In 1924, the university opened LeConte Hall in order to accommodate an enlarged physics department, and to support the hiring of new, talented faculty.
One of the newly hired faculty was Ernest Lawrence, who joined the department in 1928.
Lawrence, together with students M. S. Livingston and David Sloan built an 11-inch cyclotron and installed it in room 329 LeConte.
The device was the first successful, functional cyclotron and produced a current of 1.22 MeV protons.

Lawrence set up the Radiation Laboratory ("Rad Lab") in the space between LeConte Hall and the Campanile.
The lab was later moved up the hill and renamed Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Another nuclear physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer joined the department in the summer of 1929.
Oppenheimer maintained an office, together with his group of students in room 219 LeConte.
In 1942, Oppenheimer was appointed head of the fast neutron research group, and in the summer of that year, he invited the leading physicists of the time to discuss the theoretical aspects of developing an atomic weapon.
The physicists and Oppenheimer's students, including Hans Bethe, John Van Vleck, Felix Bloch, and others, worked in the top floor of LeConte Hall and spent a month analyzing data.
In 1924, the university opened LeConte Hall in order to accommodate an enlarged physics department, and to support the hiring of new, talented faculty. One of the newly hired faculty was Ernest Lawrence, who joined the department in 1928. Lawrence, together with students M. S. Livingston and David Sloan built an 11-inch cyclotron and installed it in room 329 LeConte. The device was the first successful, functional cyclotron and produced a current of 1.22 MeV protons.
Lawrence set up the Radiation Laboratory ("Rad Lab") in the space between LeConte Hall and the Campanile. The lab was later moved up the hill and renamed Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
Another nuclear physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer joined the department in the summer of 1929. Oppenheimer maintained an office, together with his group of students in room 219 LeConte. In 1942, Oppenheimer was appointed head of the fast neutron research group, and in the summer of that year, he invited the leading physicists of the time to discuss the theoretical aspects of developing an atomic weapon. The physicists and Oppenheimer's students, including Hans Bethe, John Van Vleck, Felix Bloch, and others, worked in the top floor of LeConte Hall and spent a month analyzing data.
LeConte Hall