The 2019 JROMC scholarship winners are joined by lecturer Kip Thorne, back row, third from left, Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, back row, last on right, and JROMC Chair Alison Pugmire, front row, first on left. Courtesy photo

STEP UP GALLERY News:

The J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee (JROMC) is delighted to open its multi-faceted 50th anniversary exhibit with a reception 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Step Up Gallery inside Mesa Public Library. The reception is free and open to the public.

Titled “A Legacy of Learning,” the exhibit will be shown Thursday through April 24. It will display some never-before seen photographs and artifacts highlighting the JROMC’s 50 years of accomplishments: its memorial lecturers, scholarship recipients, Oppenheimer’s triumphs and tragedies and even his wife Kitty’s life.

Come see Oppenheimer’s office chair, work on a jigsaw puzzle of the Groves and Oppenheimer statues or pose next to a life-size cardboard statue of Oppenheimer himself. Participants can see if they can answer some of the “Do You Know” questions and read the Time and Life magazines that chronicled the sensational moments of his life. Find out how the JROMC is now joining four U.S. senators to restore Oppenheimer’s security clearance.

Along with the exhibit, the JROMC is joining the Los Alamos Historical Society to sponsor two important lectures.

April 4, Senior LANL Historian Alan B. Carr, will speak on “Manhattan, the View from Los Alamos of History’s Most Secret Project,” 7-8:30 p.m. in the Duane Smith Auditorium.

April 18, renowned Oppenheimer historian James W. Kunetka will speak on “Los Alamos: Robert Oppenheimer’s Greatest Legacy,” 7-8:30 p.m. at the Duane Smith Auditorium.
Step Up Gallery is located on the top level of Mesa Public Library, 2400 Central Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday –Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It is closed Sunday. For more information, see www.JROMC.org.