Norris Edwin Bradbury (May 30, 1909 – August 20, 1997), was an American physicist who served as director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory for 25 years from 1945 to 1970.

He succeeded Robert Oppenheimer, who personally chose Bradbury for the position of director after working closely with him on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

One sister died as an infant, and the family adopted twins Bobby and Betty, both of whom served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II.

He then attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, from which he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in chemistry in 1929.

He submitted a PhD thesis on Studies on the Mobility of Gaseous Ions under the supervision of Leonard B. Loeb, and was awarded a National Research Council fellowship.

Bradbury's commission as an ensign was signed by Lieutenant Commander Chester W. Nimitz, who was the head of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Berkeley at the time.

[12] Bradbury was called up for service in World War II in early 1941, although the Navy allowed him to stay at Stanford until the end of the academic year.

[10] In June 1944, Bradbury received orders from Parsons, who was now the deputy director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, to report to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Parsons explained that he needed Bradbury to work on the explosive lenses required by an implosion-type nuclear weapon.

[17] At this point, Bradbury was leading some of the most critical work at the laboratory, as it struggled with the jets that spoiled the perfect spherical shape desired for the implosion process.

[23][7] Parsons arranged for Bradbury to be quickly discharged from the Navy,[24] which awarded him the Legion of Merit for his wartime services.

He had hoped that Atomic Energy Act of 1946 would be quickly passed by Congress and the wartime Manhattan Project would be superseded by a new, permanent organization.

President Harry S. Truman did not sign the act creating the Atomic Energy Commission into law until August 1, 1946, and it did not become active until January 1, 1947.

[28] Most of the scientists at Los Alamos were eager to return to their laboratories and universities, and by February 1946 all of the wartime division heads had left, but a talented core remained.

Eric Jette became responsible for Chemistry and Metallurgy, John H. Manley for Physics, George Placzek for Theory, Max Roy for Explosives, and Roger Wagner for Ordnance.

In 1948, Bradbury submitted a proposal to the Atomic Energy Commission for a new $107 million facility on the South Mesa, linked to the town by a new bridge over the canyon.

[34] In later years, Bradbury branched out, constructing the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility to develop the laboratory's role in nuclear science.

[35] During the Space Race of the 1960s, the laboratory worked on Project Rover, developing the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA).

His successor, Harold Agnew, invited him to become a senior consultant, but Bradbury declined the offer, although he did serve as a consultant for other government agencies, including the National Academy of Sciences, and as a member of the boards of the Los Alamos Medical Center, the First National Bank of Santa Fe, the Los Alamos YMCA and the Santa Fe Neurological Society.

In response to the Kent State Shootings in May 1970, students and antiwar activist Jane Fonda marched on the home of Ferrel Heady, the president of the University of New Mexico.