David Hawkins

David Hawkins (February 28, 1913 – February 24, 2002) was an American scientist whose interests included the philosophy of science, mathematics, economics, childhood science education, and ethics. He was also an administrative assistant at the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory and later one of its official historians. Together with Herbert A. Simon, he discovered and proved the Hawkins–Simon theorem. Hawkins was born in El Paso, Texas, and attended Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy. During World War II, he worked at the Los Alamos Laboratory, where he developed branching process theory with Stan Ulam. After the war, he became a professor at George Washington University and later the University of Colorado Boulder. He faced scrutiny from the House Un-American Activities Committee due to his past membership in the Communist Party. Hawkins made significant contributions to mathematics, economics, and science education, particularly for young children. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1981 and died in Boulder, Colorado.