Some say “the invention of radar won the war, and the A-bomb ended the war.”  There is a lot of truth in this simple statement, but at the start of the war Nazi Germany’s scientific expertise far outpaced America’s. Particularly in the field of physics. Winning the war would require the US with our key ally partner, the UK, to martial scientific manpower and resources never mobilized on the scale and short time horizon needed to impact the war’s outcome.

Paul Sparrow and Fred Dylla will recount one man’s efforts essential for the successful development of radar and the A-bomb project.  Alfred L. Loomis is an unlikely and unheralded hero of these efforts that began a decade before the US entry into the war. Loomis was a stockbroker by trade, and he managed to retire early in his career with a substantial fortune in-tact despite the 1929 market crash and subsequent Depression. He used his time, resources, and connections to fund early work on radar and nuclear physics research before any government funds were available and, at the same time, provided livelihood for both US and refugee scientists from Europe. With the help of a small group of scientists who became Roosevelt’s science trust at the opening year of war, the country’s scientific efforts were significantly expanded and carefully managed efforts that produced and deployed radar systems on land, sea, and the air to subdue the Nazis and the war-ending A-bombs that brought Japan’s surrender.

Paul M. Sparrow is a writer, historical consultant, and the former Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Before moving to the FDR Library, he was the Deputy Director and Senior Vice President at the Newseum in Washington, DC. He is the author of the book, Awakening the Spirit of America: FDR's War of Words With Charles Lindbergh—and the Battle to Save Democracy.

Fred Dylla is Executive Director Emeritus of the American Institute of Physics and author of Scientific Journeys: a physicist explores the culture, history and personalities of science. He also is one of the organizers and moderators of the library's “Science and Society - Making Sense of the World Around Us” lecture series.

President Franklin Roosevelt broadcast his first Fireside Chat on March 12th, 1933, just eight days after his inauguration. During his 12 years in office he delivered dozens of Fireside Chats, guiding America through the Great Depression, and guiding a global audience through the horrors of World War Two. FDR’s Fireside Chats were a new form of political communication, using radio to connect with Americans in an intimate setting – right in their living rooms. His compelling and persuasive broadcasts encouraged Americans to believe in democracy and its future. Paul Sparrow, a nationally recognized expert on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, hosts this series of programs that build on the foundation laid by FDR’s Fireside Chats, and find their relevance to our world today.

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