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Participants in the Manhattan Project
Theodore Rockwell Papers, 1915-2013
Theodore Rockwell was an engineer deeply involved in the genesis of atomic energy through his participation in the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge and, later, the development of the United States' nuclear-powered naval fleet. Beginning in 1943, Rockwell worked as a process improvement engineer in the Electromagnetic Separation Pilot Plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Later, he was promoted to head of Radiation Shielding Engineering. In December 1945, the Saturday Evening Post published an article by Rockwell entitled "Frontier Life Among the Atom Splitters," one of the first accounts of work on the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge. Drafts of this article and others he wrote are in Series 3: Early Development of Nuclear Energy, which also includes correspondence, design documents, and reference materials from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee where Rockwell worked as a process improvement engineer and a radiation shielding engineer between 1943 and 1949. Of particular note is a series of correspondence from Rockwell to his parents documenting his life and work from 1940-1946 at Princeton and ORNL, including observations of life at ORNL, descriptions of his day-to-day activities, and newsclippings and discussion of the significance of atomic energy following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The series also includes a file on security at ORNL. Also included are materials from the Association of Scientists for Atomic Education and the Association of Oak Ridge Engineers and Scientists documenting efforts to place the United States' atomic energy program under civilian control. The series also contains several images of housing and work at Oak Ridge during and after the war years in both print and photocopy format.
This series also contains extensive informational and promotional materials documenting the role of the Manhattan Project in ending World War II and includes materials from Rockwell's book Creating the New World, records of Oak Ridge's 50th Anniversary Celebration in 1992, issues of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review, and materials from the Atomic Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association, the National Atomic Museum, and the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, and a file on former ORNL Director Clarence Edward Larson. Series 2: Biographical Records and Published Materials includes a transcript of Rockwell's oral history given to the Atomic Heritage Foundation in 1996 and 2007; these interviews include his time on the Manhattan Project.
Buena Maris Mockmore Papers, 1916-2000
Buena Maris Mockmore served as the de facto "Dean of Women" for female employees of the DuPont Company at the Manhattan Project’s Hanford, Washington site. Maris’s position – alternately referred to as “Dean of Women” and the “Director of Women’s Activities” – supervised all work done by women at the Hanford site; she received a War Department citation for this work. Mockmore returned to her position as Dean of Women at OSC after her work on the Manhattan Project. Series 3 documents Mockmore’s work on the Manhattan Project at Hanford, Washington. Included in this series are flyers and memos dating from Mockmore’s time at Hanford, and her later reminiscences regarding her work on the project. Correspondence with Lieutenant General Leslie Groves regarding his plans to write a book on the project, and his requests for Mockmore’s input and insight, is also included. Two black and white studio portraits of Mockmore are included in the folder commemorating the Hanford's site 50th anniversary.
Anne Frewerd Scrapbook, 1945
After graduating from Sullivan High School in Chicago, Anne Frewerd was recruited to Los Alamos National Laboratory to work on the Manhattan Project; the nature of her employment is unknown. The telegram notification of her position at Los Alamos in January 1945, uses her parents address in Chicago. Her employment card (known as a McKibbin Card to Los Alamos employees, after Los Alamos arrival secretary Dorothy McKibbin) gives her dates of employment as February 19 to July 12, 1945. Her scrapbook includes souvenir photographs and mementos, as well as newspaper clippings regarding the first use of the atomic bomb and scientists involved with its development, and documents related to work at Los Alamos, such as a security handbook for residents and certificate of production. Clippings included cover the American reaction to the Hiroshima bombing and the Manhattan Project, as well as three clippings discussing the Trinity test in July 1945 and observations on its effects from local citizens. The security handbook for residents of Los Alamos focuses on the safeguarding of military information, including restrictions on communication and censorship, and guidelines for both official and unofficial travel.
Paul Emmett Papers, 1918-2001*
Paul Emmett was a distinguished scientist in the field of catalysis chemistry. During the Manhattan Project, Emmett was instrumental in developing a technique for the separation of Uranium-235 from U-238. Series 1: Correspondence includes a file on the Manhattan Project that includes materials from the SAM Laboratories at Columbia University where he was stationed. A biographical file in the OSU Memorabilia Collection contains an article about Nicodemus and the Manhattan Project and other materials.
