Alfred Carl Haussmann
Alfred Carl Haussmann
Alfred C. "Carl" Haussmann, Jr. (August 26, 1924 – 1998) was an American physicist and laboratory leader best known for his long career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California. Over more than four decades at LLNL he held senior scientific and management positions, including a brief term as Acting Director in 1971, and played a central role in thermonuclear weapons design, early supercomputing and the Laboratory’s laser program. He is also credited with contributing to the physical planning and landscaping of the LLNL campus.[1][2][3][4][5]
Early life and education
Haussmann was born in Geneva, New York, to Alfred C. Haussmann Sr. and Marie Roberts; his father was a longtime physics professor and dean at Hobart College.[6] After graduating from Geneva High School in 1942, he attended Hobart College for one year and then transferred to the United States Military Academy at West Point in July 1943, where he played lacrosse and graduated in 1946 with a B.S. in Military Art and Engineering and a commission as a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps.[7] He completed postgraduate coursework at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and earned an M.S. in Physics from Pennsylvania State University in 1951. He later attended the Nuclear Weapons Supervisor School at Sandia Base in 1952.[1][3]
Career
Haussmann served with classified military research and weapons teams in the early 1950s, including work at Sandia and on Project Matterhorn, the top-secret Cold War project to control thermonuclear reactions at Princeton University, where he collaborated with John Wheeler on thermonuclear design calculations.[8] He joined LLNL as a military research associate in 1953 and left the Army to become a staff physicist in 1955.[1]
At LLNL Haussmann held a series of leadership roles: Thermonuclear Explosive Physics Group Leader (1955–1959), Thermonuclear Design Group Leader (1959–1962), Associate Director of the Military Applications Program (1962–1968), Associate Director of the Plans Office (1968–1971), Acting Director (1971), Associate Director of the Laser Program (1972–1975), Associate Director At-Large (1976–1988), and Associate Director At-Large Emeritus and Advisor to the Director (1988–1998).[1][9][10][11][12][13][3][12]
Contributions
Haussmann’s technical and managerial contributions included work on thermonuclear warhead design—including contributions to the UGM-27 Polaris submarine-launched nuclear warhead program in the late 1950s—development and advocacy for high-end computing at the Laboratory, and leadership in building LLNL’s laser program, which became one of the largest in the world.[3][14] He is cited by colleagues and directors for his role recruiting key personnel, providing programmatic oversight, and fostering an environment that supported world-class research.[3][15]
LLNL Campus planning and legacy
Beyond technical programs, Haussmann championed long-term site planning and landscaping at LLNL. He led efforts to create a campus master plan and to increase tree planting and site amenities; a pond on the campus was formally dedicated as “Lake Haussmann,”[16] and a plaque near Building 111 recognizes his contributions to the Laboratory’s landscape and architecture.[4][17]
Recognition
Former LLNL directors and colleagues praised Haussmann’s mentorship, program-building skills, and institutional leadership. In commemorative remarks he has been described with terms such as “innovator,” “mentor,” and “architect” of Laboratory programs and infrastructure; senior American scientists including Edward Teller, Roger Batzel, Harold Brown, and John Nuckolls credited him with important research and leadership to build strategic deterrent capabilities and develop critical laser and supercomputer programs.[1][18][3]
Personal life
Haussmann married Alice Wilkerson in 1947; the couple had two daughters. He pursued hobbies including gardening, photography, and collecting O-scale model trains and decorative glass.[3][19]
Selected quotation
Haussmann spoke publicly about the strategic importance of supercomputing for scientific and industrial competitiveness, testifying to a House subcommittee in 1982 about the need for broader availability of leading-edge computing resources in the United States.[20][21]
Just an interesting aside –
Carl was among the LLNL staff to meet President Kennedy when he visited.
President Kennedy Pays a Visit | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
President Kennedy Pays a Visit
President Kennedy visits the UC Laboratory Directors
(Excerpted from: “President Kennedy Pays a Visit,” the magnet, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, April 1962.)
A distinguished American name was added to the LRL guest book last month—the name of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 80th President of the United States.
The President took a moment to sign the historic Radiation Laboratory visitors’ register during his brief visit here on Friday, March 23. Adding their signatures at the same time were three members of his party: Robert McNamara, Glenn Seaborg, and Harold Brown.
The President’s visit to the Laboratory preceded his appearance later in the day as principal speaker at UC’s 94th Charter Day ceremonies.
At the Laboratory, the President met in Building 70-A with a group of scientists from LRL and Los Alamos. LRL staff members present at the briefings were: Edwin McMillan, John Foster, Edward Teller, Roger Batzel, Carl Haussmann, Marvin Martin, Ted Merkle, and Duane Sewell.
