Herbert York

In 1961, Physicist Herbert York, became the first chancellor of UCSD. His background made him a prime candidate to help realize the goals of the defense contractors who had hoped the university could supply a steady engineering workforce. He worked as a physicist for the Manhattan Project during World War II at Oak Ridge, became the University of California Livermore National Laboratory's first Director, was Chief Scientist of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and finally served as Director of Defense Department Research and Engineering.

While his research had a direct impact on the development of major technologies used for war, York embodies the experience of more conscious scientists. Like J. Robert Oppenheimer, "father of the atomic bomb," he had an awakening that caused him to try and contain the potential for destruction that his hands had created.

Speaking to his father after after the United States used atomic weapons against Japan, he was sure he had helped create the weapon to end all wars. He quickly realized that those words had been spoken many times before.

He is currently Director Emeritus of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at UC San Diego and serves as chairman of the university's Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee, which oversees activities at both Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories. From 1979 to 1981 he served as U.S. ambassador to the Comprehensive Test Ban negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland.