Werner Heisenberg (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory. In addition, he also made important contributions to nuclear physics, quantum field theory, and particle physics. Heisenberg, along with Max Born and Pascual Jordan, set forth the matrix formulation of quantum mechanics in 1925.

Heisenberg was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics. After Adolf Hitler ascended to power in 1933, Heisenberg was attacked in the press by elements of the deutsche Physik (German Physics) movement, and he came under investigation by the SS. This was embroiled with the attempt to appoint Heisenberg as successor to Arnold Sommerfeld at the University of Munich; the Heisenberg Affair.

The issue was resolved by Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, in 1938. While Heisenberg was not selected as Sommerfeld's successor, he was completely rehabilitated to the physics community relative to the Third Reich. The German nuclear energy project, also known informally as the Uranium Club, began in 1939 under the auspices of the German Ordnance Office.

In 1942, control of the project was relinquished to the Reich Research Council. Throughout the project, Heisenberg was one of the nine principals heading up research and development for the program. In 1942, Heisenberg was appointed as director-in-residence of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics.

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