Henry Linschitz

Henry Linschitz, 95, a professor of chemistry emeritus at Brandeis University who worked on the Manhattan Project, died on Nov. 24, 2014, in his Waltham, Mass., home.

Born in New York City, Linschitz earned a B.S. in chemistry from City College of New York in 1940. He began graduate studies at Duke University, earning an M.A. in physical chemistry in 1941. He then joined the Explosives Research Laboratory in Pittsburgh before moving to Los Alamos, N.M., where he helped develop the explosive lens that triggered the atomic bomb. He participated in the test of the first atomic bomb in Alamogordo, N.M., and then served in the Air Force at the end of World War II.

After the war, Linschitz completed his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at Duke in 1946 and then worked with 1925 Physics Nobelist James Franck as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago.

He taught at Syracuse University from 1948 until 1957. He then served as a professor of chemistry at Brandeis until 1989.

An expert on solar energy and photochemistry, Linschitz was a consultant to Eastman Kodak for many years. He was a visiting scientist, professor, and fellow at many institutions and served on many government panels and committees.

He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and an emeritus member of ACS, which he joined in 1945.

Like many veterans of the Manhattan Project, Linschitz was active in antinuclear and peace movements, and in 1982, he helped found United Campuses to Prevent Nuclear War.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Suzanne Hodes; his son, Joseph Linitz; and two grandchildren.