Atomic bomb, space scientist Rudoff dies
Hyman Rudoff, who worked on the Manhattan Project and helped develop the heat shields for the Mercury and Gemini space capsules, has died in California. He was 93.
Rudoff died in Petaluma, Calif., Feb. 27, said a family member.
He was born in Montreal in 1912 and became a U.S. citizen in 1943 after earning degrees from McGill University (1933 and 1937) in organic chemistry and attending a post-doctoral program at Oxford University in England from 1937 to 1939.
In 1944, Rudoff joined the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Weapons Laboratory where he worked on conventional explosives and electronic instruments related to the atom bomb.
In 1949, he joined General Electric, working on plastics and insulation applications for the space program, earning several patents along the way. He retired in 1976.
In addition to his scientific endeavors, Rudoff took great interest in music and photography, in addition to being a voracious reader. He also liked to turn out limericks.
Rudoff married Nedda Ceboolsky in 1941 after meeting her on a ski trip to upstate New York. She died in 1986.
He is survived by a son, a daughter and one grandchild.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
