Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Francis R. Shonka

PhysicistChicago, IL

Manhattan Project VeteranScientist

Francis R. Shonka (1906-1970) was an American physicist and inventor.

Shonka taught physics for a number of years in China and at St. Procopius College and DePaul University. In 1941, he completed his Ph.D. studies under Arthur H. Compton at the University of Chicago.

In 1943, Shonka joined the Manhattan Project at the Chicago Met Lab. He worked in the instrumentation section. He later headed the Instrument Research and Development Division at the Met Lab and at Argonne National Laboratory.

Shonka received several patents for his inventions in the field of radiation measurements, including innovative designs for ionization chambers and electrometers. He was a signer of the Szilard Petition.

Shonka died on October 11, 1970 in Lisle, Illinois.

Francis R. Shonka's Timeline
1906 Apr 18th Born in Linwood, Nebraska.
1931 Received a B.S. in physics from St. Procopius College.
1933 Received an M.S. in physics from the University of Chicago.
19331935 Professor and head of the Physics Department at Fu Jen University in Beijing, China.
1941 Received a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago.
1943 Joined the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago Met Lab.
19441954 Directed the Instrument Research and Development Division at the Met Lab and at Argonne National Laboratory.
1970 Oct 11th Died in Lisle, Illinois.

Related Profiles

F. R. Moore

Hanford, WA

R. T. Robertson

Y-12 Plant

R. T. Robertson worked for the Tennessee Eastman Corporation at the Y-12 Plant.

Filbert Reynolds

Tinian Island

Filbert Reynolds served as a corporal in the 393rd Bombardment Squadron. He was a member of the ground crew regularly assigned to the B-29 Strange Cargo.

Ernest O. Lawrence

University of California, Berkeley

Ernest O. Lawrence (1901-1958) was an American scientist and 1939 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the cyclotron.