Bernard Weissbourd
Bernard (Barney) Weissbourd SB'41, JD'48, a researcher, attorney, and developer, died November 2, 2000 in Evanston, IL. He was 78.
He is survived by his wife, Bernice Weissbourd, a daughter, Ruth Weissbourd Grant, two sons, including Robert M. Weissbourd[1].
Manhattan Project
Weissbourd studied chemistry as an undergraduate, then interrupted his law training at Chicago to enlist in the Army during World War II. He was soon recruited for the Manhattan Project, inventing equipment to detect elements[2].
University of Chicago
Weissbourd enjoyed a life-long connection with the University of Chicago, beginning at age 15 when he received a full scholarship to attend the College. In these first years, Weissbourd was captivated by the University's intellectual life, his concentration in chemistry, and especially his study of the classics, a staple of the curriculum in the Hutchins era. When he graduated in 1941, he entered the law school. WWII interrupted his studies, but he remained at the University, having been assigned to work on the Manhattan Project, where he contributed to the discovery of an element. At the war's end, he returned to the law school and became an editor of the Law Review before graduating in 1948. He served the University as an active member of the Board of Trustees and as Trustee Emeritus until his death in 2000 at the age of 78[3].
Business career
After the War Weissbourd returned to the Law School; after ten years in a Chicago law practice, Weissbourd was asked to take over a development company for which he had served as counsel. Under his leadership, Metropolitan Structures became the nation's largest commercial real-estate firm[4].