<P> Oppenheimer's achievements in physics included the Born--Oppenheimer approximation for molecular wave functions, work on the theory of electrons and positrons, the Oppenheimer--Phillips process in nuclear fusion, and the first prediction of quantum tunneling . With his students he also made important contributions to the modern theory of neutron stars and black holes, as well as to quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and the interactions of cosmic rays . As a teacher and promoter of science, he is remembered as a founding father of the American school of theoretical physics that gained world prominence in the 1930s . After World War II, he became director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey . </P> <P> Oppenheimer was born in New York City on April 22, 1904, to Julius Oppenheimer, a wealthy Jewish textile importer who had immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1888, and Ella Friedman, a painter . Julius came to America with no money, no baccalaureate studies, and no knowledge of the English language . He got a job in a textile company and within a decade was an executive with the company . Ella was from Baltimore . The Oppenheimers were non-observant Ashkenazi Jews . In 1912 the family moved to an apartment on the 11th floor of 155 Riverside Drive, near West 88th Street, Manhattan, an area known for luxurious mansions and townhouses . Their art collection included works by Pablo Picasso and Édouard Vuillard, and at least three original paintings by Vincent van Gogh . Robert had a younger brother, Frank, who also became a physicist . </P> <P> Oppenheimer was initially educated at Alcuin Preparatory School, and in 1911 he entered the Ethical Culture Society School . This had been founded by Felix Adler to promote a form of ethical training based on the Ethical Culture movement, whose motto was "Deed before Creed". His father had been a member of the Society for many years, serving on its board of trustees from 1907 to 1915 . Oppenheimer was a versatile scholar, interested in English and French literature, and particularly in mineralogy . He completed the third and fourth grades in one year, and skipped half the eighth grade . During his final year, he became interested in chemistry . He entered Harvard College one year after graduation, at age 18, because he suffered an attack of colitis while prospecting in Joachimstal during a family summer vacation in Europe . To help him recover from the illness, his father enlisted the help of his English teacher Herbert Smith who took him to New Mexico, where Oppenheimer fell in love with horseback riding and the southwestern United States . </P> <P> Oppenheimer majored in chemistry, but Harvard required science students to also study history, literature, and philosophy or mathematics . He compensated for his late start by taking six courses each term and was admitted to the undergraduate honor society Phi Beta Kappa . In his first year, he was admitted to graduate standing in physics on the basis of independent study, which meant he was not required to take the basic classes and could enroll instead in advanced ones . He was attracted to experimental physics by a course on thermodynamics that was taught by Percy Bridgman . He graduated summa cum laude in three years . </P>

Now i am become god the destroyer of worlds