John Franklin Carlson Lectures.

John Franklin Carlson (1899-1954) was a Professor of Physics (1946-1954) at Iowa State College (University). He received his education at the University of California, Berkeley, and his doctoral thesis was written under the guidance of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. He specialized in theoretical physics and co-authored a paper with Oppenheimer titled "On Multiplicative Showers."

Following his death, funds were raised to establish the John Franklin Carlson Lecture Fund. The first John Franklin Carlson Lecturer was J. Robert Oppenheimer. Over the years other prominent physicists would be invited to speak at Iowa State, including Niels Bohr, P. W. Bridgeman, and Eugene Wigner.