Record #:

21658

Author(s):

Gentry, Jonathan

Abstract:

This article examines the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the scandal that surrounded it after it awarded a fellowship to Hans Freistat in 1948. Freistat, an Austrian doctoral student and teaching assistant in physics at the University of North Carolina, was also a member of the Communist Party. After he was awarded the fellowship, North Carolina senator Clyde R. Hoey called for a congressional investigation into the AEC's methodology of awarding fellowships. During the investigation and after, Freistat lost both the fellowship and his teaching position, Congress instituted tougher background checks into fellowship candidates, and AEC chairman David E. Lilienthal resigned.

Source:

North Carolina Historical Review (NoCar F251 .N892), Vol. 79 Issue 4, Oct 2002, p440-458 , por, f Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Nuclear energy; U.S. Atomic Energy Commission