this really nice man, who was patient and kind to me. I recall be invited to lunch to celebrate his birthday...he was always so approachable and quick to smile and laugh.

I'm not exactly sure when I found out who exactly was Dr. Ulam was and his impact on our world...it was after I left CU...but I will at times think of him, and how it was probably a good thing that I really didn't know at that time how important he was as it might have changed the way I interacted with him.

Below, find links to websites for more information:

http://www.lanl.gov/history/people/S_Ulam.shtml

http://library.lanl.gov/cgi-bin/getfile?00326865.pdf

http://nuclear-history.org/history.html

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/U/Ulam.html