A Look Back: A visit from President John F. Kennedy
On March 23, 1962, the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, visited the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (Berkeley site) to express his thanks and appreciation for the important national security work being conducted by the scientists at the Livermore and Los Alamos laboratories. See a brief video of President Kennedy's arrival and remarks (audio of remarks starts at 1:24). The President's visit to the Berkeley Laboratory preceded his appearance later in the day as the principal speaker for the University of California's 94th Charter Day ceremonies. While Kennedy had accepted the University's Charter Day invitation, his visit to the Laboratory wasn't confirmed until shortly before the actual day.
The presidential party, which included Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Glenn Seaborg, arrived at the Alameda Naval Air Station, where Gov. Edmund G. Brown met with and escorted the President to campus. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and former Livermore Director and then Director of Defense Research and Engineering Harold Brown also accompanied the President. The two men had spent the previous day at Livermore being briefed on defense research projects (see photo at right). At the Berkeley site, Kennedy was greeted by more than 1,000 Lab staffers, who had lined his route to cheer his arrival. There, the President met with a group of Livermore and Los Alamos scientists, including Livermore Director John Foster and Livermore scientists Edward Teller, Roger Batzel, Michael May, Carl Haussmann and others. Also present were Los Alamos Director Norris Bradbury and Lawrence Radiation Laboratory Director Edwin McMillan.
While the nature of the discussions was classified, White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger stated that "one of the objects of the visit is to enable the President to get a briefing on the scientists' work; the second is to give him the opportunity to express his support of the work that is being done." Shortly after Kennedy's visit, he wrote LRL Director Edwin McMillan to express his thanks, stating: "I was impressed by what I observed and by what you, as well as the directors of the Livermore Laboratory and Los Alamos Laboratory, told me of the work that is being done at these important installations. I wish to thank you and your staff for the courtesies shown me, and I would appreciate your extending my compliments to the laboratory scientists for the excellent job they are doing."
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 U.S. Military Academy (USMA) Memorial Article: “CPT Alfred Carl Haussmann, Jr. USA (Resigned),” undated, URL: www.west-point.org. Retrieved 2023-01-24
- ↑ Tarter, C. Bruce (2018). The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 130. ISBN 9781421425313
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Heller, Arnie (January 1999). "Leading the Best and the Brightest" (PDF). Science and Technology Review (January/February 1999): pp. 3–11 – via str.llnl.gov
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chrzanowski, Paul. "Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 1952-2017, 65th Anniversary Book" (PDF). Federal Depository Program.
- ↑ Tarter, C. Bruce. "Carl Haussmann — Mover and Shaper" (PDF). S&TR Science and Technology Review (January/February 1999): p.3
- ↑ 1940 United States Federal Census, Geneva, Ontario, New York, 9 April 1940
- ↑ U.S. Military Academy Yearbook, The Howitzer yearbook, 1946, p. 235". digital-library.usma.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-29
- ↑ May, Michael (2009-12-01). ""Putting a Face to a Name"" (PDF). Physics Today. Retrieved 2023-06-19
- ↑ "First light — the birth of the Lab's laser program | Science and Technology". st.llnl.gov. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Tarter, Bruce (Jan/Feb 1999). "Carl Haussmann—Mover and Shaper" (PDF). Llnl.gov. Retrieved 08/10/2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=, |date=(help) - ↑ "Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 1952-2017 65 Years of Excellence" (PDF). Llnl.gov. 2017. Retrieved 8/10/2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 Tarter, C. Bruce (2018). The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9781421425313.
- ↑ The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. B&N Readouts. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ↑ Tarter, C. Bruce (2018). The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 130–132, 158, 159, 161, 172. ISBN 9781421425313.
- ↑ Tarter, C. Bruce (2018). The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 58, 61–62, 130–132, 155–160, 172, 200–202, 208–209, 240–241, 252, 314, 393. ISBN 9781421425313.
- ↑ Google Maps, Lake Haussmann, Lake Haussmann - Google Maps. Retrieved 2026-02-22
- ↑ "Remembering Carl Haussmann — Lab's 'father of the trees' | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory". www.llnl.gov. 2008-06-01. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ↑ Tarter, C. Bruce (2018). The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 314. ISBN 9781421425313
- ↑ "U.S. Military Academy Memorial Article: CPT Alfred Carl Haussmann, Jr. USA (Resigned)". www.west-point.org. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ↑ Dallaire, Gene (1984-04-01). "American universities need greater access to supercomputers". Communications of the ACM. Pp. 27 (4): 292–298. doi:10.1145/358027.358030. ISSN 0001-0782. S2CID 43294185
- ↑ Dallaire, Gene (April 1984). "American universities need greater access to supercomputers". Communications of the ACM. 27 (4): 292–298. doi:10.1145/358027.358030. ISSN 0001-0782. S2CID 43294185
