I whanau a Mottelson i Chicago, Illinois, tama a Georgia (Blum) me Goodman Mottelson, he kaipūkaha. I puta ia i te Kura Tuarua o Lyons Township i LaGrange, Illinois. I whiwhi ia i te tohu Paetahi mai i te Whare Wananga o Purdue i te 1947, me te Ph.D. i roto i te ahupūngao karihi mai i te Whare Wananga o Harvard i te 1950. Pātai: I puta ia i Purdue?
Ko te tau 1947