The birthday of the late Cornell physicist Hans Bethe and the establishment of a new relationship between Cornell and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) were saluted in a brief celebration at Hans Bethe House Oct. 8.

Cornell and LANL officials signed a memorandum of understanding creating "an ongoing and productive relationship between Los Alamos scientific staff and Cornell University faculty and student body, with the intent of providing educational opportunities for Cornell students and recruitment opportunities for LANL programs."

Through the new relationship, LANL will send two of its scientists to Ithaca each year to meet with students and faculty. The LANL scientists will stay in guest suites at Bethe House. Bethe, the 1967 Nobel laureate in physics, was a founding member of the theoretical physics division at Los Alamos during World War II.

Although Bethe's birthday is July 6, explained Bethe House Professor and Dean Porus Olpadwala, the celebration was held on the first anniversary of the inaugural house dinner and dedication of Bethe House, the third of five West Campus residences to open.

"It's a tradition in the West Campus houses to conflate the birthday of the house with the birthday of the illustrious professor in whose name the house is founded," said Olpadwala. "So we decided to privilege the tradition of the West Campus houses over mere academic necessity and have the birthday celebration in October, when we are all here."

Among the invited guests were Bethe's widow, Rose Bethe; one of the couple's two children, Henry Bethe; Cornell President Emeritus Dale Corson and his wife, Nellie; Terry Wallace, principal associate director of LANL; and David Sharp, an LANL laboratory fellow.

While on campus, Wallace and Sharp met with faculty and students from the Departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and of Physics, and the Peace Studies Program to discuss potential areas of collaboration.

Sharp recalled hearing Bethe speak during his many visits to Los Alamos.

"I was impressed by the astuteness and balance of his judgment, not only about scientific matters but many things, and he helped guide the laboratory through some very stormy waters, and we miss him," said Sharp. "Everybody knows he was an enormously distinguished scientist, but along with that was this personality that was kindly and moderate and that gave him a whole other dimension."

Bethe joined Cornell in 1935 after fleeing Nazi Germany. During World War II he was a key figure in the building of the first atomic bomb. Later, Bethe became a persistent champion of nuclear arms control. He retired from active teaching in 1975 and died in 2005 at age 98.

Gary E. Frank is a writer with the Division of Alumni Affairs and Development.