Titterton, Ernest William, Sir

Sir Ernest William Titterton (4 March 1916 – 8 February 1990) was a British nuclear physicist. A graduate of the University of Birmingham, Titterton worked in a research position under Mark Oliphant, who recruited him to work on radar for the British Admiralty during the first part of the Second World War. In 1943, he joined the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, where he helped develop the first atomic bombs. He eventually became one of the laboratory's group leaders. He participated in the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at the Bikini Atoll in 1946, where he performed the countdown for both tests. With the passage of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, known as the McMahon Act, all British government employees had to leave. He was the last member of the British Mission to do so, in April 1947. Returning to England, Titterton joined the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxfordshire, heading a group responsible for research with nuclear emulsions and cloud chambers. He investigated ternary fission, a comparatively rare type of nuclear fission in which the nucleus breaks into three pieces instead of two, and the photodisintegration of light nuclei by gamma rays. He was also a consultant to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) at Aldermaston that designed and developed Britain's first nuclear weapons. In August 1950, Titterton accepted an offer from Oliphant to become the foundation Chair of Nuclear Physics at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. Over the next thirty years, Titterton held high positions on various science, defence and nuclear-related committees, institutes and councils in Australia. He helped build up the physics department at ANU through the acquisition of accelerators. As a member of the Atomic Weapons Tests Safety Committee (AWTSC), Titterton witnessed many of the British nuclear tests at Maralinga. His reputation was tarnished by the McClelland Royal Commission in 1984 and 1985, which accused him of loyalty to Britain instead of Australia. He was a strong public advocate of nuclear power in Australia, arguing that "nuclear power is the cheapest, cleanest and safest method of power production yet devised by man."