It’s August 27, 2023 and it’s National Cinema Day in the United States and Canada! (This is not an ad)

As soon as I’d learned that movie tickets would be just $4.00 each (plus tax), I eagerly looked up what’s currently playing at my local movie theater. Of the eight films on the marquee, I’d already seen two. Then I thought, maybe it’s about time I see Oppenheimer?

I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve been putting off seeing the film because it’s heavy and over three hours long! It would definitely be interesting, though, to spot the scenes that were filmed on the UC Berkeley campus here in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Who was Oppenheimer?

J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) taught theoretical physics at UC Berkeley from 1929-1942 before going on to direct the Manhattan Project’s Los Alamos Laboratory (northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico), where the first nuclear weapons were developed. He is often referred to as the “father of the atomic bomb.”

These days, visitors to UC Berkeley can view a modest display about Oppenheimer on the second floor of the Physics South Building.

Second floor of the Physics South Building at UC Berkeley
The Physics South Building entrances are on ‘Oppenheimer Way’ at UC Berkeley
A typed letter (dated 1939) signed by Oppenheimer with calculations scribbled in pencil
Top right photo features Oppenheimer with Albert Einstein
The offices Oppenheimer occupied are located on the fourth floor (which is off limits to the public)

To learn more about how Oppenheimer’s years at UC Berkeley shaped him and how he shaped the university, tune in to a recent discussion by a panel of scholars: Berkeley Talks (episode 177).

Have you seen the Oppenheimer film? Tell me your thoughts about it in the comments below.