Review of the accomplishments and promise of US transplutonium research, 1940-1981

It has been just over 40 years since the identification of plutonium by Seaborg, McMillan, Kennedy, and Wahl at the University of California, Berkeley. This discovery, and the isolation of plutonium-239 a year later by Kennedy, Seaborg, Segre, and Wahl, laid the cornerstone of one of the most exciting and productive eras of research in American history - research on the transplutonium elements. This research was to span all fields of natural science, and indeed was to have many implications and applications in the biological sciences. In this brief document, we have attempted to touch on only some of the many achievements of the US heavy element program. Many of those whose work has been at the heart of this research have contributed to this report. They have summarized some of what was scientifically important and exciting and they have suggested some of the topics of important research remaining to be done. The following topics are covered in this review: historical account; plutonium; synthesis of transplutonium isotopes; nuclear fission and stability, heavy ion reactions and nuclear structure; chemistry of the transplutonium elements; optical and magnetic properties; electronic structure and solid state properties; environmental and biological behavior of transplutonium elements; heavy element production; application of californium-252