Kenneth W. Ford *53

Likely the last living scientist on Project Matterhorn to build the hydrogen bomb, Ken died Dec. 5, 2025, in Gwynedd, Pa. He was 99.

Born May 1, 1926, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Ken graduated from Harvard in 1948 and earned a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton in 1953. His principal research was in the theory of nuclear structure, with some work in particle and mathematical physics. He exploited the nuclear shell model and the collective, or unified, model, and worked extensively on muonic atoms.

Ken’s work on the first calculations that showed the hydrogen bomb could be successful convinced Robert Oppenheimer that the bomb could be developed.

Ken’s 11 books include The World of Elementary Particles; Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics, written with John Wheeler, and textbooks Basic Physics and Classical and Modern Physics.

Influenced by his opposition to the Vietnam War, in 1968 Ken announced that he would no longer do weapons work or other secret work.

Ken’s academic positions include faculty posts at Brandeis, the University of California, Irvine, and UMass Boston; executive vice president of the University of Maryland, and president of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. He was CEO of the American Institute of Physics. He later taught high school physics at Germantown Academy and Germantown Friends School.

Predeceased by his wife, Joanne, Ken is survived by seven children, including Paul Ford ’79; 13 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.