David B. Nicodemus Papers, 1945-1989
Professor David B. Nicodemus was a physicist at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory from 1943 to 1946. However, his papers only include one item referring to that experience, a booklet commemorating the 40th anniversary reunion (in 1985) of scientists who worked at Los Alamos.
Eugene Starr Papers, 1911-1988*
Dr. Eugene Starr enjoyed a widespread reputation as a distinguished scientist, brilliant engineer, and a dedicated public servant. He achieved both national and international recognition for his attainments in the fields of electrical engineering and nuclear physics, and was a pioneer in many areas of high-voltage transmission science, including the development of series and shunt capacitor applications and tests, generator characteristics, circuit breaker advances, and high-voltage transformer and cable problems. From the beginning of the Government's program with nuclear fission, Dr. Starr demonstrated a keen professional interest in the field. During World War II he served as consultant to the National Defense Research Committee of the Office of Scientific Research and Development as an official investigator, coordinator and supervisor of important defense projects. He also worked on the problem of static electricity build-up in uranium-producing cyclotrons. Starr's papers are not fully processed, but a preliminary container list does not indicate the presence of personal reflections on his Manhattan Project work. Series 2: Precipitation-Static Reduction Research, 1931-1951, contains some of the scientific work from this time.
Other Collections
Roy Haber Hanford Nuclear Reservation Downwinders Case Collection, 1942-1997
This collection contains research materials used by the law office of Roy Haber, in litigation regarding radiation exposure suffered by individuals living close to (or 'downwind' from) Hanford from 1945 to the mid 1990s. This exposure to damaging radiation began during the Manhattan Project, when Hanford was constructed. The collection contains a multitude of documents throughout related to the building of Hanford, early decisions made about waste disposal, and exposure events to surrounding communities. Of special note: Series 3: Letter Documents contains copies of a series of August 1945 news releases from the War Department announcing the Manhattan Project.
Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. Collection of Atomic Age Ephemera, 1897-2017
This collection contains a wide range of materials pertaining to the Manhattan Project, including: staff newspapers from Hanford, Los Alamos, and Oak Ridge; wide newspaper and magazine coverage of the project in the days following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; participation certificates; secrecy notices; and a speech given by J. Robert Oppenheimer to a meeting of the Association of Los Alamos Scientists in November 1945. The collection is arranged chronologically, thus related materials appear between 1944 and 1946.
Barton C. Hacker Papers, 1955-1995
The Barton C. Hacker Papers document Hacker’s career as a historian of radiation safety, and primarily consist of materials related to his service as historian to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Dosimetry Research Project, beginning in 1979. As author of The Dragon's Tail: Radiation Safety in the Manhattan Project, 1942-1946, Hacker's work has been essential to the understanding of radiation exposure. This small collection does not reflect much on that research; however, Series 1: Department of Energy Dosimetry Research Project Files contains timelines and event histories related to this work.
John C. Ringle Papers, 1960-2012
A faculty member in the OSU Department of Nuclear Engineering, Ringle gave lectures on the history of nuclear energy. Series 4, Sub-series 2: Instructional Materials contains Box-Folder 15.4, Manhattan Project Lecture Materials, 2004.
History of Atomic Energy Collection
This collection and its subcollections hold invaluable materials documenting the Manhattan Project. From the first official publication of A General Account of Atomic Energy for Military Purposes by Henry Dewolf Smyth in 1945, to the early retrospectives and oral history projects with project participants, this collection has a wide range of perspectives and experiences. The collection is rich in original materials from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Hanford Site, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, and includes coverage of figures such as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, and Niels Bohr. Women's roles are widely covered in secondary material. Multiple titles deal with the Trinity Test. Fiction about the Manhattan Project is a notable element. Nearly 20 copies of the Smyth Report exist; the Smyth Report in SCARC post explores these in detail.
The subcollection Bart and Sally Hacker Collection includes extensive historical materials related to Hacker's important work on radiation safety and exposure, including in the Manhattan Project.
Oral Histories
Results for Manhattan Project; including several mentions of participants in various capacities.
Oregon Digital
Results (limited to OSU) for Manhattan Project; including early coverage in The Daily Barometer and Oregon Stater.
Scholars Archive
Results for Manhattan Project; materials show the range of perspectives about nuclear history at Oregon State through its history. Theses and dissertations on nuclear literature, science, and history.
